Bintan 2 Days 1 Night (26th - 27th November 2016)
Hi ChoXChe-ers! I am back with another travel blog! This time I would like to share my short getaway to Bintan from 26th-27th November 2016 (2 days 1 night). Yes, it was 14 months ago, but dun worry, because the information I provided here is still relevant. About why it took the freakin’ 14 months for me to post, yes, that is something that I should ponder over. LOL! But honestly, my work was crazily hectic that time and I was pre-occupied by it even on weekends. Therefore, please pardon me if there are many extremely late travel posts in the future. Anyways, this is actually my third time visiting Bintan. Instead of staying in the resort full day; like what I used to do for the past two visits playing the water games & activities; I decided to do things differently this time. By different I meant I booked a day city tour package offered by Java Travel. Without further ado, here is the story of my 2 days 1 night stay in Bintan with 3 of my friends.
Taking Sindo Ferry from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, my friends and I departed from Singapore to Tanjung Pinang (Bintan’s capital city) at 08.40 am. Tanjung Pinang has two ferry terminals, which are Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT) at the North and Sri Bintan Pura at the South. Our ferry arrived at Sri Bintan Pura Terminal (Address: Jalan S. M. Amin No. 1, Tanjungpinang, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia 29111) after a 2 hour long journey at 09.40 am Indonesia time (Indonesia time is one hour behind Singapore’s). The friendly and mandarin-fluent tour guide had been waiting for us at the terminal’s exit door. He welcomed us with his energetic smile and drove us to the 1st visit of the day, which was the Tourism Information Centre (Address: Jalan Hangtuah; located in a mere 200 meter away from the terminal). After spending a total of 4 years and S$ 14.3 billion, the tourism Information Centre was made official on 26th October 2016; exactly a month before our visit. The building resembles the shape of gong-gong snail, which is the iconic food of Tanjung Pinang. It’s location that is just at the sea side (within Laman Boenda Park to be exact) had made our walk around the park therapeutic and relaxing. We also took as many selfies as we could before leaving the place.
Arriving at Sri Bintan Pura Terminal after 2 hour long journey from Singapore.
On our way to the Tourism Information Centre.
Reaching the Tourism Information Centre.
The Gonggong building from different angles.
Information about Bintan island was displayed inside the Gonggong building.
Off from Bintan Information Centre, we headed to Pasar Ikan Pelantar KUD (aka fish market; address: Jl. Pelantar KUD Pasar Baru, Tanjungpinang, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia). There were many shops selling snacks, fermented fruits, sweets as well as dried cooking ingredients. Every shop owner here was very generous as they had put the testers in front of each product. One of the famous snacks sold was gong-gong crackers and it was traded in both dried (still need to be fried) and ready-to-eat package. We took a bite of the gong-gong crackers tester before decided that it wasn’t quite for our taste. It had the normal boiled gong-gong's taste and smell, but compared to the normal crackers, such as prawn and fish crackers, it was harder and sandy in texture. I didn't buy anything there, but my friends bought ikan bilis (anchovy) for a price of Rp.80.000 (S$8.00) per kg. “They look fresh and clean”, expressed one of my friends.
The shop owner was offering us a food tester. "Just try all the testers as you like. If you don't like it, I won't force you to buy," said the friendly and generous owners to us.
The raw gonggong snails sold in bottles.
Snacks heaven.
Fried gonggong snacks for a price of Rp.48.000 (S$4.80) per pack.
Lunch time was well spent in the local restaurant called Rumah Makan Jawa Timur (Address: Jalan Raja Ali Haji Nomor 8, Tanjung Pinang). Rice was served as staple alongside 6 dishes, such as fried egg, cah kang kong (aka stir-fried water spinach), sweet and sour fried gourami, chicken satay, sayur asam (aka sour soup), fried chicken, and lastly a platter of triangle-shaped watermelon and heart-shaped pineapple . We especially liked the cah kang kong because of its strong terasi (dried shrimp paste) flavor (ChoxChe’s rank of 10/10). The gourami meat was fresh and soft, but the sauce was lacking the sourness. Therefore, it was a plain sweet (ChoxChe’s rank of 7/10). However, if we must choose the least dish that we liked, it would be the fried chicken, as not only was it served cold, the meat was also very dry, making this fried chicken extremely hard to chew (ChoxChe’s rank of 5/10).
