After settling into our little shanty over the water, we had dinner, had beers on the porch and got ready for bed. Just as I was washing my face, I heard a little scratching and scurrying - then we both heard a louder scratching and scurrying - then we saw the scratcher and scurryer. A RAT!! He ran across the open rafters above our small room and we packed our bags!
We wanted to just transfer to a new place but the resort insisted on putting us in one of the on-land cabins since it was so late. The new room had a closed ceiling with no visible rafters so we agreed. The next morning we walked up the quiet jungle road in search of a better place. We saw older, shabbier shanties-on-the-water, places under construction due to lack of tenants, a huge hilltop mansion closed due to bankruptcy, and finally a lush, well-kept sea-side resort a step up on the room-rate scale. Upon finding this Eden-like property, we decided the money was worth having a clean and cool, rat-free room!
While time eased by, we spent the next few days eating our meals, drinking, reading, sunning, walking, budgeting, and eating again at the resort. There wasn't much of a beach since the tidal plain on the east coast of Bintan is shallow almost a kilometer from shore, but we made use of the resort's two swimming pools daily. I finished 2 books and Deuk regretted only buying one magazine. The sun was high and hot. The food was fresh and exotic.
When we had arrived at the Bintan Agro, we were nearly the only guests. Throughout our visit, though, people arrived by twos and fours to enjoy the quiet. At the peak of our stay, the Chinese New Year, we sat on the patio drinking a cold beer while the children lit fireworks.
To make the most of our time there, we booked a driver to go to the nearby village and floating market, scheduled spa services twice (oil massage and foot reflexology), and chartered a small boat for a snorkeling and swimming excursion (to a white island with an amazing coral reef teeming with life).
Just as the clouds rolled in 5 days after we arrived, we rolled out. Back to Singapore for the final 3 days.
No comments:
Post a Comment