A little Piece of Paradise

How could I visit Bintan without a little stay-over at my best Bintan bud's place at Trikora, on the eastern side of the island facing unimpeded out into the South China sea? Marc has a wonderfully rustic piece of land there fleshed out with coconut groves, quiet idyllic beaches & a sacred river running through it.
He's built a humble but comfortable guest house with a relaxed wooden deck out front & the kampung mandis I remember seeing when I was little in old Singapore.

It's great for city people wanting to take a short trip to get the frantic rush out of their system. Because the guest house is the only abode here, the acre or so of beach side groves and the stretch of sandy white beach itself becomes your private place.





It was brilliant being there away from the maddening pace of Singapore taking my time to just be. And selfishly not having to share this piece of paradise with any other visitor on the island.

Marc lets out his guest house to visitors....so I'll let him tell you more about it.
Looking for a real getaway? Here is Bintan’s best kept secret…

Mutiara Beach Guesthouse

Home Stay and River Spa Package

Full board accommodation, including:

* Breakfast with Coffee/tea

* Fisherman’s lunch with fresh coconut

* Supper with tea/coffee

* Discount 20% on all Aroma River Spa treatments, 10% on Boutique merchandise

* Local handicrafts workshop (baskets, ketupat)

Price per person: S$35.- per day (twin share, weekday & weekend)

Canned beverages and snacks are available at list price - Vegetarian meals option

Transportation to/from the ferry terminal is not included, but can be arranged at cost

Current room capacity: 3 rooms @ 2 beds each – Children 3-12 yrs only S$25.-

Bookings by e-mail: dreams@mutiarabintan.com

Not too bad a price for a bit of paradise I think. Go on...send him an email.

Bintan Bound for Batiks

The way it seems to me, my fate will always somehow be intertwined with that of Bintan & Penyengat ( a little island village off the big island of Bintan). It's been that way for over 15 years now, and it's been good. Good and very interesting.

After all, it was in Bintan that we built the Beautiful Asmara Tropical Spas. And it was there I spent those uneasy nights during the year 2000 riots; met Frankie the poser of a biawak (monitor lizard); saw girls get possessed by spirits; had magical moonlight walks on the soft white sands of the Mayang Sari bay; dealt with dukuns (shamans); ate the BEST ever lamb chops; explored the Riaus on a wooden sailboat called Windsong; went for my first rave & caught malaria.

And it is also there that I made some very dear friends.

I'm currently working with Ibu Zainab, Ella & Chup on making Batik Prada wall-hangings & runners. After leaving Asmara, the gang in Penyengat had little to no orders from the spa and this is my way to help them with some income generation.

All the items are sold on an online shop I started which can be found at www.rumahkampung.etsy.com

Here is some of what we came up with....