We decided to circumnavigate the large Pulau Bintan and visit some of the small surrounding islands on route. Once we got going we sailed to Tanjung Pinang the main town on Bintan.

The sea food restaurant near the quay, which we had discovered on our way up from Belitung, was built out over the water so we arrived by dinghy to climb a bamboo ladder and find a table much to the surprise of some of the diners overlooking the water. We were taken to the kitchens to select our fish and crabs.  We had delicious steamed black crab, salty egg crab which was yummy, squid, fish and an assortment of Asian vegetables and sambal. This was a secular restaurant so we were able to have drinks and had a toast to our first cruise landing – a great evening. Next morning we were able to leave the dinghy tied up at the restaurant whilst stocking up on fresh produce from Tanjung Pinang’s lovely traditional market which was great fun and provided all our Christmas goodies including a fine barramundi for roasting with lemons.

The highlight of this mini-cruise was Nikoi, a small private island that we booked into as day guests for pre-Christmas pampering and fun.

This is a resort with a difference as it has been designed and constructed for social and environmental sustainability. The buildings are just beautifully elegant following an ancient design but are made from driftwood weathered by salt water and the rooves are traditional alang grass thatch. No air-con, the bungalows are open to the breeze and the roof design sucks cool air up through the building much like the riads of Morocco. Nothing is painted; the weathered wood is silky smooth so there is virtually no chemical impact here.

As you can tell, we find this place amazing and to top it all the food is excellent. Everything is meticulous but feels very relaxed; the staff is very well trained and service is attentive but not intrusive. They are extremely welcoming of day visitors and having a yacht at anchor just off their quay was perfect. The island is booked out most of the time, it looks set to be one of the beacons of responsible Tourism in Asia; we are so pleased to have discovered it because we all had a wonderful time.

As well as relaxing, swimming and snorkelling we were able to use the swimming pool, canoes, laser sailing dinghies, the water trampoline anchored off the beach and the paddle boards as well as tramp through the jungle which covers most of the island.

Hattie conquers the paddle board.

We could have enjoyed croquet, boules and tennis but really needed more time here, never seem to have enough. After a delicious breakfast and making our goodbyes we moved on to Berelas Bakau less than an hour from Nikoi. The water at Berelas Bakau is very warm having run over the reefs to the extensive beaches. It is home to many baby catfish which feed up in the shallows. A couple of young semi-aquatic Marchants enjoyed it too!

We visited two more picturesque bays on the north of Bintan then completed our circumnavigation with a return to Nongsa Point for plunges in the pool and a farewell dinner for Peter. He could only stay with us for 10 days before needing to return to China.

Peter was replaced by another flying visitor, Ben. Annoyingly the weather at this point decided to turn properly monsoon-ish with sustained strong northerly winds reaching near gale force at times. We did manage to return to Nikoi and visit most of the places we had been to before with H and P but in rolly anchorages and with all too little sun.

The highlight of the week this time was a chance encounter with one of the market ladies in Tanjung Pinang. She spoke very good English and there followed an interesting day where we met her family and visited each other’s homes. She lived in a rambling ramshackle house with a plot of land all sadly prone to flooding in the monsoon season as a result of new developments further up the hill. Despite this and having 3 jobs to make ends meet, her children were well dressed and had excellent manners. They were clearly amazed by our lifestyle and our ‘home’ when they and their friends came aboard Gryphon II later.