Rejuvenation By The Sea

We spent the Hari Raya Puasa long weekend by the sea in Bintan with PF and her family. Being beach zealots, we were dazzled by the breathtaking expanse of emerald ocean, soft taupe sands on the capacious beach and resplendent sunset. Staying 2 nights at the sprawling Bintan Lagoon Resort was truly vivifying, as there were plenty of family activities for rainy days and early evenings.

The Bees enjoyed this short getaway tremendously, being in close proximity and joyous company of friends whom they had grown up with. Big Bee was giggling and chatting with Eugene and Claire, like they were little adults! Little Bee tried to tag along but felt a little left out at times with the big primary school kids, poor girl. However, she would learn fast from them, I am sure! 

Some salient highlights of the getaway:

1) Taking the Emerald Class in the ferry to and fro Bintan. This is highly recommended for sheer comfort and the opportunity to skip the long, bothersome queues at the immigration counter when checking in and out of the ferry terminal. We could even relax in a lounge at Bintan's ferry terminal on our way home, complete with coffee/tea and drinks, while their lounge staff settled the immigration check-in for us! Besides, the seats on Emerald Class were so luxurious, and drinks were served to everyone while we sat comfortably - we felt so pampered!

2) Luxuriating in the spacious, newly renovated hotel room with a large relaxation platform area that the Bees loved! The balcony chairs were wonderful for me to sink my tired body at night, after the Bees slept, listening to nothing but the orchestral music of myriad crickets and insects, perfected by the never-ending whispering of the ubiquitous trees and relentless rhythm of the sighing waves. Witnessing a blast of splendid fireworks from a distance, probably by Hari Raya merrymakers in Bintan. Bliss indeed! 

3) Watching Big Bee and Hubby engaging in a fearsome battle of Laser Quest with Eugene, Claire and their daddy, with timid Little Bee clinging on to me in the dark cavernous war space! The 3 kids and 2 daddies emerged out of the dark, cloaked in large beads of perspiration and pounding hearts after an adrenaline-racing shooting game!

4) Playing table tennis with Little Bee after the gang had expended a good 30 minutes of energy on table tennis tournaments of all kinds - between the fathers, between the big kids and between fathers and kids! Little Bee was happily picking up the ball constantly and my incessant encouragement was making her so motivated and happy! 

5) Seeing Big Bee tumbling and rolling around in a Zorb ball in the pool, feeling protective yet letting go mentally for her to explore on her own. It was also very liberating to just stay with Little Bee who was paddling happily in the baby pool, whilst witnessing how much fun Big Bee was having on her own with her 2 good buddies on the 2 pool slides. They had indeed grown up, freeing themselves from the restricting arms of us, their parents! 

6) Giggling at a laughing and exhilarated Little Bee who was bouncing up and down on a trampoline, falling and getting up, bouncing and falling again. This would be a perfect lesson for a little child like her to learn about the literal ups and downs of life! 

7) Enjoying the resplendent multi-hued sunset at the far-reaching beach at low-tide, watching the 4 kids digging around for tiny hermit crabs, loving the fact that they were truly enjoying nature and were close to creatures of nature, nurturing these creatures and not destroying their habitats. 

8) Getting back on the beach the next morning again, and seeing 2 groups of sandcastles - one under our pavilion by the kids, and another one right under the searing sun by the fathers. It pleased my heart immensely to see the kids indulging in perpetual chatting - not of the rigmarole type these days, but proper discussions about school and life in general, with Little Bee joining in from the side. Seeing the fathers build a gigantic sandcastle, only to be destroyed by the kids eventually. What a wonderful lesson in the transient nature of things on earth :) 

9) Bewitched by awe-inspiring weatherscapes of all kinds - from intense, tangerine hues of the sunset to the vivid sapphire skies dotted with white cotton-like fluffy clouds to apocalyptic, dark menacing clouds hovering like a giant monster over us! Fantastic! 

And finally, nothing beats having all the time in the world on a beach resort to spend time with the Bees - this would be something I will cherish as much as possible before they forge ahead with their own independent lives in future!