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After six days of being sick, I was really looking forward to this 5-day long vacation with hubby! The one day I spent back at the office ended up with me having a splitting headache at the end of the day…=(…so I was estatic when the clock showed 6pm on Monday evening…*grin*

Day 1 began in a flurry of activities in the morning as we were rushing to finish packing and be ready to leave by 7.45am! The cab came on time, and soon, we were off to KLIA. We reached two hours before our 10.20am flight, and thanks to Singapore Airlines’s convenient Internet ticketing and check-in (yes, you can check-in via Internet, the downside is that you can’t choose the seats in the plane!), checking-in our luggages at the counter was fast and easy. We headed over to MacDs for breakfast before leisurely making our way to the satellite terminal to board the plane. The flight was half full, and we managed to get some shut-eye during the short flight.

Breakfast at McDs

Filling up the Singapore disembarkation form

We reached Singapore at 11.20am, and had about an hour to kill before heading to the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal.

Touchdown at Changi Airport!

After passing through immigration and collecting our luggage, we decided to have lunch at Changi just incase the ferry terminal had no food…wandered around for awhile and finally ended up at….

Hubby ordered all sorts of weird stuff, including his favourite baby octopus (aliens!!!), while I went for my firm favourites…Soft Shell Crab Temaki, California Temaki, Ebi Tempura Temaki and Inari…yumyum! With our tummies filled, we caught a cab (not before witnessing a lost woman arguing with the airport staff on where she *thinks* her car is parked…it was so ironic…she’s lost and asking for directions yet she was insisting that the directions were wrong!) to the ferry terminal. From the map, it looked really close, but the whole journey took a good 45 minutes from Changi, partly due to the tight security surrounding the Aerospace Convention…all cars had to go through a thorough police check…they even checked our luggage. We finally reached the ferry terminal, just in time to collect the tickets (I’d already booked and paid for them online), check in our luggage, and enter the boarding area. We had to go through the immigration again…I remarked to hubby that this must be our shortest stay in Singapore, ever! =)

Our ferry tickets

We didn’t have to wait long before we were asked to board the ferry. Little did we know…that’s when our nightmarish journey would begin! For a boat that size, we thought that the crossing from Singapore to Bintan would be smooth sailing. Instead, the whole journey was so bumpy that I swear I literally turned green in the face…all I could do was to close my eyes and try to sleep, while hubby was trying to distract himself with his PSP.

Entrance to hell…

…and hell itself!

The journey took one hour, and it was horrible (am not looking forward to the return journey!)…I heard two people puking…the sound itself was enough to make me wanna puke too…ugh!

Yours truly looking decidedly pukey and green…

I was so glad to be on solid land again, even though my head was still swimming from the journey. A representative from Banyan Tree was already waiting for us at the jetty, and going through the Indonesian immigration was a breeze cause it was all handled by the Banyan Tree staff. Soon, we were in an air-conditioned car, speeding off to the resort, which is located a mere 10 minutes away from the ferry terminal. The CD player in the car was already playing spa-like music…and we could feel the memory of the ferry journey fading away….phew!

When the car pulled up to the reception area, one of the staff hit a gong that was right at the entrance (probably to indicate our arrival?!?), and we were ushered to the lobby for check-in. Ice-cold (and I really mean ice-cold) towels were brought over and we were given a glass of young ginger and lime drink…very refreshing in the hot weather.

Cool and refreshing drinks…ahh…

Check-in was fast, and the best part was that we were given an upgrade from the Seaview Villa that I’d booked to a Seafront Villa (the difference lies in the price and location…the Seaview Villa is perched further back from the ocean, while the Seafront is…well, in front of the sea…) on the occasion that it was hubby’s birthday! Now, that’s customer service (and as hubby whispered in my ear…at least it’s worth suffering the ferry journey over to the island…*grin*)!! The staff explained to us the layout of the resort, and soon, we were on the buggy speeding away to our room for the next three days.

The first sight that greeted us when we arrived at room 108 were small stone steps leading down to a private wooden gate and high walls. Stepping through the gates let us into a small private garden, and the front door. The door opened to a corridor with the vanity room on the right, and the bathroom on the left (with a sunken bath…woohoo!), and to the main room which was dominated by a four poster bed smack right in the middle. To the left were bay windows with cushioned seats, while the right wall housed the writing desk (which is where I am, right now) overlooking lush greeneary.

Room 108…our private hideaway!

Woohoo! Private jacuzzi!!

Right in front of the bed was a sliding door that opened up to a verandah, and an open-air jacuzzi that overlooks the blue blue sea…imagine all sorts of naughty stuff you could get up to here…*winkwink*. Bliss!

We spent the first half hour taking photos of literally everything in the room…haha…I know, I know…so jakun…*grin*. After that, we took a short rest before changing and taking a short walk over to the Banyan Tree Spa to make reservations for a massage tomorrow.

Banyan Tree Spa

The Treetops restaurant and swimming pool was located at the same area, so we spent some time there taking photos. The pool looked really inviting as it was surrounded by tall trees and was pretty shady.

Cool and inviting

After lazing around for awhile, we took a bath and changed for dinner at Saffron, a Thai-Asian-fusion restaurant located at the other end of the resort. We called for a buggy, and a few minutes later, we were speeding away to the ‘Rocks’ area. As we were early, we took a short walk down to the beach and the adjoining Angsana Spa resort, and of course…more photos…=)

At 6.30pm, we made our way back to Saffron where we were greeted by the friendly waitress. I was given an orchid to place in my hair before we were led to our table and given the menu.

Us @ Saffron

Hubby deliberated for awhile before finally settling on their 9-course degustation menu

From right to left, top to bottom….

Spiced Red Capsicum Jelly with steamed Sea Scallop and Roasted Bell Pepper Salsa…Salpicon of Venison Fillet in Feuilletage Ginger Orange Reduction, Enoki and dried Cranberry Chutney…Double Consomme of Sun blushed Tomatoes with Silken Tofu, Dry Wakame and French Vermouth…Escalope of Arctic Salmon poached in Sauternes with Wasabi Butter, Truffle Oil flavored Pumpkin Mousse and Tomato confit…Fresh Ravioli filled with Marinated Stone Crab Meat in Kaffir Lime Emulsion, crispy Nori Leafs and Tobiko…Grilled Tiger Prawns marinated in Tangerine-Lime Mojo, Warm Snow Peas Salad in Mint Vinaigrette with Sesame Oil…Fragrant Rose Petal Sherbet with Chili Flakes…Seared Beef Fillet Medallion with Foie Gras Mousse on herb Risotto Galette, Porcini and Shitake Mushrooms in Soy-Balsamic Glaze and Caramelized Carrot Slivers…â??Ã?úBanana Trioâ??Ã?ù: Carameliezed Banana Bavaroise, Bourbon Vanilla Spiced Bananas, Homemade Banana Ice Cream flavored with Coconut Liquor

…while I went for the…

Stone Crab Salad with citrus, coriander and lemon grass,orange-mint dressing and toasted brioche

and…

Broiled Sulawesi lobster in lemon grass cream, oyster mushroom, asparagus and saffron rice

Suffice to say, the food was superb…everything tasted wonderful, though my favourite was definitely hubby’s dessert!

Back at the villa, we watched some telly, and I soon drifted off to sleep to the sounds of the waves crashing on the rocks below…and hubby’s PSP game…grrr….

PS: Photos will be up soon at Photoblogum.