Starting Off
We love the boat ride to Bintan. It is almost like time travel. This part of Indonesia is one hour behind Singapore time. So, if we take the 8am ferry and travel one hour we reach Bintan also at 8am!
The ferry departs from Tanah Merah ferry terminal. On a clear Saturday morning, we start from home around 6am and drive down the thirty odd kilometres to the ferry terminal. We park our car in the secured parking within the terminal premises and take the ferry run by Bintan Resorts. The Bintan Resorts Ferries has boats departing every hour; on weekends the first ferry is at 8am, and we booked on the same one.
We make sure that we arrive at the terminal with enough time in hand to have our customary breakfast before we board the boat; I have kaya toast while IB goes for mee siam.
Arriving
Immigration is fast for Singapore residents who pass through automated border control on the Singapore side. The boat ride in the middle is by a speed boat, also fast and smooth and we arrive at the Bandar Bintan Telani Terminal in less than one hour. Immigration clearance is quite smooth on the Indonesian side as well. Of course, Singapore citizens do not require visa to enter Indonesia.
After we clear the immigration, we report at the Bintan Resorts counter situated within the terminal itself. We are directed to the bus that will take us to our resort. Our luggage, which consists of one small trolley bag, is loaded into the luggage hold and we are given a tag to hold on to.
The bus drops us at the Nirvana Gardens. We will be staying at the Mayang Sari Beach Resort, which is a part of this complex. Mayang Sari Beach Resort is a collection of chalets. We have booked one that sits right on the beach, so that we have unobstructed view of the South China Sea when we sit on the couch on the verandah of the chalet.
Our Chalet 
The couch on the verandah
Our luggage arrives in a buggy; we unpack, change into our swimming gear, slather ourselves with sunblock and make a beeline for the beach where we get hold of two deck chairs and plonk ourselves down. So begins our two days of total inactivity.
Pristine Beaches
The next few hours were spent alternating between reading on the deck chair, looking out to the pristine waters as far as eye could see and taking a dip in the sea. Then it was time for lunch which was at the Spice Restaurant at the main lobby of the resort. And of course, after lunch it was time for afternoon siesta in the chalet as the sun became too hot to go out to the beach.
The view to the right 
And to the left
We walked the beaches again as the sun started going down the horizon. IB also took a swim in the sea. It was low tide, the sea had moved back and we could see the rocks lining the sea bed.
As the day light faded, we went over to the Beach Hut to enjoy a cocktail at dusk. We sat watching the darkening sea as few boats made their way back to land.
We had booked a BBQ dinner at the Pool Side restaurant; which was a bit far to walk, so we took the shuttle bus to and from the sumptuous dinner.
On our return from dinner we spent another hour sitting on the beach before we turned in for the night, looking up at the start studded sky and listening the sound of waves breaking on the beach.
The next day started with a cup of tea on the verandah as light brightened around me. It was another day of blissful lazing. But all good things come to an end. As the Sunday morning turned to afternoon and then evening, we had to pack up and check out of our chalet.
The magical hour
We walked to the Calypso Bar, which sits on a board walk in the middle of the sea, to have a relaxing drink while watching glorious sunset.
Sea wind at dusk 
The bar at land’s end
And then, it was time to walk back to the resort to board the shuttle that would take us to the jetty. We took the last ferry out, reached Singapore late at night and drove the 30 odd kilometres home. Next day would be back to the usual Monday bustle again.
