We'd gone to Tanjung Pinang instead, situated at the southern end of Bintan Island.

It had been a 2-hour ferry ride there, where we'd been greeted by our guide, Pak Sulaiman, and the driver, Pak Supir (we didn't know his name). We went straight for lunch at a seafood restaurant called Sangkuriang, where a variety of dishes from tempe cutlets (*note: tempe - soybeans shaped and dried in small rectangular pieces) to ikan lele (*note: ikan lele - the Indonesian moniker for catfish). Initially though, I'd been hesitant to enter the restaurant as a few ads for Tiger Beer were displayed right outside. However, I was soon appeased when I discovered the absence of alcohol in the drinks menu. Alhamdulillah!

Right after the satisfying lunch, we headed for an orphanage, where we were greeted by two standing rows of children and adolescents, each gender on opposite sides, reciting du'as and praises to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). I was so touched that they bothered to greet us in such a way, when in fact they didn't need to in the first place. Tears flowed from my eyes as I was being salam-ed (*note: salam - shaking hands; if the other person is an elder or older, the younger person will kiss his/her right hand) by the girls, a combination of teenagers and toddlers alike. The head of the orphanage, fondly called "Ummi" or "mother" in Arabic terms, came forward and laid forth some details about the children there. While she was talking, I couldn't help but notice a tiny baby girl, not more than 2 years of age, sitting down on the lap of an adolescent boy. She was so adorable and really pitiful, for she had lost both her parents in the tsunami incident of about a year plus back.

After the short visit to the orphanage, we finally checked into our hotel, called Bintan Permata Resort. A quick wash and freshening-up followed before we made our way to a cuttlefish factory, where dried and sweet cuttlefish were packed as snacks, and a tempe factory, where dried banana chips and other goodies were also being sold. I couldn't resist buying several packets of goodies of course, and I attacked a packet of banana chips that very night itself. :-p

Dinner was at a kelong (*note: kelong - a place where fish and other seafood are caught directly from the sea before being cooked or shipped out) restaurant, which had been decorated with orange-and-white chiffon cloth as well as orange ribbons. There was even a stage for karaoke, where a Chinese man was singing away while we had our meal. The meal was fantastic, he wasn't. Hurhurrr.

After we'd returned to the hotel, my aunt felt like having a dip in the swimming pool. She bravely marched up to the hotel clerk and asked whether we could swim in the pool with all our clothes on (as we couldn't possibly wear bikinis, could we?). The clerk was obviously taken aback but she called up the manager to check with him, and apparently we'd been given the go-ahead. So into the pool we jumped, with our scarves and all. It was even sweeter that there was no one around save for us (my aunt, uncle, cousin and me) so we had a fabulous time splashing in the water. Crazy, but true.

The next day we rose bright and early, and had a hearty breakfast in the hotel. It started to rain when we'd packed ourselves in the mini-van to go to a well-known area called "pasar" or "market". More shopping and bargaining followed of course, with my aunt being the sole bargainer. We spent about 3 hours shopping there and walking on the streets of Tanjung Pinang (where there were plenty of beggars and old women selling their wares), threading our way through the chaotic traffic carefully.

We checked out of the hotel at 3pm Singapore time and headed for the ferry terminal, where I (the only one out of the many people in our group) was greeted by a young guard at the entrance gate. Apparently, his eyes lingered over me as I walked past him, or so as I was informed by my aunt, who was walking behind me. Boarded the ferry about an hour later and reached Singapore around 6.15pm.

And that was how my weekend trip went.