BINTAN ISLAND

Still in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. Bintan Island is the largest island in Riau Islands Province. An island with about 1140 km², is a place where the capital city of Riau Islands Province, Tanjung Pinang, located in. The Bintan Island is also located about 50 km off Singapore south’s coast.

There are so many places that we can visited in Bintan Island and you will stunned by the beauty of nature which is dominated by beaches!!! :)

Where? Where? Where to Go?

Tanjung Pinang, Kijang, Kawal, Trikora Beach, Senggarang, Mapur Island, Tanjung Uban and Lagoi (Bintan Resort sites).

Tanjung Pinang is a capital city of Riau Islands Province. This city is a main port town in Bintan Island. Tourism objects that you can visited here are:

Penyengat Island, which is 2 miles off Tanjung Pinang sea port, Sri Bintan Pura, or about 15 minutes long. Some of tourism objects here are, Temple, The oldest ruler's palace and royal tombs , among them the grave of the book respected Sultan Haji, author of the first Malay language grammar book among the legacies left by the Riau sultanate.

One of the most populous tourism object in Penyengat Island is Masjid Raya Sultan Riau (Sultan of Riau Grand Mosque). This mosque was built in 1832 by people of Penyengat in that era. The uniqueness of this mosque is that in its construction, they used egg whites as a mixture of cement for the walls of the mosque. In this mosque, you can see the handwritten Al-Quran, also a closet of royal library of Riau-Lingga, which its door was carved with Islamic calligraphies that symbolizes the culture of Islamic was growing rapidly at that time.

Masjid Raya Sultan Riau

Trikora Beach, which is well known because of its beauty of white sands, located about 65km from town.

Sun Rise at Trikora Beach

The artificial beaches which is located on coastline of city center.

Senggarang is the name of a small village on the island of Bintan. Many locals believe that Senggarang was the first home for Chinese immigrants long time ago, who then spread throughout the other islands of Riau. You can witness the 200 year old ancient temple known as Banyan Tree temple. Banyan Tree Temple carries a rich historical story on how the tree mysteriously formed around the temple. Other temples not to be missed are the temple of Xuan Tian Shang-di, ruler of the North Pole Star, with its complex Chinese architecture.

Sebung Village, is a place not to be missed for the Seafood lovers. ;)
 
Gunung Bintan (Bintan Mountain). A mountain with about 340 m of height will give you, nature lovers, a challenge to do trekking through Bintan’s rainforest and see the giant trees which are more than 40 meters tall. Catch at glimpse of rare animals the Silver Leaf monkey, Sun Birds, eagles and many more. Step under the waterfall to receive a shower of blessings according to local tradition.

Gunung Bintan

Lagoi!

Lagoi is an integrated tourism area which is very popular in Bintan. Here, you can find many resorts that offer you the convenience during your holidays while enjoying tranquility and natural beauty of Bintan Island. Some of the resorts here are Banyan Tree Hotels &Resorts, Angsana Hotels & Resorts, Nirwana Gardens.

Bintan Beach

Nirwana Infinity Pool

Bintan Agro Beach Resort Spa

Many things to do in Bintan!

Water Sports, Paint Ball, All-Terrain Vehicle, Bintan Elephant Park, Spa, Mountain Biking, Go-Kart, Mangrove Discovery Tour, Traditional Fishing Tour, and many more that you should experience yourself!!!
(see more: http://www.welcometobintan.com/about.asp)

Mapur Island

Snorkeling at Mapur Island

Snorkeling at Mapur Island

References:

http://www.welcometobintan.com/

http://www.welcometobintan.com/gallery.asp 

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kota_Tanjungpinang

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulau_Penyengat

http://www.iftfishing.com/city/featured/wisata/sejarah/wisata-sejarah-pulau-penyengat   

BATAM ISLAND

Batam is an island that is located in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia. Batam is one of the most populous island in Indonesia. It’s strategic location, as a Free Trade Zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, made this island and city visited by many domestic and foreign investor to expand their business. So that, Batam is well known as an Industrial City.

Geographically, Batam is located 20 km off Singapore’s south coast,  east of Karimun and Bulan Island, west of Bintan Island, and north of Rempang Island.

There is one airport, Hang Nadim International Airport, and some of domestic and international seaports in Batam.


The origin tribe of Batam is Malayan. There are many dances here, such as Jogi dance, Zapin dance, which reflects strong Arabic influence, Persembahan dance, to welcome honored guests, and also Ronggeng dance, where the guests can be invited to come up and join the dance.

