Our second familiarisation trip with our media guests got more exciting.

As soon as we alighted from the coach and set foot on the resort, we were welcomed by an amazing sight and sound of Indonesian traditional dancers.  

We welcomed our guests with a refreshing lemongrass drink, certainly a treat on a sunny day.   After we handed out their rooms keys to freshen up at the newly refurbished Deluxe Room, it was time to head to a theme lunch. 

The theme lunch was held at Sulawesi, one of our function rooms; which was transformed into deep blue hues and decorated with silk, marine fishes and fishing nets.   The ocean theme became more significant with its tantalising spread of appetising seafood and accompaniments.   Our tables had “live” fishes swimming in cylindrical glass containers.

 

Now you know what I mean by a scrumptious spread of seafood. This was just the appetiser; there were oysters as big as half a palm size and delicious Norwegian smoked salmon that tasted so good with toasted bread and butter.

 

Look! The oyster occupied a quarter of my plate!  Although it wasn’t the biggest, but it was definitely juicy and sweet as though freshly caught from the ocean.

 

Then we mingled with the guests where we shared our life experiences and personal stories….

After lunch,  it was time to explore the resort….

We showcased the old rooms to highlight the “before” and “after” transformation.  We received positive feedback on the refurbished room as it provides a luxurious resort setting for a cosy and relaxing stay.  

Each media guest was assigned a personal buggy to explore the outdoors.

 

The next stop was Angsoka Villa (Sea-facing). Hugely popular with families or large parties, the villa comes with a private barbeque pit, a private pool and is a stone’s throw away from the beautiful sandy beach.  It is definitely a great place to relax with family and friends.  The surrounding gardens allow you to enjoy ball games while the other members of the family or friends can enjoy a round of mahjong game. 

(Above) - A view from the villa’s balcony overlooking the private swimming pool and lovely beach. Planning a family vacation already?

 The tour on the buggies continues…

Our buggies paused when we arrived at the sea-sports center. It was a feast to our eyes just watching the hunks getting into some beach volleyball action. Everybody just had to take a photo of them.

The tour of the resort ended and it was free and easy session for our guests.   What a better way to spend the rest of the day than just lazing on the lovely beach. 

You love this, don’t you?  The clear blue sky, azure waters, white sandy beach while Mr. Sunshine smiles happily.   Leave the cares of the world behind….

When the sun set, the ladies dolled themselves pretty while the guys sprayed on some cologne.

Our guests hopped on their buggies and were led to Jack Nicklaus Seaview Course Hole #12 for Lagoon Dining. We were not so lucky on the first famil trip but this time the weather was kind and perfect for fine-dining under the stars.

 

 

Although it was a day after the mid-autumn festival under the lunar calendar, the moon was clear and bright, certainly an atmosphere to behold. Check out the moon glistening on the ocean.

A pre-dinner cocktail session to warm-up everybody before dinner starts.

 

 

David and Susan, “best-dressed award” goes to them. They were well-prepared for this dinner.

 

A toast from the lovely ladies.

 

After the cocktail session, everybody settled in for a five-course meal. 

 

The appetizer was Duo of Scallop and Tuna Loin. The seared scallop was marinated by crushed black pepper and the tuna loin served with lemon hollandaise sauce and vinaigrette tossed alfalfa sprouts. Our chef certainly championed on creativity and presentation.  The dish tasted as good as it looked.

 

Green Peas Soup may sound ordinary but certainly a pleasure to the sight and tastebuds. The creamy scallion and green peas soup with fresh poached egg and parmesan cheese wafers complemented the soup dish. 

 

Before the main course started, there was a palate cleanser. Lime and Champagne Sorbet. Refreshing and invigorating.

 

The main course was Gindara Teriyaki.  It was pan-seared silver cod fish with rolled garlic fried rice complete with prawn,  mixed vegetable tempura drizzled with teriyaki sauce. The cod fish was so fresh I wouldn’t mind a second helping.

 

For dessert, we had Coconut Delight. To the left is the sweet dumpling filled with fried coconut and brown sugar while the middle is strawberry-flavoured shooter followed by coconut ice-cream.  Certainly a delight for the sweet-tooth. 

Here he is, our talented chef, Mr. Deny Hidayat who whipped those lovely dishes for the night.  Kudos to him for a wonderful dinner.  

