Bintan A Paradise in Its Own Right

A visit to Bintan offers you an insight into its illustrious past as well as its promising future in the realm of tourism.

Bintan, an island in the Riau Islands province, has a beautiful coastline that runs about 100 kilometers, most of which comprises pristine white sandy beaches.

Located a 30-minute ferry ride from Batam or 45 minutes away from Singapore by a high-speed catamaran, Bintan is the largest of no less than 3,200 islands in the Riau archipelago.

It is often described as a unique paradise, where life is simple and its multicultural population of some 200.000 people – mostly Javanese, Buginese and Chinese – are friendly and live in harmony.

Bintan was initially part of the Riau Province, but to accommodate post-reform separatist sentiments the government and the House of Representatives agreed to spin off Riau Islands as a separate province in July 2004 with Tanjung Pinang as its capital.

In visiting Bintan, most holidaymakers and pleasure-seekers head straight to Bintan Resort where life seldom moves beyond sitting by swimming pools sipping gin tonics at luxury hotels, snorkeling, fishing, canoeing and wind surfing. Its all-year round sunny weather allows for upscale activities such as golfing, jet-skiing, sailing, diving and island hopping.
Most tourism activities are concentrated on the north coast around Lagoi, while the east coast is still unspoiled and worth a visit.

To those with a passion for facts and figures: there are seven international hotels, four resorts and three international golf courses with 36 holes in Bintan Resort, covering 23,000 hectares, designed by Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus and Greg Norman.

Comparisons to Bali’s tourist enclave Nusa Dua is inevitable but this is hardly an-apple-to-apple exercise. While the resort island is by all measures unique and distinctive to the point of being in a class of its own, Bintan has sufficient drawing power to attract large numbers of tourists from Europe, Japan and South Korea (and, of course, Singapore) and foreign companies to hold their annual meetings.

Local tourist guidebooks trace Bintan back to the 13th century, when the island was a part of the magnificent Sriwijaya Empire of what is now South Sumatra.

As historical data show, Sri Tri Buana, a member of the royal family of Palembang, visited Riau Islands in 1290 and joined forces with the island’s ruler to take over Bintan and later became its king.

Since then Bintan has become a perennial battleground involving the Malacca and Johor sultanates, the Portuguese, the Buginese, the Acehnese and the Dutch because of its strategic location as a port and trade center in the region.

But when the British in 1819 discovered and developed Singapore to became a regional trading center, Bintan’s stature diminished enormously. The island experienced a permanent reversal of political and trading fortune and today remains overshadowed by neighboring Batam and Singapore.

“In the 1980s, the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore initiated the Sijori (Singapore, Johor and Indonesia) Growth Triangle and signed agreements to invest in Bintan and Batam, the latter once a deserted island that was turned into a special bonded zone,” says, Abdul Waahab, the Singaporean general manager of Nirwana Gardens. (See also Travel Notes.)

Singapore also signed a special agreement with Indonesia to lease its northern coast and develop it into a resort called Bintan Resort. The powerful Salim Group was then brought in to join forces with Singapore’s equally powerful business group, Sembawang, to develop the area.

It now features excellent infrastructure and is home to such luxury and exclusive entities such as Nirwana Gardens, Club Mediteranee, Bintan Lagoon and Banyan Tree.
Says Wahab: “About 5000 people are employed in this resort.”

At one time Bintan saw huge investments coming their way, including industrial parks that many Japanese and American companies use as their manufacturing base.

For some reasons, not the least the global economic crisis, that lustre has slightly worn off. But that has not prevented Bintan to remain as a popular tourist destination with its own brand of allure.

Places of Interest in Bintan

1. Tanjung Pinang
   The main and busy port town, where trader and passenger ships link all parts of Indonesia with Singapore. In many ways, the city reminds us of Bogor in West Java some 20 years ago, as it transforms itself from a quaint and rustic place into a city teeming with ATMs and internet kiosks.
2. Tanjung Uban
   The second largest town after Tanjung Pinang, on the north western coast of Bintan Island. Along the seaside is a charming boardwalk called “Pelantar” with houses, accommodations and restaurants built above the sea, where you can
   buy art works and handicrafts.
3. Senggarang Island
   Visit the over 300 years old banyan tree temple.
   Another temple is also on hand, Xuan Tian Shang-di, named after a Chinese ruler.
4. Penyengat Island
   15 Minutes away away from Tanjung Pinang by motor-powered sampan boat.
   Spend some time at a 200-year-old well-maintained grand mosque of the Sultan of Riau, an old palace and royal tombs, and a typical Riau traditional house.
5. Pantai Trikora
   A beach on the east coast where the sand is white and the water clean, a great place for relaxation. Visit also a nearby fishing village and a small traditional boat building facility.
   

What to do in Bintan

1. Mountain Biking
   The quiet, hilly and well-maintained roads of Bintan are ideal for biking.
2. Bintan Elephant Park
   Seven Sumatran elephants beckon you to an interactive adventure by offering you a ride into the forest.
3. Gunung Bintan Adventure Trek
   The 340-meter high mountain of Gunung Bintan offers visitors breathtaking panoramic views from the summit.
   Bintan’s rainforest features giant trees and rare animals.
4. Mangrove Discovery Tour
   The beauty and mystique of Bintan’s flora and fauna.

Getting There

You can reach Bintan from Batam Island, Singapore or Malaysia (Johor Baru) by scheduled ferries. Bintan has a small airport in Kijang serving domestic flights to and from Jakarta.

Garuda Indonesia flies daily to Batam, 21 times per week.

Source : garudamagazine

Posted in: Destinations, Marine