Cycling Life!

Bintan Island was made by tectonic earthquake long time ago, it made the island structure upside down, quote by some local geologist professor that i met not so long ago. That was what made Bintan has many hills and upside down road. And also made the most awesome and challenging cycling track i ever had, since i lived in Jakarta for a long time, they dont have any extreme upside down road like here.

Another excitement is the beautiful scenery along the road, fresh air, low traffic (especially outer Tanjung Pinang), and the distance between town isn’t too far (around 20-30km). So you can explore town to town, go to beach, or even go explore the uncharted area around, plus you got a healthier and slimmer body!

Well, guess we keep cyclin then!
Route 1 : Batu 9 Tanjung Pinang – Kijang (22km), really tough route to beat for me. It’s just.. the uphill, is so devastating , but thank god we can survive on the way back LOL.

Route 2 : Batu 8 Tanjung Pinang – Dompak (13km), Favourite route so far, coz is near home and Dompak has a wide stretch of road and clear traffic, images above is us (with Aldo) went cycling in rain, but still yo happiness around.

Route 3 : Batu 9 Tanjung Pinang – Galau Beach Dompak (17km), road is off and it’s time to offroad riding, near the beach we must push our bike because the sand is thick. We go there with our lovely neighbour Iqbal & Mayang. Oh yeah its me pose on that Galau Rocky Beach, cheers!

– Baba –

Aldo The Lone Wanderer

Again, another friend of ours from Jakarta came to visit us in Bintan. And it was Aldo time to explore this island. By the way, this was his first time being on plane, so here’s you can see his awkward relieved face when he finally arrived, lol!

We went to Mama Beach in Trikora (our personal fave spot in Trikora!), and Aldo the city guy was too excited as he ran around everywhere like a four years old never seen a beach.

1-5. The gray cloudy sky didn’t stop him! | 6. Dinner after exploring Mama Beach the whole day

As a coffee addict, it was such a joy for Aldo that he could find coffeeshop nearly everywhere, yeah EVERYWHERE, here in Bintan island. One famous must-try coffeeshop is Kedai Kopi Kawan Lama (if you ever heard about Kopi Hawaii, this actually similiar), located in Kijang, half hour from Tanjungpinang city. Unfortunately, when we came there, the shop was closed, too bad! Then we decided to tried out another coffeeshop randomly near there.

1. Give it up to Mr.Arnold! | 2. The server girl whom Aldo had a crushed on| 3. Caffeine time!

The place is old and rusty, there were plenty of old men sitting there with a cup of coffee and starring blankly at the TV. There was some kind of awkward dark vibes goin on, but surprisingly the coffee was good, not much different than the Kawan Lama. The coffee was strong and thick almost chocolatey in its texture, and the smell was…greattt! If you like strong coffee, you might love the coffee here!

After beach, coffee, and some lazy days at our home, last but not least we went to Dompak for sunset. Sat on the side of the bridge, took some photos, and enjoyed the beautiful evening breeze and sunset.

1,2. Just another scene of  Wong Kar Wai “Takeshi”| 3. One of must do things in Dompak bridge| 4. We both managed some say cheeze smile | 5,6. Enjoy the sunset brah

So after many “Takeshi” moment, FYI Aldo often feel himself transcent into some “Chungking Express” scene as Takeshi Kaneshiro, one of his alpha male role model. that was how we explored the island with Aldo. From 2 nights plan to another extra 3 nights. Finally time to get back to work Aldo! Bye to lazy island life!

Warmest Place / Pizza Casa Italia

Italian pizza restaurant runs by an Italian family in Bintan. It does sound weird yet perfect for me tho, in this tiny far away island. No wonder, all the pizzas here are super yummy. The place is so nice and homey, with raw wooden table and seater in a middle of big trees, and the area is surrounded by beach with a little island not far from there. In the hours around low tide, the beach gets dry and you can walk to the little island.

To do list : Eat pizza – since there is no other option for other food, lol! Taste is awesome, the dough is so thin and crispy, and the topping is always fresh. The perfect humble homemade italian pizza! Our fave is the mushroom & tuna!