After dinner we headed back to the resort and had a chill-out session at our party club, Silk.

Cheers!  We played some party games which kept everyone laughing and tickled every moment. Then it was time to call it a night.

Although the next day was meant to be free and easy for our guests, we had some games planned for those who wanted to participate.  After breakfast at Kopi-O Restaurant, we headed straight to the leisure centre for a game of laser quest.

Our guests walking towards the laser quest arena, gearing for some action!

 

This signage certainly got us more excited.  Surely, there were more than meets the eyes…like dinosaurs?   

All geared up and ready to strike!

 

You have to stretch as far as you can to “kill” your opponent.

 

 Running away… is the best resort when your opponent is too strong.

 

Seeking for more adventure?  The All Terrain Vehicle is something you wouldn’t want to miss…

It was really sunny and humid but that did not deter our guests from roughing it out.  There were tissue paper stucked on foreheads meant as sweat-soakers, I supposed.  

Snapping photos and enjoying themselves so much so that the heat was forgotten.

 

We got ourselves dirtied and sweaty packed with laughter throughout the entire ride.  A memorable experience indeed!

 

A few of us then headed to Miyako Japanese restaurant for lunch. Miyako offers authentic and mouth-watering Japanese food;  Udon and Fried Oysters are definite must-try.  

 

Before leaving the resort, I embraced the scenery of the beautiful garden and sea from my room one more time.  I could stay here forever.  I believe our guests shared the same sentiments too.�

Oh my God! Finally someone has found a real muscle beach. The beach at Bintan Lagoon Resort is frequented by muscle guys. These guys aren’t the massive (read turn-off), beefcake men but casual workout guys who spend a lot of time working on their bodies. And thankfully, they’re willing to show them off.

The first thing that struck me about Bintan Lagoon Resort was that it was so beautifully designed, just like the hot bodies of the men. I felt as if I had died and gone to beefcake heaven.

Indonesian Beach Boys – gorgeous, tanned, sexy Indonesian guy hunks who love the sun, beach and surf. Deliciously all tanned and covered in sand. Now this is one beach that I will recommend my girlfriends to check out!

Sure you would love to surf with them.

 

On your way to work, either you are on your car, listening to that radio FM or on that bus/train ride listening to your mp3 on that hip gadget you’ve just got from Funan IT mall, or reading “Today” or “My Paper”. The routine sometimes makes you sick and tired. How you wish you can get away from it, at least for a while.

Work-life in Singapore is filled with stress and competition. I meet many people who are frantically busy. They wear their diaries and Blackberries as badges of honour, proud to be indispensable and wanted by everyone. If you have a lot of responsibilities and worries, you may be running on stress a good portion of the time—launching into emergency mode with every traffic jam, phone call from the in-laws, or segment of the evening news. But the problem with the stress response is that the more it’s activated, the harder it is to shut off. Instead of leveling off once the crisis has passed, your stress hormones, heart rate, and blood pressure remain elevated. When the going gets too tough and life’s demands exceed your ability to cope, stress becomes a threat to both your physical and emotional well-being.

Your fantasise yourself on a beautiful beach with sugar white fine sand, a tropical cooling refreshing cocktail - ICE COLD by your side. You are well-treated like a prince / princess. You are enjoying nice scenery formed by swaying palms trees, nice azure blue sky and sparkling ocean water. You get a very nice massage to relieve all that tension accumulated from all that hard work. Relax in a beach chair watch the sun fade away and listen to the surf. Then you imagine a very nice dinner on a golf course facing the sea, with nice breeze and soft white curtains and soothing candle-light. The feeling of relaxation and calmness, away from that heavy-hassled city. You love it, don’t you?

You must be thinking, it must be difficult to achieve that fantasy. Have to travel all the way to Hawaii. Just the thought of the expensive air fare escalates the stress levels.

Don’t think too far, think near! Just a 55 minutes high speed ferry ride will bring you to Bintan Lagoon Resort which allows your fantasy to come true - with the added convenience of an award-winning staff at your beck and call. Set among lush landscaping, the peaceful intimate setting nestles you into the tropical getaway you’ve been dreaming of. As the premier beachside destination near Singapore, Bintan Lagoon Resort is devoted to a relaxed, tropical lifestyle…and we can help you enjoy every moment of it.

