Hi, Internet friends!
Happy Good Friday! Regardless of whether you celebrate this holiday or not, I'm sure we're all thankful for the much needed break. I don't know about you, but I really needed this one. Ming is currently back on Easter break. However, I am still plagued by school and so we thought it would be nice to go somewhere to catch up with each other. We had plans for either Phuket or Hong Kong but... with my school assignments and tests looming, we decided to go somewhere nearer.
Bintan.
Bintan has many resorts. Ultimately, we chose The Canopi, a 7-month old resort. It is owned by the Genting Group. The resort priced themselves rather reasonably compared to the other luxury resorts such as the Banyan Tree and Sanchaya. Disclaimer: I am not sponsored by the resort. Everything is as honest as it can be. If you're interested in going to The Canopi, you might want to keep reading...
One of the weirdest travel experiences
So, upon arrival at the Bintan Resorts Ferry Terminal, we found ourselves looking around for directions until we noticed this lone signboard with "Canopi guests this way please." written on it. It pointed us in a direction that was away from the general crowd, towards an unlit room with a single lady inside. It was in the day, so... why not? Everything seems less scary and less unforgiving when there's light.
Lady at the counter: Canopi?
We nodded.
Lady at the counter: Ok, passports please.
We handed over the passports.
Lady at the counter: Ok. This is the express lane. I will take your passports and you can collect it at your hotel.
Ming was like "??????" Well, I too found it odd but it wasn't enough for me to NOT say "okay". I smiled and together with the lady, we cruised through the immigration gate while everyone else was still queueing on the other side. We found ourselves at the entrance where we waited for our hotel staff to pick us up. This was when Ming started to get reaaaaally anxious and p/s his anxiety is reaaaaally contagious as well. So, I started to doubt myself.
Long story short, we got our passports back and apparently, it is TOTALLY normal. Weird huh? So...... if you happened to encounter the same thing, don't freak out or go against it; just go with the flow, I guess?
"We have the lagoon all to ourselves"
Currently, they have 40 tents. When we were there only 12 of these were occupied. The place was huge..... and we literally had the lagoon all to ourselves (cause everyone else was busy doing activities outside of the resort).
Here is also what was odd: when we were booking our tent on the website, a good 70% of the tents were fully booked. The system works in such a way that it allows you to reserve your tent way beforehand and only pay for it upon your arrival. I guess many of those who did reserve, did not show up in the end. So, if you ever find yourself in a sticky situation where there are no tents left to reserve, email the resort immediately and they might be able to find something for you *wink*.
We got the Safari tent through a promotion, so we paid SGD$240 for 2 nights.
Since some of you found the Asos Inspired: Pomelo's post useful, I thought I could do something similar with what I wore in Bintan haha. Most of them are from Revolve Clothing (www.revolveclothing.com) and I am sure you have seen many other beautiful fashion bloggers wearing pieces from them. Revolve carries a lot of cool brands, some of which I find retailing for cheaper price than on comparable sites like Nastygal or Asos. So, something for you to consider yeah?
"Everything also must pay"
Yeappppp. That statement above makes us sound like a pair of right ol' sourpusses but legit, you have to pay for every activity there is to do on the island. It was a bit of a downer because... some things ought to be free? Beach towel - have to pay. Float - have to pay (per hour). Water activities - pay up please. Just to be clear, Ming and I do not expect everything to be free. We understand the need to maximise profits, but they seemed to charge for everything so... if we didn't pay, there really wasn't anything we could do.
Some of these water activities, due to their steep prices, did not seem very attractive. There were land activities too like ATV riding but those weren't available during the time we were there so, we spent most of our time lazing in the lagoon or pool, whatever they want to call it, and in the tent.
Oh! We did pay for an activity though. It seemed to be the most reasonable one of all - an hour-long mangrove kayaking session $60 for two. Not too bad. Not too bad.