Lunch at the local restaurant called Rumah Makan Jawa Timur.
Rice served alongside 6 dishes, such as fried egg, cah kang kong (aka stir-fried water spinach), sweet and sour fried gourami, chicken satay, sayur asam (aka sour soup), and fried chicken.
From the restaurant, we proceeded to the cuttlefish packaging factory (PD. Adi Anugrah Food Industry; address: Jalan Anggrek Merah No.18, Tanjung Pinang). The factory is manned by Mr. Poniran, a courteous and enterprising Jogjakarta-born businessman who moved to Kota Tanjung Pinang and pioneered the cuttlefish business in 1991. Hanging on the factory’s wall was more than a dozen of his portraits with many of Indonesian politicians; one was with the 6th President of Indonesia, Mr. Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. When I asked whether I could take a picture together with Mr. Poniran, he cheerfully agreed to it and enthusiastically grabbed three products from the table. Though obviously not needed, Mr. Poniran still asked whether it was okay to take a picture with his products for promotional purpose, which of course I immediately agreed to. During our visit, we were shown the process of how dried cuttlefish was pressed using a hand-rolled machine. This elongated cuttlefish was then barbequed and seasoned before dry-heated in the oven and packed for sales. Two types of cuttlefish were sold; the crunchy and the chewy ones. Both were equally nice, but opt for the crunchy one if you don’t quite like the smell from cuttlefish as the chewy one tend to smell more (Rp 40.000/100 grams or $S4/100 grams).
Dried cuttlefish was pressed using the hand-rolled machine.
The elongated cuttlefish was then barbequed and seasoned before dry-heated in the oven and packed for sales.
The already seasoned cuttlefish.
Taking a picture with Mr. Poniran, the humble cuttlefish business pioneer in TanjungPinang. Credits go to C.
Moving on, we were driven to the newly opened mall in Bintan, namely Tanjung Pinang City Centre (aka TCC; address: Jalan Raya Dompak, Batu IX, Tanjungpinang Timur, Sei Jang, Bukit Bestari, Sei Jang, Bukit Bestari, Kota Tanjung Pinang, Riau Island 29124, Indonesia). Though officially open for public, the mall hadn't yet fully functional. There were many kiosks and shops that were still up for rent. For ChoxChe-ers who live in Indonesia, I bet you must know Matahari Department Store and Hypermart Supermarket. These were two of the stores that occupied the large portion of the mall. Frankly speaking, I was not interested to stroll around as the mall wasn't that "alive" yet and electricity break down during our visit surely didn’t help at all. However, the mood was completely changed once I saw two carts full of professional wears for a deal of buy-1-free-2 (yes, free2, you didn’t read it wrongly) in Matahari Department Store. Soon, an hour stop set by our tour guide was felt to be insufficient. In the end, we spent 2 hours inside the mall with me ended up buying 5 blouses and 2 skirts for a total price of Rp. 690.000 (S$ 69.00). This certainly had taught me a lesson that a hidden treasure could be found in the place that is least expected. Btw, I didn’t take any picture of the mall because like what I mentioned earlier, my initial mood when stepping in the mall was like “What is this dark place….?”. Then when it turned into a ball of adrenaline rush excitement; after seeing the promotions; I had completely forgotten about taking picture. Hehehehe, please forgive me!
Picture of TCC for ChoxChe-ers reference. Taken from: https://batampos.co.id/2016/05/26/hari-mall-tanjungpinang-city-center-dibuka/
Next destination was the infamous Banyan Tree Temple, aka Tian Shang Miao, in Senggarang island (one hour drive from TanjungPinang city , address: Senggarang, Tanjungpinang City, Senggarang, Tanjungpinang Kota, Kota Tanjung Pinang, Kepulauan Riau 29115; opening hours: 9am to 3pm). As its name suggest, the place is iconic for a 200 year-old banyan tree roots that are wrapping around the temple. History has it that the temple was originally the house of a wealthy Chinese man, who had died and was buried under his own house. Since then, the building has, over the years, been swallowed up by the roots and branches of a large banyan tree. By the Chinese community, the place is then turned into a Buddhist shrine where devotees and believers give offerings and ask for blessings. I apologize for not taking any picture of the shrine, but don’t worry, I have googled out the picture to let the curious ChoxChe-ers know how the temple looks like.