What more should I say? Start planning today.

Your beautiful picture on our resort.

 

 Our sugar white fine sands beach.

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“The Golden Bear”. “Jack Nicklaus is a golfing god who did far more for the game than against it” - Golf Asia Magazine.

When the name Jack Nicklaus is mentioned, most people at least know the name if not what he does for a living and why he’s famous. For those people of questionable mental health who don’t like golf or care about the game whatsoever, they won’t get anything out of learning that Nicklaus won 20 majors or that he can hit a 1-iron better than anyone on the planet.

He is widely regarded as the greatest professional golfer of all time, large part because of his records in major championships. These days, Jack Niklaus builds golf courses around the world. Some of his tops ones that you can play are Cabo del Sol (Ocean Course) in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, The Challenge at Manele in Lanai City, Hawaii, The Ocean Course at Ginn Hammock Beach Resort, Palm Coast, Florida and the Jack Nicklaus Seaview Course in Bintan Lagoon Resort.

Bintan Lagoon Resort has got two exceptionally designed championship 18-hole golf courses. The Jack Nicklaus, designed by the “The Golden Bear” and The Ian Baker-Finch designed by the Australian born professional golfer, best known for winning the Open Championship in 1991.

Jack Nicklaus’s sea-view golf course is most unforgettable for it’s signature hole #12 and #13. If you were on the golf course, hole #1 will be the start of the challenge, on the left side is the sand block and to add on to the obstruction, on the right is the creek block.

The design of the golf path is so facinating that it will actually cause parallax error and yet another challenge for golfers. But what is a beautiful golfing experience without any challenges?

 The Jack Nicklaus sea-view golf course.

 

 The Ian Baker-Finch golf course.

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A pool is one of the any resort’s architectural focal points as well as a place to exercise, unwind or work on a tan after a hard day of business meetings or sightseeing. While a pool does not generate revenue directly, poolside cafes and bars do.

Pools have become the “modern version of singles bars.” There’s a ‘beautiful people’s association. Instead of going to the bar, you go out to the pool.

There’s nothing worse than finding yourself at the wrong resort pool. You’re expecting to spend a sunny weekend splayed out on a lounge chair with nothing but a Sudoku puzzle book and your iPod. But what if, when you arrive at your resort pool, you discover it’s crawling with kids doing cannonballs? Or on the flip side, maybe your family is embarking on a long-awaited resort vacation, anticipating waterslides and lazy rivers but you mistakenly end up at an all-hours over-21 party scene, complete with teeny bikinis and free-flowing piña coladas?

Your vacation by the pool could go horribly, horribly wrong.

But it doesn’t have to.

We have got two pools - one of them with slides and kiddy pools.  This pool is a huge family draw and can keep both kids and parents occupied for hours–as well as cooled off. The other is a lagoon-sized pool with a swim up pool bar which makes a splash with our guests. It’s an oasis retreat with its unique design and breath taking views.

Pack your flip-flops and your goggles and check out the preferred pools in Bintan. Don’t forget your movie stars shades… someone just might mistake you for a famous sun-worshiper while you take in the Bintan island rays.

 

 

The name changes depending on where you are. In Goa, they are called shacks. In Mexico, palapas. In France, clubs. In Greece, beach tavernas. In Bintan, simply beach bars. But their function is the same, to provide their clientele with sufficient food and drink to get them through a long hard day on the beach, while at the same time acting as the beach’s social focus and mood setter.

Our Pasir Panjang Beach bar boasts a large terrace on which you can relax and enjoy the panoramic views of the most beautiful and unspoilt beach in Bintan. People-watching, peanuts and pitchers of Bintang make this longtime dive a splash. Sip mai tais and watch the sunset from the Bintan sand.

It’s hip! Chic! Vogue! and Entertaining!

Go down to SILK, our nightclub / disco / lounge and groove to the hottest music and enjoy the classy ambience of silk curtains and sexy lightings. Remember to toast to one (or more) of our trendy mixes or classic cocktails.

At SILK, live band performance is available every night, (except Monday) and a SILK bus is available for transfers from other hotels nearby.

You won’t be thinking of getting bored. Your day will be packed with fun, from day to night.

 

 

If you are down at Bintan, don’t waste your night away staying in your own room, drop by SILK and it will round up your trip to Bintan perfectly.