Bintan Retreat - May 2010

Preamble
Yes, this is yet another trip to Bintain. And it is turning out to be a annual pilgrimage of sorts. :) I love going Bintan cuz, generally we succeed in getting some Company sponsored villa, which means it's either free (which is the case in my company), or it is at a minimal fee (for some others) but the sum is nominal since it's split between the 4-6 people going. So I don't feel bad. The ferry is pretty pricey, at about $68 per pax, but considering that I am saving so much on the accomodation, it's quite worth it! :)

Besides the fact that we save on accomodation, there's the fact that these company villas always come equipped with a fully functional kitchen. So you can bring your own food there and cook, so you save on meals. Of course, you can give yourself a break for 1/2 meals and just eat out. But being the sort to prefer homecooked meals as opposed to exhorbitant meals that don't even taste that good, I am glad for the facilities available.

Actually, before delving into the details, I have to warn you, for this trip, it was really R&R... nothing much was done.

Day One
Mad rush in the morning to go NTUC and get some food items, packing, then Skycloud picked me up in a cab and we headed to the ferry terminal. Waiting ensued after we checked in. The bag weighed a whooping 17kg! That's nearly all food in case you're wondering.

When we arrived, we did absolutely nothing. Took a nap... woke up, had dinner (spaghetti + Ikea meatballs). Watched tele, back to bed. Haha...

Day Two
After we woke up and nuahed till almost mid-day, we went on walk around the place, by the beach, around the hotel, including an aviary (don't ask me, but it was the first time I had seen a vulture up close)... by then, I was feeling hot and flustered. Went for a swim even though it looked like rain. Sure enough, it rained while I was swimming.. no lightning/thunder, so I bochup. Skycloud was cosying at home. After I came back and showered, we had our instant noodles + meatballs from Ikea, it was back to being hot and sunnyWe then went to lobby to wait for leen and WZ who were joining us.

After we all gathered back in the villa, it was tv, unpacking and generally chaos as is only possible with 4 girls in the house. After that went off again for a walkabout and for a dip in the pool. Skycloud once again, cosying it up at home.

We then came back and headed for Kelong, a seafood restaurant. Over-ordered, over-ate, over-budget. BWAHAHAHA... but it was a nice place. Would have been within budget, since we ordered too much food. :) Nvm.. for my NEXT trip, I will know. :P

Drinking + Fruits session at night. :) Finished the Riesling I had bought at DFS, and Leen had her Chivas (I think). We had "heart to heart" talk ah... :)

Day Three
Mucked around and tucked into a sumptuous taiwan style porridge breakfast. :) We then went off for a swim at the pool for villa stayers only. Shiok, big and relatively empty. We stayed on past the rain, seems to be a trend that it will rain while swimming. But its just a passing cloud lah... Skycloud ran back to the house hehehe.. cuz she was not swimming.

After the swim, we headed back for lunch.. which was made up of bread, the very powerful chilli rojak by Leen and random stuff... we watched a bit of the korean drama dvd we had brought over "He's beautiful" and before getting too addicted, Leen and I headed for the gym, while WZ went to the spa. Skycloud remained addicted to the show. WZ's spa didn't succeed cuz it was fully booked. But she succeeded in getting 2 POLO shirts. :) Not bad!

After gym, we headed back and nuah again the villa, and was cooking dinner. :) Yummy dinner by Leen.. she's really a v v good cook. In the middle of dinner, there was a mishap with a cockroach. Lucky of the 4 girls, 2 were not scared. :) Managed to get rid of the trespasser. :P

Then... more stoning and TV watching, it was "Down with Love" last episode... then we all started packing up as we had a morning ferry to catch.

Day Four
All woke up on time and we were so efficient, we had time to do breakfast before setting off for the jetty to come back to Singapore. :) and.. that was it! :) Total Damage, all included (Food and Transport) excluding alcohol and what not bought at Duty Free, about $200... not bad for a weekend trip huh! :)