R&R@bintan

i was at bintan last wkend and it felt good to slack there. i went for this mangrove day tour which was a very enriching experience as the boat brought a group of us through the swamp. i learnt more about the various plants and how to tell them apart from their roots. i like the one with the ribbon-like roots, very pretty. a pity im sucha tech dinosaur so cant upload the pics. anyway, the tour guide showed us the spot where the boatmen worship the crocodile spirit and she reassured us that there isnt any croc there. for a moment, i kinda freezed. then, she showed us a huge kiln situated way up on a hill which was made of the roots of some plant and its no longer in use. then, we saw huge monitor lizards which are actually not even adults yet. those creatures are so darn well fed! next thing i knew, i saw a mangrove snake coiled up, sleeping on a fragile looking branch above my fren and i. i was freaking out as i was so afraid the branch will give way and drop on us!!! it didnt help when this happened a few times, whenever we were under the snakes. it's thrilling but scary, esp at the thought of being so close to snakes. yucks.

then, after the 2 hr trip, we went shopping at a local mkt where the things were sold at rather high prices even after haggling! its definitely not worth shopping there since its not in rupiah. sigh.

we also went to the spa for a good massage. it was really fantastic! my fren n i had a huge rm surrounded by lush greenery in the shower area. i like the rustic setting too.. we had the south seas massage which was darn shiok! the kneading and massage actions resembled the movement of the waves in the sea so they applied rather gentle pressure on the points and well, im glad to have this as i havent had my lymphatic drainage for months already.. after more than an hour, they were finally done though this left us yearning for more. we had a cup of lemongrass tea which was soooo fragrant!

evening time came so we went to the kelong to catch the sunset and it was beautiful from where i was sitting while eating my favourite seafood. the dinner was really cheap, considering the amount of seafood we ate, ranging from prawns, codfish right up to chilli crab. yummy! :D

on the whole, we slacked alot, i kinda got a little tanned though i didnt think i was under the sun that much. the beach was beautiful, the swimming pool faces the sea so its a panoramic view :D

i definitely enjoyed my r&r over there. glad i had a good break albeit a short one. pheww... ;)

and yes, im lookin forward to next wk though i'll be a year older :( im already pleasantly surprised when my colleagues threw me a lunch and very nice gifts. gee..i feel so goooddd :) i cant wait for my dinner with my relatives tonight at chef chan as my aunt's promised me a braun buffel bag which i demanded errh i mean i wanted,while the other aunt isnt telling me what she's getting for me.. just hope that my gifts arent bulky or i'll have problems lugging the things and going to breeze at scarlet hotel for a drink with my frens after that. nevertheless, whatever the gifts are, i will prob still be a contented gal :)