What object could I visit here?

There are so many tourism objects you can visit in Batam, such as beaches, temple, shopping centre, and also the historical building.

MahaVihara Duta Maitreya, is a largest Buddhist Temple in Southeast Asia, is located in Batam Center.

Batam offers you many places to do water sport that you can find in almost resorts located in Nongsa Beach and Waterfront City. Batam also has some international golf courses that have ever exists in Indonesia. Some of them are Tering BayGolf, Southlinks Golf, Paradise Bay Golf, Palm Spring Golf, Indah Puri Golf.

Another tourism object that you should visit in Batam is Barelang Bridge. Barelang (BAtam – REmpang – GaLANG) is an icon of Batam. This bridge connects some islands; they are Batam Island, Tonton Island, Nipah Island, Rempang Island, Galang Island, and Galang Baru Island (New Galang Island). There are six bridges which is connecting those islands. Here, you also can visit historical places where the former Vietnam refugees’ camp is located. In some area around Barelang Bridge, you can find many farms where the nutrient-rich fruit is cultivated, dragon fruit! In addition, you can see the natural beauty while you walk through the bridge.

Barelang Bridge

Being interested to go to Batam? Let’s traveling!

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batam
http://www.batam.com/
http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jembatan_Barelang
   
 

INDONESIA

Yup! Because I am Indonesian, so the first country I would like to post in this blog is INDONESIA! :)

The country that is rich of islands has been well known in the world! Because there are so many islands in Indonesia, so that Indonesia was known as an Archipelago Country. There are five main islands in Indonesia; Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi, and Papua, and others are the medium and small island that is scattered in every area in Indonesia! Wow! Can you imagine how wonderful this country is! ;)

Well, actually Indonesia is a country located in Southeast Asia. Together with 9 other countries, Indonesia incorporated into a regional organization named ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Many things can we discussed about Indonesia. But, of course the things I will discuss here is not all, folks! Only things that related to traveling! Whoohooo….! Can’t wait to explore Indonesia?? Come on, follow me! ;)

Located in hemisphere with the astronomical position: 6ºLU - 11ºLS and 95ºBT - 141ºBT make some cities and islands in Indonesia are traversed by the equator! Pontianak (West Kalimantan) and Bonjol (West Sumatra) are the cities traversed by the Equator. Moreover, the Equator is also traverses some islands in Indonesia, they are: The Batu Islands, Sumatra, the Lingga Islands, Borneo, Sulawesi, Kayoa and Halmahera Islands, Gebe Islands. How interesting! Some other impression thing of Indonesia’s location is because Indonesia is flanked by two large continents: Asia and Australia, and two large oceans: Pacific and Indian.

 

Indonesia has a tropical climate, so that Indonesia is also rich in tropical forests. There are many types of plants and animals that can be found in Indonesia, and one of rare animals in the world is also exist in this country, KOMODO!  The Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis), also known as the Komodo monitor, can be found in the Indonesian islands of Komodo, Rinca, Flores, Gili Motang and Gili Dasami. Here, you can visit Indonesia’s Komodo National Park that was built to protect the Komodo dragon. Komodo was being the finalist of The New 7 Wonders in the World! Wanna vote? Visit: http://nature.new7wonders.com/archives/wonder/komodo  .

There are also so many tropical fruits in Indonesia. The land in Indonesia is fertile, so it is suitable to plant various kinds of plants here. :)

In addition, Indonesia also rich in culture! Just imagine, there are hundreds of tribes in Indonesia! And each tribe has a different language and culture! However, we are all one, INDONESIA! That’s why, in Indonesia we have a famous slogan called “BHINEKA TUNGGAL IKA”, means “Though many different, but we are One!” Each tribe is scattered in all regions in Indonesia. And this makes each region in Indonesia is unique; food, dance, language, customs and culture, even more the product of work of each tribe! That’s why this country so amazing! Don’t you amaze with all of these things?

Well, beside rich in culture, Indonesia is also rich in natural object that can become tourist attractions! There are beaches, lakes, waterfalls, hot springs, mountains, islands, rivers, marine parks, and historic sites! WOW! Really exciting, huh?! Therefore, Indonesia is very suitable for the traveler who wants to explore the beauty of nature and also want to learn new culture!

Because there are so many places to go in Indonesia, so I will divide the traveling information into several posts. Keep follow my postings in this blog! Happy Traveling! God bless you! \(^_^)/ 

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equator

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon