Bintan Trip 2010

8th November 2010 is the day where the journey begins and now all 35 innovians had set a history to be remembered for a lifetime after the 3 day camp trip to Bintan, Indonesia. Before I start writing about my reflection during the Bintan trip, I would like to thank my teachers and not forgetting my lovely instructors who have guide us along the way to the different places in Bintan.

Day One...
When we first arrived at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, I could not wait to board the ferry to Bintan as it was my first time boarding a ferry. After the ferry start making its way to Bintan Ferry Terminal I feel a bit giddy but luckily I managed to overcome that feeling and felt better after eating a sweet. Then we had our breakfast by the seaside in front of the ferry terminal. Straight after that, we head to Mount Bintan :) On the way there, my instructor asked us to sing a few songs that we all know to break the silence in the bus...I think it is a good idea as we would not feel awkward due to keeping quiet for about an hour. It was also a great opportunity for us to know our instructor better. When we first trek up the mountain, the path was quite clear but when we trek higher up the mountain, the path gets slippery and it was harder to climb. That was when we had to support each other or support on trees in order not to slip off. Teamwork was greatly appreciated during that time. I did slide a couple of times but luckily I did not fell. Then as the path gets even more slippery, I began to get worried. I am not sure if I could make it to the summit of the mountain but when I see a lot of my friends cheering me on I finally made the right choice to continue climbing the mountain. I was glad that I managed to climb up and down the mountain safely. Finally we checked into our resort room and have a nice bathe before having dinner at the resort. We then played a mini game which I would definitely teach my family members the way to play the game:)

Day two...
For day two, the schedule is way different from day one. We visited more places on day two than compared to day one. Here are the places that we visited in sequence...

• Fish Collection Centre
• Landfill
• Water Village
• Ramayana Shopping Centre
• Orphanage

At the Fish Collection Centre, I saw an elderly man cutting off the fins of sharks and then throwing the meat of the shark away. I really hope that people should eat lesser of fin's shark and try to protect them instead of killing them and putting them in a high risk of getting extinct. Next we went to the landfill where people actually live there. It was really a sad thing to see people live there as they have no other choice but to live near the landfill. Then we visited the water village. I was glad to be given the chance to actually go to the water village as we don't really see all these in Singapore. Then we went shopping at Ramayana Shopping Centre which was about 5 minutes away from the Ayam Penyet Restaurant. We went shopping for the orphans which we will be visiting them after we shopped for them. Finally we visited the orphans. I really pity them and was impressed at how strong they are even after they actually lost their parents. Though they look happy, I'm sure there is one thing deep down in their heart that definitely could not be cured which was them losing their parents and their loved ones. When we reached there, the first thing we did was we perform to them our dance. Then we spent time with them by making a mask with them. After that we actually have to make a paper aeroplane and the aeroplane that lands the furthest actually wins. Time passed so fast and it was time for us to leave the orphans. With heavy hearts, I forced myself to leave the orphans and head to our buses. Some of my friends even cried. Then we went to a seafood restaurant to have our dinner and most of us cried AGAIN when we are having the parent child bonding there. After dinner, we had a mini karaoke where everyone had an enjoyable time there! The boys sang as loud as they can and none of them bothered about what is happening around them. Our instructors brought us to the beach in front of the resort and sang a meaningful song called 'Linger'. Without us knowing their plans, they told us to look at the sky and count from 10 to 1...the moment we finish counting, we saw fireworks! I was touched that they go through all that trouble just for us.

Day three...
It is a day where everyone says goodbye to the instructors and packed their bags before leaving the resort. During our free time, our teachers allowed us to visit the convenience store to buy souvenirs for our family and ourselves. I really enjoyed the trip and I wished there were more trips like this. At the end of the day I realized how fortunate I am to live in Singapore feeling comfortable than compared to the other countries. I am considered very lucky to have a proper place to stay and a country which is safe and modern. I also learned to appreciate my parents better and not to take them for granted as there are children with no parents. This is really a trip that I would NEVER forget. I may forget some of the activities I've did before but I will definitely NOT forget the wonderful time I had with all my friends,teachers and instructors...:)

Here are the pictures taken in Bintan...

Here is a photo of me and Liyana on the ferry:)

Here is a photo of us at the summit of Mount Bintan. However, there are a few people who did not managed to reach the summit of the mountain.

Here is photo of sharks without their fins. It is really a sad thing to know that people actually kill them just for their fin.....

Here is a photo of jellies in eggshells. Aren't they cute? Hehe...


Here is a photo of a house at the water village. There were also houses made of aluminium and there are many shops there too.

Here is a photo of us with the orphans at the orphanage. We sure had a great time getting to know them all. I wish someday I could meet them again :)

Ahah! Here is a photo of the seafood restaurant! Nice right? Not only that the food here is also quite delicious!

The scenery in the morning. Isn't it beautiful? We are all having our breakfast during that time! It's so beautiful that I cannot resist not taking the picture of this scenery...:)

Here is a photo of a pond in front of our resort room. However this pond looks familiar....hmmm...

Hehe yup that's us with our favourite instructor, Instructor Zul :) Thanks for making us laugh a lot aite Instructor Zul! Now we all sure miss you:)

Another photo of the class. This time all of us are all ready to leave the resort and go to Singapore to go back home and meet our family members. What a trip!