This was the veiw from our teak balcony at the Deserted Hotel. Did I mention we were the only guests? We walked to a fishing village nearby for food, because the hotel had none.  

This is a shot of the Deserted Hotel. Zaime brought us to this hotel on the east side, north of Kilan. This used to be a heavily used destination for locals and Singaporeans, but the developments on the north side of the island have diverted all of the tourist flow.  

At one point when we were near Kilan, on the east side of Bintan, at a deserted hotel, we decided to walk back to the main highway and try our hand a hitching. There weren't many opportunities to hop on a truck, but we were offered several ojeck or cycle rides. One came from our new friend Moh'med, who wanted to take photos with us and chat a while. The temp was near 100F, and I was vermillion and soaked with sweat. Matt doesn't sweat. At any rate, Moh'med was proud to wear his leather Honda jacket to protect him from flying insects on the road. 

Matt had a good long chat with mom at the little cabana we had at Mana Mana. These were really nice little cabins with great views, but Matt brought his own hammock. 

This is our Bintan, Indonesia "fixer", Zamie. He can do anything. I met him on a previous trip to the island, when he arranged a cab and we spent a day driving through several kampungs. I especially liked the east side of the island. The north end is basically Singapore's back yard....all resorts, all expats or Singaporeans, none of it really Indonesian. Zaime showed me the real Indonesia of Bintan, and it was a wonderful experience. So this weekend, when Matt and I were en route to Bintan via a ferry (which stalled out and floated a few times), we phoned up Zaime to invite him for coffee. We went to a small shop near the mayor's office in Tangung Pinang. The local drum corps were presenting for the office, and it was a fantastic touch to kopi jaha, or ginseng coffee.

Matt and I were just too fast for time on this one. Dinner at Bintan Mana Mana beach club over Labor Day weekend. 

Dry day at the beach

Today, Matt and I headed to East Coast Park. We headed out mid-day via the MRT with day packs, cameras, skateboard, and toys in hand. But we did not bring water. Unfortunately, we miscalculated the walking distance from the Bedok train station and the East Coast Park. We started walking Eastward for what should have been one really long block followed by a short one, and then blue water. Instead it was a really long walk in the mid-day sun without a hint of shade. We had to cool down a bit before hitting the pathway for skateboarding and rental-bike riding. Oddly, we didn't enter the water today.....too many tanker ships and grey sheen over turquoise water, I guess. But it was a good windy day for those at the windsurfing park....

Lone Windsurfer

These are windsufers at Singapore's East Coast Parks

This is a snapshot on the hike to Priekestolen (pulpit rock), in southwest Norway in Februrary. 

Greetings!

This is my first entry in my first blog. Bear with me...more nuggets coming soon.
Watch this space!

A morning stroll in Bergen, without rain! Anita, Sam and I made a girls' weekend out event in Bergen.

Crystalline snow.

Sunset at Orrestrand Beach, south of Stavanger.

We gave up driving much further soon after this, when the snow and wind really picked up, and it was too hard to discern shapes any longer or variations of white, making it difficult to determine the road