Hello From Bintan Island, Indonesia

As the title calls, "hello from Bintan Island", I'm writing this post from the island itself! This is our third day here and seriously my first time on the laptop to write a post in what seems to be a while. About a week ago, a friend and I travelled to Singapore for a holiday of sightseeing and to enjoy the culinary delights Singapore has to offer.

We've since taken a side trip to Bintan Island, Indonesia. It's only a simple 50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore. I'll write a separate post about the amazing Singapore trip later but for now I wanted to share my time on Bintan Island with you. 

Bintan Island is part of Indonesia and as I mentioned before, it is only a simple 50 minutes ferry ride from Singapore so it's a fabulous and easy side trip for anyone going to Singapore and wanting something a little different. This is the first time to Bintan Island for me and I only came across it because of advice from friends and to break-up the Singapore trip I had planned.

We're staying at the Bintan Lagoon Resort which is about a 30 minutes drive from the ferry terminal when you arrive. The resort is nice but personally, nothing too flash; however, it does have everything that you need. The decor is still very much in the 70's and 80's - some updating to the decor could be done but I guess that is what the charm is about this place. The staff here, however, are very friendly and are always there to assist with anything you may need or not even need. 

Our private beach - bliss!

The resort is pretty much on the other side of the island from where the ferry lands so you are a little further away from the main town/village and the downfall is that they don't provide a shuttle bus that goes from the hotel to the main village. To get there you would need to get a taxi which would cost the equivalent of approximately $50 AUS for a round trip (a little expensive). However, there are 12 restaurants, bars and cafes so you do have plenty of options to choose from including two pools, the private beach, beach activities including kayaking, gym, activities for adults and children and even a karaoke bar!

One of two pools available at the resort

It has been great being here just lounging around by the pool and beach, reading and just generally relaxing and recharging the energy. Today we treated ourselves to a 2 hour body de-stress message at the Aroma River Spa which is a 50 minutes drive from our resort. Yes, we could have had a massage at our resort but Aroma River Spa provides a better value and the cost includes lunch and transport to and from. So, it was a nice treat to get away from our resort for the day and experience another part of Bintan Island. 

The massage was amazing; starting off with choosing the salt scrub, the aroma oil for the massage and a tasty lime and masala ice tea you're instantly relaxed and prepared for the next two hours of bliss! After the amazing massage we were treated to a boat ride through the mangroves, arriving to where our tasty lunch was being served with a giant coconut water! 

Our amazing and delicious lunch

Stolling along the beautiful beach

Ahhhh, I'm feeling all relaxing and my skin is feeling soft like a baby's bottom! A delicious dinner will end this day perfectly. 

Jo x

My Fiji Break

Oh, it is so good to be back home and sleeping in my own bed. Don't get me wrong, I loved my little break in Fiji but home is where my heart is and as much as I love to travel and see the world, every time I go away, I am reminded of how much I love Sydney.

My last post about Fiji, "Bula from Fiji", I wrote about my first three days there, so click on the link and have a read, if you haven't already. In that same post I mentioned that we had booked a day trip to a private island, Schooner Island to be exact, through Rosie Holiday with a company called Whale's Tale Cruise. It was a full day trip where a bus came and picked us up at 9am sharp (no Bula time) from our resort and drove us to Port Denarau where the sail boat awaited us.

Looking up at the ship

Initially we were advised that the day trip could take a maximum of 60 people (way too many in my mind), but as luck would have it, we had about 25 people, including two kids, on this day trip. It made for a good number of people and everyone on board were really lovely and friendly with most of us getting along by the end of the day and having a good laugh and a dance on the sail boat.

The great thing about booking our day trip with Whale's Tale Cruise is that they are the only boat going to Schooner Island and the staff on the boat provide personal service for each customer throughout the whole day. We aboard the sail boat to a lovely continental champagne breakfast as the staff prepared the boat to head off. It takes approximately an hour and a half to get to Schooner Island so we enjoyed our breakfast and champagne, the company of the other people on the boat and the scenery of clear blue ocean waters and the surrounding Fijian islands. 

We arrived at Schooner Island with options to chill out on the island or take part in some activities. I chose the guided snorkel; we head out into the water with our guide, Antone, who takes us through some amazing parts where the corals are glistening, the fish are aplenty and very colourful (yes, we found nemo!) and there are many things to see and touch such as star fish and sea cucumbers. Antone, had some bread with him (that he kept in a bag) and put some in my hand and the next thing I knew, I had all these amazing fish eating out of my hand and swimming around me……it was awesome!  

We had a nice BBQ lunch on the island all together and had the option of spending the rest of the afternoon chilling on the island, more snorkelling or hand line fishing. I ended going back out snorkelling to another section and another crew member had joined us; with a long metal rod! During the whole time I thought that he was in search for a particular fish for their dinner, but to my surprise when I got back to land, he was in search of an octopus! Yes, an octopus! I'm glad they told me when we reached land as I believe I would have freaked and swam in the opposite direction faster than Ian Thorpe!

