Friday, October 28, 2011

A World Away


Just a short ferry ride from Singapore lie the Riau Islands of Indonesia. Two islands in particular are a favorite weekend getaway for Singaporeans. In the past month I had the opportunity to visit both.






Batam

I recently went away for a boys weekend and played some golf with a group of 9 guys from work.  We took the short 20 minute ferry to Batam where we were met by a rep from the golf course at the ferry terminal.  He took care of our golf clubs for us and quickly ushered us through security. Next thing I knew, we were on the bus and 5 minutes later we arrived at the resort.

We stayed and played at the Palm Springs Golf and Beach Resort and had our own private residence which had a games room and 12 sleeping rooms.  We spent the evening shooting cards and having a good time.

We awoke the following morning and feasted our eyes on a thing of beauty: the resort had 36 holes and was both visually stunning and challenging!

We played our first round of golf in the morning.  After lunch, we played a second round of golf and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves the whole time.

After enjoying some cold beverages on the 19th hole, we boarded the ferry and returned to Singapore.

We did a weekend worth of living in 24 hours and had a great time doing it.  Looking forward to the next trip!

Bintan

The following weekend, Haylee, Lisa and myself headed to Bintan  for our annual staff getaway.  35 of us headed out for a weekend of partying, relaxing and good times. 

We stayed at the Nirwana Gardens Resort and loved the place.  The resort was a sprawling property with 4-5 different hotels, villas, beach resorts spread across the property.

The first night we met everyone poolside for dinner and enjoyed watching some Indonesian dancers while we ate.  After our meal,  the dancers brought a number of guests up to perform with them, including Haylee who did a great job of dancing.

The next day, we relaxed poolside, explored the white, sandy beaches and did a bunch of activities at the recreation centre including archery, target shooting and bungee trampoline gymnastics.

After enjoying a buffet dinner with the group, we went bowling and had a great time.

The following day we hit the beach and the pool and went back for more shooting at the range.  On top of that, Haylee went on a zip-line.   Lisa also had a nice, relaxing massage.

We crammed a lot into our weekend and enjoyed doing it and left Bintan happy, but tired. 

Both Bintan and Batam were great trips.  The islands are quite different from the hustle and bustle of Singapore and while only a short ferry trip from Singapore, they are literally a world away.

Can't wait to go back! 






















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