Picture of Banyan Tree Temple for ChoxChe-ers reference. Taken from:
https://djangki.wordpress.com/2012/04/12/kelenteng-unik-di-tanjung-pinang/
From there, we strolled around the temple to a narrow boardwalk that led us to the settlement of ethnic Chinese in Senggarang (Senggarang Village). Houses were built on stilts, separated from one another via the canals. Some boats; which the locals referred to as taxiboats; were seen idling in the canals. A large fishing net at the end of the boardwalk had suggested the main profession of the Chinese community there. Our tour guide explained that it would take only 5 minutes to go from Sri Bintan Pura Ferry Terminal to Senggarang if we used taxiboat (cost Rp.5000/person or S$ 5.00). However, he didn't opt for that due to the schedules arranged. Besides, small rain had been sizzling throughout the day that it was not safe to go via water route (lighting and high waves could happen anytime and jeopardize the safety).
Houses were built on stilts, separated from one another via the canals.
A large fishing net at the end of the boardwalk had suggested the main profession of the Chinese community here.
Taking picture with the cute little taxiboat. Credits go to C.
Away from Senggarang village, our next stop was the most awaited (or at least for me) massage place, named Beauty Spa and Reflexy (address: Jalan D.I. Panjaitan KM.10 No.6, TanjungPinang, Riau Province, Indonesia). The cost for an hour massage was Rp. 200.000 (S$20.00), twice cheaper than a massage offered in Singapore (normally S$40.00 for 1 hour). Hence this was a very good deal for Singaporean, but definitely not for me, the Medanese. In my hometown, a massage for an hour costs Rp. 100.000 (S$10 SGD) in average. Though Bintan is part of Indonesia, the pricing for beauty and relaxing services, such as massage, facial and water games, such as diving, snorkeling, etc have been marked up. The locals did so as many Singaporeans travel to Bintan specifically for these activities. This was then seen as an opportunity by the local businessman to make profit. Anyways, the massage was good and the place was quite comfortable (ChoXChe’s rank of 7/10).
Enjoying an hour massage at Beauty Spa and Reflexy.
From massage place, we were taken to the biggest Buddhist temple in Bintan, Avalokitesvara Graha Temple (aka Guan Yin Temple) (address: Pinamg, Tj. Unggat, Bukit Bestari, Kota Tanjung Pinang, Kepulauan Riau, Indonesia; opening hours: 9am to 4pm). With massive plantation of dragon fruits in the front yard, the temple looked colorful and beautiful. The immense entrance hall was sandwiched by the Buddha and Guan Yin statues on both sides. A pond could be seen decorating the right side of the garden. The temple houses the largest sitting Guan Yin in the South East Asia, measuring 16.8 meters tall. This golden statue is made of brass and is coated in 22 carat gold. I shall apologize in advance for not taking many pictures while I was inside. But I have included a picture of the statue from internet for ChoxChe-ers to see. I could feel the calmness and tranquility while I was standing there. With the gigantic ornaments around, I couldn’t help but felt so tiny and enthralled at the same time. Definitely a worthwhile stop!
The Avalokitesvara Graha Temple (aka Guan Yin Temple) with its immense entrance hall.
The temple houses the largest sitting Guan Yin in the South East Asia, measuring 16.8 meters tall. This golden statue is made of brass and is coated in 22 carat gold.
Picture taken from https://travelingyuk.com/tempat-wisata-di-pulau-bintan/15421/
The temple visit wrapped up our tour. We then headed to the hotel of our choice Bintan Agro Beach Resort (address: Jl.Pantai Trikora Km.36, Teluk Bakau, Bintan Island 29153, Kepulauan Riau – Indonesia) to stay the night in. On our way to the resort, we passed by a pink-colored mosque called Mesjid Pink (obviously) and I had taken the picture of it as I think it was so unique. I also accidentally took a glance at the row of tapai (fermented cassava) sold on top of shiny metal table on the roadside. “OHMYYY” was my reaction when I noticed that my favourite desserts on earth (besides of cheesecake) were sold right in front of my eyes. “All this complaint about how tapai in Singapore couldn’t beat the tapai in Indonesia could finally be proven on this very day!”, I bragged to my Singaporean friends. But sadly, my friends didn’t even know that this amazing food exist until that day. I had (forcefully) asked them to try the tapai, but admittedly it wasn’t the desserts for everyone. Until now I still regret for not buying more as the tapai was so yummy with the right balance between sweet and sour taste. What’s more it was sealed in the fragranced banana leaves, which even in Medan I still couldn’t find one like it till now. And guess what? It was sold for a very cheap price of Rp.4.000 per pack (S$0.40). ChoXChe-ers should certainly make a stop to try this one out if you ever visit the temple (I know I will if I have the chance to go again)! (ChoxChe’s rank of 10/10).