Schooner Island from the sail boat

On Schooner Island

Washed up coral

The time in Fiji was spent relaxing, recharging, swimming in the pool, little tanning, taking part in the trivia and bingo (I won a game!) and reading. I managed to get through two books and by the last day there, I had no book to read. Lucky for my iPad and the internet, I spent my day surfing the internet working out my next holiday destination and when in the year is the perfect time to go. Oh, I love to travel and it's been a while so back on the travel wagon to explore places I haven't been, seen or experienced. So exciting!

One of the books I read….totally recommend reading it.

My overall summary of Fiji….. It's a great place to go visit for a short break, 5 days or so and that's it; especially if you're just there with a friend as there isn't much to do in Fiji. Getting to Fiji is relatively cheap but once you're there it can get expensive with food and day trips. Suggest to eat at Port Denauar as there are more variety and the cost is so much cheaper. However, I would say that Fiji is a perfect place for families to go to as they really do cater for kids and there is so much to do with kids during the day.

It was a perfect little trip to recharge, relax and refocus what I want to do next year with regards to travel. It was amazing to get away from the hectic life of everyday work and to not think about the reality and just enjoy the slower pace of life where time and day doesn't matter. 

Sunsets here are amazing!

Thank you Fiji! 

Jo xo

PS - Yes, as mentioned in my previous post "Bula from Fiji", China's President, Xi Jinping, was staying at our resort. It was hectic, there were scanner machines, lots of local and Chinese security, local police and his entire entourage including his cook and butler!

Bula From Fiji!

Bula! Day 3 here in Fiji and it's been an amazing relaxing time here. The weather has been shining down on us everyday ranging in around the 30's with a nice cool ocean breeze. The friendly "bula" (hello in Fijian) from staff and the locals puts a smile on your face every moment and it's times like this you realize that some time away to relax and recharge is needed. 

Above the clouds on the way to Fiji

In my last post, Packing for an Island Holiday, I blogged about how my girlfriend and I decided to come to Fiji to get away from the hectic Sydney lifestyle to relax, take in the glorious sun and recharge. So, here we are, day three of our lovely island trip. 

We've literally spent the last three days sitting by the pool, reading our books, eating and drinking - thinking hasn't really been required other than what day trip we want to do or what to eat. Simple! We're resorting it and staying at the Sheraton Fiji Resort on Denarau Island. The bonus with staying at the Sheraton Fiji Resort is that it's also connected to Sheraton Denarau Villas and The Westin Denarau Island Resort, all lined up next to each other, which means that we can use all the facilities at each of these resorts and charge anything back to our room. Makes it so easy and convenient; we don't have to carry cash around and we get an array of facilities to use such as the different restaurants, spas, gym and pools. 

These resorts are on Denarau Island which is a little island attached to the mainland and is dotted with many resorts so you do have the options of going to the other resorts for lunch and dinner. Most of of these restaurants are pricey and fine dining which is lovely but some nights I just want something simple, casual and light; we'll have to check out the options at the port marina tomorrow. 

Flights and accommodation with breakfast included is pretty cheap for Australians to get to Fiji but you do have to budget quite a bit for lunches and dinners here. These places are great for families though; kids are everywhere (I thought they would be at school at the moment ?!?). For young families these resorts are great as they cater for children from kids clubs to kids under 12 are free for accommodation (probably because they are sleeping in your room!) and they also eat free, so not a bad deal. 

I've previously have been to Fiji but headed straight out to the islands and I still recommend heading to the islands if you want crystal clear water and beach time. These resorts on the mainland don't have great beaches so you spend more time around the resort pools. Although the pools are pretty amazing. 

We've made friends with the resort activities staff who insist in calling us "sisters" - not sure why when we're clearly different nationalities! But, hey, when in Fiji, just go with it. Today, we joined in on the trivia and surprisingly came third! I guess I was surprised that I knew a majority of the questions; doesn't happen often so I'm happy! There are a few activities to do here such as frog jumping races, cocktail tasting, volleyball competition, paddle boarding and swimming (of course!) or there is just laying around the various pools and reading - this has been my routine; it's been tough! 

Reading time by one of the many pools

At night there isn't much to do other than have dinner. We've been going to the resort bar in the evening for cocktails and enjoying the music by the local band. They are amazing, singing local songs, chart topping songs, oldies and international songs; no joke, they've sung in Mandarin! 

Sunsets are amazing here…..

Looking forward to our day trip tomorrow to a private island, with 60 other people (totally private huh?!?). It should be fun, can't wait to get in the water to snorkel and explore under the beautiful waters. 

Jo xo

PS: I think the Chinese President, Xi Jinping, is staying here for the next couple of nights; either that or there is a whole heap of Chinese officials and security guards for the fun of it.