Bintan Memories

As I mentioned in my previous post, I started helping my father in Bintan at around mid-2010.  I really got deep into it at around 2011 and started to appreciate how beautiful the place really is.  The place has wonderful beaches although the capital Tanjung Pinang is somewhat quite underdeveloped - ever since I first started going there in year 2000 until 2010, the main street of Jalan Bakar Batu still looked the same.

But let's talk about the south-eastern coast where my father works.  The name of the resorts are Bintan Agro Beach Resort and Bintan Cabana Beach Resort (http://www.agrobeach.com - I was the one who oversaw the website building, so of course, I'm proud to promote it every now and then! ;p ).

I used the knowledge I acquired from my days holding the D90 and got to know my 5D Mark 2 better.  Daytime shots never disappoint, it's the blue hour shots that I really want to nail with the help of my 5D Mark 2.  I swear that my photos during this period were some of my best.  My favourite lens for these landscape shots was the one and the only EF 16-35mm F2.8L II.     

Here is a photo of a small island about 5 minutes away by ferry ride from Bintan Agro Beach Resort; the island is called White Sands Island.  It's in the itinerary of the Island Hopping activities.

Blue Sky,  Fine Yellow Sand - Cool Drinks and Shades Will Make This Perfect

Bintan Agro Beach Resort also boasts a famous seafood restaurant - Sun Moon; which is a Kelong restaurant.  During high tide at night, the restaurant is a pleasant place to be in.  Enjoying good food with breezy wind and enjoying the stars - that's life.   I still can't forget the fried rice, fried noodle, fried kway teow, hot plate tofu, chili crab and fried chicken.  Man, talking about those food really make me hungry now.....  But here are some of my photos of Sun Moon.

Walkway to The Restaurant - doesn't look like this now

Granite Rocks Outside the Restaurant During Low Tide

Sun Moon Restaurant Main Entrance

Then there's always the low tide view where I get to capture photos of boats being stranded - this is so cliche, but I still have to capture the photos anyway.  :)   

The kelong at low tide

10 km further down from Bintan Agro Beach Resort is Bintan Cabana Beach Resort.  I personally prefer this site as the water is very clear and the view there is generally much better.

Bintan Cabana Restaurant and Lobby During Sunset

Cool Capture of The Beach Area

A Longer View of The Beach During Sunset

The above photos are some of my favourite blue hour shots of the property.  But the restaurant in Cabana can't compare to Sun Moon in my opinion although the food is good in general.  

Outside the Resort in Kijang area are other tourist attraction sites, mostly temples.  One of the biggest temple is the 500 Lohan Temple where you can see 500 statues of holy men.  It really is a grand sight, but do note that no one is supposed to go into the area where the statues are.  Visitors can only look from outside.

500 Lohan Statues Front View

500 Lohan Statues Side View

Close-Up

The Temple Plaza Area

Bintan is quite a culturally interesting place.  Its a nice place to visit from time to time, especially to escape from Singapore's pace which sometimes can be quite overwhelming.  I wish I had gone to some of the nearby fishing villages, but perhaps that will be for another adventure, another time. 

~ Photos taken with Canon EOS 5D Mark 2 + EF 16-35mm F2.8L II ~