"Ahem... Ming got a new camera"
In case you're wondering how come Irina's pictures are now so high-res now.... well, Ming got a new camera. He's been waiting to fully maximise it so... why not in Bintan right? He's really not too bad of a photographer. I had fun being his subject haha.
Ming - Some of these are taken using the iPhone. DO NOT BE FOOLED.
I wouldn't say it was a must-do activity. It really depends on your personal preferences. It wasn't anything terribly exciting but it was definitely calming and soothing for the soul. The surroundings were rather quiet, with only the gentlest hints of birds chirping. A question you might be interested in: A lot of mosquitoes?
No. The staff was kind enough to give us mosquito repellent.
Tips: Do not order the BBQ
There was an option to order a DIY BBQ dinner. They have prawns, wings and the other typical BBQ stuff. To be fair, we didn't opt for the BBQ. This was simply due to bad reviews on Tripadvisor, and not because we tried it and didn't like it. If you happen to try it and enjoy it, power to ya mate!
For all you know, by the time you do decide to visit the Canopi, the resort might have vastly improved on its F&B offerings. Failing this, you can always opt for the safer choices at the resort's restaurant. We ordered the pepperoni pizza and nasi goreng. It wasn't phenomenal, but it was alright. It could have been much worse really. We had a really good simple night that we didn't mind at all.
Price range: Probably above $30? I'll check with Ming for this.
Ming - hahahahaha $40.
(bouncy castle? O$P$.....)
Emma Bikini from @herthelabel
"Safari Tent is just fine"
There were other tents with views of the lagoon and private jacuzzis available. We looked at these tents, which were priced higher than our own tent, and still thought that the Safari had the most value for money. The jacuzzis were rather small and placed just outside the tent... it's not very private at all. As for the rooms with the lagoon view, they were maybe 15 steps closer to the pool than Safari tent... and hey guys, it's only 15 steps (or more?). Plus, it was nice walking around the area.
The place is still heavily under construction so... at 7AM, you'll hear the sounds of machines and trucks. If you're a light sleeper, don't. Only visit Canopi... maybe half a year later when the construction has more or less died down.
One of the most important information you might want to know: the wifi signal was reasonably strong. I managed to stream and watch a movie hehe.
One of the cutest rompers I have ever owned:
I wore this out on our date night when Ming had just come back.
Other random information:
1. Where you should go for dinner: Rin Restaurant
The price range is definitely pricey. A simple California maki goes for approx. SGD18? However, the restaurant is located by the beach. It had a really beautiful view. Ming justified the price with not-too-bad food, great service, sea breeze and amazing view. I won't deny these one bit. Rin is 10 minutes away from Canopi. We paid approx. SGD25 for return transport.
2. Which resort you shouldn't stay in in Bintan: Nirwana Gardens
Rin Restaurant is located in Nirwana Gardens, another resort in Bintan. We went for a stroll after dinner and ended up near the concierge. We asked the Nirwana Gardens staff for a simple favor: to call our driver to pick us up. The staff said "Sorry, we can't do that. You have to call from your room and you will be charged." We were like.... "ok???" So, we walked back to Rin. The staff at Rin, which is a separately owned entity from Nirwana btw, were so sweet. One of the waitresses called our driver using her mobile phone and another got us tea while we were waiting. I love understanding people like them. It makes life so much more worth living.
Pssssst!!! In case you're interested in any of their pieces,
Revolve is having an exclusive 3-day sales (starting today) for Singapore!!!!!!
You're welcome hehe.
Love you guys!
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Also, I'm thinking of holding a private flea! It will, of course, be slightly less accessible than the public fleas. It'll be fun, I promise! If you're interested, do email me at it.yt@live.com and I'll be sending over a private invite if it's really happening! Look forward to your email!
P/S If you're worried about seeing ONLY my clothes and my style, fret not, I've other friends with other styles and clothing sizes to sell their stuff too! So it'll be diversified and rly cool! :-)
