Bintan Terminal

If we have "Philippine Eagle", Indonesia has "Garuda". They both seem to be super birds except that ours is real and the latter is a mythical bird. Garuda is a national symbol of Indonesia and thus replicas of it are all over the country. Now I know where the name of their flag carrier_ Garuda Airlines had gotten its name.

It was a huge statue and therefore couldn't be easily ignored. I found this one in the garden right in the vicinity of  Bandar Bentan Telani, a ferry port in Bintan, Indonesia.

I actually like this port in Bintan. Reminds me of our own Caticlan (Boracay) airport. Yeah, that's the comparison. Our airport (already??) and their ferry terminal, haha. Both are gateways to the best beaches in Asia.



Somehow, this ferry terminal looks more like an airport than most of our local flight terminals.

At the lobby, were not only eateries and resorts transfer booths, but rows of shops as well. I was surprised to find an outlet of  "Polo" and other branded goods.




If you missed buying take home souvenir products outside, no worry cos before your departure you could do some quick shopping inside this terminal. I thought some of the trinkets were even cheaper here.

The departure area got a lot of Singapore destinations promotional materials up on the walls and ceilings. Obviously, this part of Bintan is an extension of Singapore tourism.

A view of the terminal on board the ferry.



Haven't I mentioned that I love the ferry as much?

Fairy Ferry

I was so happy about the " leg room" of this vessel. See how it accommodated well my long leggednesss , huh??:))). It was way far better than the " no-leg-room-at-all " seats of   Jetstar Airways ( well, look who's complaining _ cheapskate me who availed the promo rate on line, and refused to spend a penny for a priority seat on that budget airline which possibly had a leg room! haha ).

 But this was not even an aircraft!

It's a ferry! So comfy and so nice. Can you spot it right behind me? Sorry, this is the only photo I have showing her body. It doesn't even justify her colors and beauty. I was supposed to board already and bro just snapped this photo.





It was a ferry of Bintan Resort Ferries. The ferry we boarded going to Bintan Island, Indonesia from Singapore which is only 45 minutes away from/to each other. Economy fare for adults two way is more or less than S$70 and for emerald class, it's around S$100 or a little more.

Look how spacious it is inside.

in the tail part of the boat.

in the head part. Pardon my boat vocabulary, it's zero,haha.

Another thing that I like in this ferry is the huge wide window. The opposite of it (the tiny windows of an aircraft) I dreaded the most about boarding  the claustrophobic aircraft. (hey, may I return to my beloved country on board this pretty ferry instead ?, haha).





The snack bar is neither bad at all.





Later I'll share with you the other ferry I boarded going to another island. Until then, you would surely understand why I was so much happier with this one.
Gotta alight now.