Passing by a beautiful pink-colored mosque on our way to hotel.
Seriously delicious tapai (fermented cassava) sold at the roadside. What a luck to have found this! <3
At last, we checked in to the hotel around 7 pm. After getting all of our stuffs down in the room, we immediately went to the hotel's restaurant to have dinner. Disappointingly, a similar set of dinner to our lunch early on was set on the table, such as rice, cah kang kong, sayur asam, fried gourami (whole) in chilli sauce, sweet and sour fried fish (flour coated and cut), fried cuttlefish balls and lastly a platter of pineapples and papayas. These dishes weren’t as delicious as those served during lunch though. The only points where it slightly did better were on the sayur asam and fried cuttlefish a ball (which was not in the lunch menu), in which the cuttlefish ball was very crispy, with all the bread crumbs collapsing with each bite. It was also well-seasoned with salt and garlic powder. Meanwhile, the tamarind flavor stood out very intensely and the soup also was very thick for the sayur asam, making it the perfect sayur asam I had ever had (Both ChoxChe’s rank of 10/10).
Receptionist area of Bintan Agro Beach Resort.
How our hotel room looks like. We were staying in Junior suite room with a private balcony on the second floor (not shown).
A similar set of dinner to our lunch early on, such as rice, cah kang kong, sayur asam, fried gourami (whole) in chilli sauce, sweet and sour fried fish (flour coated and cut), fried cuttlefish balls and lastly a platter of pineapples and papayas.
After back from restaurant, I bathed and spent the rest of the night watching Deadpool on HBO until falling asleep. I didn't even explore the upper balcony floor as I was so tired. A rainy weather welcomed us the next morning, which had held us back from playing the water games. As the result, we just spent our morning eating the breakfast buffet and watching Pixel on HBO afterwards. Checking out was done at 12:00 pm and we started to hit the road to Sri Bintan Pura Ferry Terminal at 12.15 pm. It took us around 45 minutes to reach the terminal at 1 pm. Before checking in to the ferry terminal, I managed to buy a pack of fried spinach snacks and a pack of baked sweet potatoes chips that were sold in front of the gate terminal at Rp.20.000 per pack (S$ 2 SGD). They both tasted alright! (ChoxChe’s rank of 7/10).
Having a breakfast buffet in the hotel. We tried the roti tissue with curry which didn't quite live up to the expectation. It was plain oily and soggy and we had been waiting for almost 30 minutes for it! (ChoxChe's rank of 3/10).
Exploring the private balcony on the second floor in the morning.
Snacks bought before going back to Singapore: a pack of fried spinach snacks and a pack of baked sweet potatoes chips.
That’s my entire story for 2 Days 1 night stay in Bintan. Though we missed the water games and spent the second day just watching movies on TV, I still felt so happy. After all, it’s not where we go or what we do that matters, but it’s whom we are spending the day with that truly counts :)!
The sum up of ChoxChe’s Expense:
~2 D 1 N Tour including Hotel (Junior suite room) + 2 ways ferry ticket and taxes: S$221.00 per pax
~Tour Guide tips: Rp.25.000 (S$2.50)
~Cuttlefish crispy crackers: Rp. 40.000 (S$4.00)
~Clothings (Matahari Department Store):Rp. 690.000 (S$69.00)
~Massage and tips: Rp.210.000 (S$21.00)
~Tapai (fermented cassava): Rp 4.000 (S$0.40)
~Fried Spinach crackers: Rp. 20.000 (S$2.00)
~Baked Sweet potatoes chips: Rp. 20.000 (S$2.00)
Total: Rp.3.219.000 or S$321.90.
