As with anything in Indonesia, the place was pretty chill. Very chill. We arrived to find some locals hanging out at the outdoor seating area and we were told that when we were hungry to just let them know and they would get us some food. After dropping off our stuff, we went over and asked for some lunch, and sure enough a short time later we had a huge homemade feast of nasi goreng (fried rice) with egg in front of us. The meals are cooked by Lobo's (the owner) wife. After lunch we headed down to the beach to do some swimming. Luckily I brought some goggles and there were some areas of reef out a ways so we were able to see some fish and find lots of cool shells!
Eventually we noticed it getting pretty stormy and it decided to rain, pretty hard. After watching it for a while we headed in to take a nap...because what else do you do when you're hanging at the beach with nothing else nearby for miles? It was a pretty nice Saturday.
After the rain, I decided to go for a quick evening swim. While Nat was still waking up I enjoyed a dip when suddenly a sharp stinging sensation covered my right arm. At first I didn't realize what was happening, but after a few seconds I realized how severe the pain was. I quickly ran out of the water to find jellyfish tentacles covering my arm. I quickly wiped them off and stomped around in the sand for a while not quite knowing what to do. While I rinsed my arm off in the freshwater shower in our shack, Nat ran over to the locals who told her to bring me there. By the time I got there, they had whipped up a local jellyfish remedy, a paste of salt and mashed bean things.
One week later my entire right arm broke out in an itchy rash and three weeks later I still have two very distinct marks that will likely leave permanent scars. Good times!
Saturday happened to be Lobo's birthday and we were told that a great celebration would be taking place that night! We went down to get some dinner and were surprised with 6 huge plates of food just for the two of us! Just after we finished dinner, Lobo and all of his friends and other guests started singing Happy Birthday and dozens more plates of food came out for everyone to enjoy. We enjoyed the evening visiting with the other guests and Lobo and his friends while eating lots of yummy food and having a few beers...including a local rice alcohol that is apparently 90-proof. Of course the night finished in the late hours of the night singing karaoke, including some John Denver!
The next morning I decided to go for a quick run along the main road. If you ever want to know what it's like being a celebrity athlete, just go for a run in the countryside of a SE Asian country. The color of my skin and the fact that I was running in the sunny heat definitely attracted a lot of attention and I don't think one child or adult missed a "hello" or a wave as I passed. It was pretty motivating!
After the run and some breakfast, I didn't really feel like jumping in the water after yesterday's traumatic experience so we walked around the countryside and the beach a bit taking some nice pictures.
Eventually it started raining again so we took cover, got some lunch and played some cards in the pleasantly cool afternoon before a van took us back to the ferry terminal and our departure. Overall, I was really impressed with Bintan, especially since it's so affordable and easy to get to. The beach was incredible and the locals, as always, were delightful. I would definitely go back and would recommend the Shady Shacks to anyone looking for something a little bit different and out of the way.
