Week 14 was another good week, though it was a short one. This week we had Friday off as it was Good Friday which is a national holiday in Singapore. As such we were lucky enough to go to Bintan which is an island in Indonesia. Bintan is like Bali but bigger and is home to jungles and multiple resorts. The resort we stayed at was called Nirwana, which is a family friendly resort on the north west end of the island.
We got on a ferry in Singapore early on Friday. The ferry was cool and it was great to get a feel for what the distance is like between these large islands such as Indonesia and Singapore. Though on a map they look as if they are very close together they are in fact quite far away as the ferry ride was about an hour and a half.
We were very fortunate the weather was so good the two days we were there. It was sunny and we got almost no rain, which seems to be rare in this part of the world. It was warm and the resort was beachfront which made for great conditions to lay in the sun all day and get very sunburnt. There was an amazing pool which was huge with a floating bar. We spent a lot of time in the pool and even more time laying in hammocks doing absolutely nothing. Though there were fun activities to do on the island we didn’t do any of the big ones as we were being monetarily conscious. I did go bowling on the Sunday we were leaving as I was too sunburnt to do anything outside.
For dinner we went to an Indian restaurant one night and a Seafood Restaurant the other. The Indian place was really good. It was so far the best Indian food I have had in this part of the world. I had Chicken Tikka Masala, Garlic naan, and white rice. It was expensive, though it was very good. The second night at the fish place the set menu was served family style, as such I would have a hard time naming what I ate. Everything was very good though and from what I knew we had great chicken, great rice, and great crab. They also served a great mango pudding for dessert.
Overall I am very grateful Bucknell was able to provide me with this incredible opportunity to go to Bintan. It was a beautiful trip and I hope to go back at some point again.
To wrap up because this is my my final blog, I would like to say what an incredible experience this abroad semester has been. I have been to new countries, I have interacted with more cultures, and its not even over yet. I am so grateful to have had these experiences and would recommend this program to anyone even remotely interested. From the beaches of Sydney to the hustle of Singapore and everything in between, it has been a truly life changing experience for which I am so grateful.
