As my Girls say, "It's the return of Ibu"

My idea of solitude

Fraternal Twins

Bracing themselves

Quenched

Raindrop (taken by Adrian)

Sammy the resident Squirrel

Monica's morning stroll outside our chalet

After the best shampoo I've ever had.
Photo below shows husband bobbing in water.

while I decided to play it cool

Waiting for the sunset at the Kelong area

And now for the Spa.

The entrance

The waiting room

The back courtyard

One of the massage rooms

The Pavilion. Sigh.

It was so nice to go back to Mayang Sari, even though we'd just been there in March. The welcome was warm, as usual; Sumadi was waiting for us outside of immigration this time, and surprise to us, whisked us through a special immigration channel, getting our passports stamped later on his own. I wish this could happen all the time.

Being a weekday, it was quiet at the resort, and I got some much needed rest. This time, I was earlier asked if we'd take Lobster 4 because our Octopus block was assigned to a group and the Manager thought I'd prefer to be farther away. It was not the best location, but still facing the sea. It rained on the first day, so I took off to the spa and signed up for the South Seas Massage which "stimulates blood circulation and the lymphatic system, working at a very deep level to ease muscle tension". Just what I needed. The rhythmic rainfall, together with the practised kneading of my therapist, helped release the stresses of the last show. Upon my return, I discovered my husband curled up in bed, watching TV, taking advantage of the inclement weather. Day 2 saw me again at the Kedaton Spa, this time luxuriating in the Exotic Coconut Treat - 130 minutes of bliss, which included almost a hour's massage with warm coconut oil, then being wrapped for half an hour, then showering in the little open courtyard of the Pavilion set in the back garden, amidst fresh air, with the sound of crickets and birds. How good is that? Mischa can attest to how wonderful it is.

Photography took over much of our time, as we were getting to know our cameras a bit better. I think we've taken almost all there is to take within the resort, and as usual, our best laid-out plans to doing the long walks outside the resort never panned out. Once Mayang Mode sets in, all we want to do is sit on the patio and watch the waves. Day 3 - our second last day there - and I still needed some lurve. Got it with the Creme Bath Hair treatment - 90 glorious minutes of shampooing, conditioning, and the best head massage I've ever had. Fingertips providing pressure all over the head... my kind of heaven. It lasted almost an hour and ended with my hair being steamed, and the result was soft, flyaway hair and I loved it. Evidence of said soft, flyaway hair can be seen above! All spa treatments came courtesy of SES!

Needless to say, my husband took to the sea many times a day, and I joined him twice. It was very hot and I decided to not increase my present pigmentation spot! We actually saw a family of 3 pomfrets swimming around us! As for the fauna, there was a squirrel who tried a couple of times to come up to our patio as there was an apple core he had picked up from somewhere and had left there the night before. But just as we reached for the camera, he took off. One of the resident monitor lizards was seen sauntering along our garden path, quite unconcerned.

Alas, as all good things must come to an end, we said our goodbyes to our favourite resort. We had again brought gifts for the children of the staff that we've known for the last few years. We sadly do not see very much in our lives, the pleasure such small things can bring. These people are so nice, and it appalls us to see fellow countrymen treat them abominably, without pleases and thank yous. We were proud to see Indra, a waiter we knew from so many years ago, now become Asst F&B Manager in charge of the 3 resorts. He saw us walking to breakfast and gave us a ride to Nirwana, and took us on the "scenic route" - his English having improved considerably, and we learnt that he will be taking part in the Bintan triathlon next week, and that he came in second last year. There's our favourite Sumadi the Bell Man and the room boys Eri and Taufik, who are struggling to bring up a family on what I imagine to be a totally miserable salary. Eri has in the past offered us the use of his motor bike; perhaps next time... I can just see my flyaway hair blowing in the wind.

We've been asked why always Bintan ? "There's nothing to do!"
Good enough reason for us.