First Trip Off the Island

In the expat progress of events first comes finding a home/adjustment period, the sticker shock phase and then comes the Bintan phase. (Although we’re still in the sticker shock phase no matter what anyone says.) We don’t consider ourselves to be conformists, but apparently we are as we took our first trip off the island to Bintan, Indonesia.

On a sunny morning we boarded the Bintan Island Resort Ferry and began our 45 minute journey to Bintan. We decided to spend the little extra money and travel in Emerald Class. That meant we had assigned seats, complimentary soda and water, as well as streamlined processing on-board and at immigration. (The visa on arrival is $10 USD and has to be paid in US cash.) The ride flew by as we sat on the back of the boat in the sea breeze and watched all the ships passing by headed into port in Singapore. 

Upon arrival at the ferry terminal we were taken via air-conditioned bus to the resort. We chose to stay at the Angsana Resort, a Banyan Tree Resort. There are a handful of resorts on the island and after a lot of research this seemed to be the best in our price range. The hotel grounds were wonderful, the beach was beautiful, they had a nice spa and the staff were attentive but the rooms could have used a little refreshing. We came for some relaxation so regardless we were happy to be at the beach.

On our first full day on the island, we decided to check out the ‘shopping area’ Pasar Oleh Oleh, which was not as local as we hoped but we found some great souvenirs for the house as well as a great lunch.

The local currency is the Indonesia Rupiah (IDR). The exchange rate is 11,494.25 IDR to $1 USD so it made for a bill that only P. Diddy has seen.

One night we walked over to the Banyan Tree Bintan for dinner at their Thai restaurant, Saffron. Not only was the food fantastic (we had our own rice master!) but it was also Earth Hour. Earth Hour is where millions of people across the world switch off their lights for one hour on the same day - to celebrate their commitment to the planet. From 8:30 - 9:30 pm we enjoyed our dinner in a completely candlelit restaurant. Kudos to Banyan Tree Resorts for making the commitment to our planet at all of their resorts across the globe.

Otherwise, we spent most our time at the resort and enjoyed meals in the sand at the beachside restaurant and by the pool. It was exactly what the doctor ordered after all of the months of moving stress and the challenges (not to mention the gray hairs) associated with moving to a new and foreign country.

Happy Trails,

Amy & Raegen