(Jan 16) Bintan trip

Woo hooo, it felt like we had waited for an eternity for this day to come...We were finally going to Bintan with our extended family.

Our extended family was steadily growing, Xiao yi now had a boyfriend, with the addition of er yi's and san yi's babies this year, we would have a grand total of 10 adults and 6 kids! how cool!

Taking a shot at the ferry terminal to capture the beginning of the journey.

wai po prepared all the food for the BBQ. Good thing we brought our own food as buying food at the hotel was exorbitant and the market Pasar Oleh Oleh where we used to buy snacks from had actually closed down!

ok, all ready to sail with snacks in hands.

A nautical blessing: May we have smooth winds and following seas.

hurray, reached Bintan Lagoon Resort and the ride was tolerable though we did ride over some choppy waters. Bintan Lagoon Resort had renovated its premises, so there were new things like this koi pond.

they added a patio

and put lounge chairs there

the hall was decked with splendid lanterns

there were even some structures for kids to amuse themselves with

certainly fun to pass the time here while er yi did the check in

wai gong was carrying tim and tim was admiring the cherry blossoms and ang baos swaying gently in the breeze

sometimes, mama felt jun jun had an old soul in that little body, he seemed to understand mama when I talked to him

got to the house, it had 4 bedrooms upstairs, one downstairs, one spacious dining area, living room and a kitchen. Er yi got it for $420 from Mindef  for Fri to Mon. Then papa found out subsequently that he only needed to pay $350 for the Sempcorp bungalow which had 5 big bedrooms and came with a pool! So, we all agreed we would rent that next year.

the best part of the renovated resort - there was an indoor playground! New, clean, and awfully fun.

had a climbing wall

lots of structures in the obstacle course

tunnels

and of course, the slide

somemore, there were two slides, one at each corner of the playground.

the children came up with this funny game with er yi zhang. They would go up and down the slides continuously, er yi zhang would give a commentary and pretend that he was watching the television.

the ball pit was a hit as usual

it was a very pleasant place to spend an afternoon in...the best part was that it was FREE, woo hoo. things had gotten more expensive since the last time we came.

oh we spotted the monitor lizard outside our bungalow again, I thought we saw this lizard the last time we were here too? perhaps the resident lizard.

we went to the beach on both Sat and Sun.

wai po bought this sand play equipment at Bintan for more than S$10, oh well, a tad pricey but it was truly useful

the pregnant sisters lounged and chit chatted

one of those rare times when wai po would ask for a photo to be taken. thought her top matched the sky and sea pretty well

she picked up a rock from the beach and secretly took it home by wrapping it in a pomelo skin. Well...it was strange that san yi lugged a pomelo to Bintan...it was even quirkier that wai po used it to hide the stone, ha.

the kids were sooo chummy now, it would not be long before youyou could join the older ones and scoot off to play, not caring where his mummy was.

san yi seemed to have an affinity to timtim...maybe because tim looked like her? They truly shared some resemblance, I would think people would believe it if we said he was her baby!

the kids were looking for hermit crabs and they found one. Usually, er yi zhang would be their partner-in-crime, scouring the beach for living sea creatures. The male adults were having a game at the basketball court on that day, so xun asked to bring the crab back to show him.

as happy as a lark

the ever dutiful and doting wai gong...well...when wai gong was younger, he was always working late...he was the typical distant and absent breadwinner dad.

A different story now, he always looked forward to seeing these grandchildren and tried to arrange for dates to bring them to the nature reserves and parks. He also gushed and fawned over them with kisses...ha

could you spot the lone hermit crab?

came back on the second day with the daddies...

mama was relaxing on the hammock...but san yi had a tiny accident, the string came loose and she fell onto the ground! Thank God the sand was soft and cushioned the fall and the hammock was not too high to begin with.

ah, we gave this costume to youyou, seemed like it was getting a tad tight already!

mama reminded san yi to treasure the remaining days of "couplehood"

xun commented that this was her favourite part of the day, basking under the sun, soaking in the sea... and she looked exceptionally lanky here

a tender moment

youyou was sobbing as he did not like the thunderous waves

the kids built a castle with a moat

and er yi zhang brought a few hermit crabs back! We took them back to the bungalow and they crawled out in the night!

this was my favourite photo, she looked so full of vim and life

tried to capture such a shot for tong too...not too bad

went to the swimming pool right after the beach

preparation for a poolside wedding was ongoing...maybe xiaoyi could have a wedding here? ha

On sun, we went to the new Lagoi Plaza and xun spotted this mask.

while the adults went off for an affordable indulgent massage (was only s$30!), the kids had fun with the motorized vehicles (like just a couple of dollars for one hour!)

hot bike chick

and handsome bike dude

see the resemblance? Tim could certainly pass off as san yi's baby

xun offered to give youyou a ride, but he was only on it for a few seconds and clamoured to get off

while the hour seemed to have flown by for the ones having the massage, uncle alston remarked that it felt like a long one for them...perhaps as they were chasing the kids who were darting all over on their motorized vehicles? ahahha...

our own buggy. It used to be a 6 seater, but they had changed the old ones and now the new ones were all 4-seaters. Wai po crashed the buggy into a tree the last time she came. So, she was banned from driving the buggy this time round. ha

yay, a family shot. wai po commented that san yi zhang looked like the patriarch. san yi zhang lamented that he looked so burly.

our stay for the trip - B43

On the last day, papa sneaked off early in the morning
 for golf. It was uncrowded so he finished the 18 holes in 2 plus hours! Thought maybe he could come here more, since the fees were comparable to Singapore's and he would even have a caddy coaching him!

Chilling at the lobby again before boarding the bus to bring us to the ferry terminal for the homeward bound vessel

had not seen this lounging chair before, what a cool idea...eh...but it would take up too much space in an apartment

so...before we knew it, we were back in Singapore...every holiday felt like a dream...one anticipated the holiday for months, weeks and days...and then it would be gone in a flash and we were back to our mundane prosaic life...

mama always felt thankful that we had such a closely knitted extended family. I always declared that my sisters were the best gifts wai po gave me. now with all the brothers-in-law, every gathering was noisy and jolly. I pray that you three would always be loving and affectionate...

till the next holiday! 2017 - Bintan and Korea! Wooo hoo.