Left to right : Ivan baba, Signori Armando, Aronio

The owner Mr Armando is a serious – funny type of guy, he loves Indonesia so much. He’s been living in Indonesia since 1980s, no wonder his Bahasa Indonesia is excellent. “In Italy you must go through winter around half year, such a waste of time you can’t feel the sun! I like being here coz it’s summer  around the yearl, the weather is so great!” he said.

In memoriam : our friend Signori Armando -2017.

photo courtesy : my partner in crime Aronio Tobiaso

Max and The Sand Dunes

Our close friend, Max, is a photographer from J town ( read: it’s a slank word for Jakarta ) who recently came to Bintan coz his client want to do photo session here. As many of our J town friends are clueless about this island, so we cant believe, it’s such a miracle! So when we asked him why his client interested to have photo session here in Bintan, he answered, “It’s bcoz Patricia’s photo on instagram you fool!”. It was a big lol, and then i asked which photo is it, he answered again, “This fuckin sand dunes picture get me ticket to your island man”. So here’s the picture that Patricia posted on IG.

                   

So, the photo session became reality, and of course we became their happy guide to bring them stroll around the island, started out with picked them up at the airport. They all came as a group of six happy people: Max as the photographer, the bride and groom to be Inez and Kevin, their closest friends Flo and Melissa (Max’s wife) as stylist, the eccentric videographer Jay, and the makeup artist Melia who is Patricia’s besties back in college.

1. Welcome to the island! left-right : Pat, Ines, Kevin, Flo| 2. Max the hornet | 3. Flo, Melisa, Inez | 4. Melia & Pat| 5. Dr. Jay

We went to Trikora beach (we have our fave spot called Mama Beach, coz it has no name yet, and the local who lived there is a nice friendly woman whom we call Mama), then through to a rubber forest plantation, and last but not least the not-so-famous-yet Busung sand dunes. Everybody was quite happy and amazed by Bintan Power!!            so…cheers for all of us!

You should check out their work here ( hyperlink ) :

Max / NOT YOUR MOM PHOTOGRAPHER 

Melissa, Ines & Flo / PEA AND PIE & they other project KALA WEDDINGS

The Doctor Jay Nelson / KING MAKER OF CONTENT

Melia / MELIYABI MAKEUP ARTIST

with love, baba

The Temporary House

After long searching for a place to stay, finally we decided to rent a small nice house in Tanjung Pinang, the capital city of Bintan Island. It’s just about 8 x 8 meters house with a garden in front of it and a small backyard, enough to fit the two of us comfortably. We got 1 small bathroom and 2 bedroom (it was really a mess at the first day so we decided to make 1 bedroom into a storage room).

Why we called it a temporary house? Because our plan hasn’t settled yet, we got so much to do and think about our future in this island, and we’re still looking for the beach house, so we decided to rent a house. And because it is a rented house, we use really simple furnitures, we even build some of them ourselves,  like the DIY wardrobe, kitchen storage and many more. The bad thing is we don’t have much place to hide our things, so it may look a bit messy sometimes, but since it’s a cheap renovation, can’t complain! 

1. Kicthen set & sink  | 2. Hanging shelf | 3. Curtain hanger| 4. Its a gold painted barrel!| 5. The bedroom|                           6. Our wardrobe

And our favourite spot in the house is the living room, cause it’s more like living-dining-working room! We have our TV and comfy sofa there, together with our big workstation table (a.k.a dining table). Our friends and family massively hang around there (cause there’s no other room, lol), plus it has a bright vibe comes from the windows around there, so during the day it has the best light. Anyway, did we mention our comfy sofa? Yeah, it’s the besttt cause it’s super comfy, makes you just wanna jump into it, and never get up for the rest of the day!

with love, baba

The Green Colony

Hello weekend! It’s been another weekend since the last time I remember. Time flies so fast I guess, and now it’s time for home improvement, although it’s still a temporary one coz our dream is to live in a beach house – so we’re still saving money for it. No matter what, we need a cozy place to stay – we believe that inspirations may come from our surroundings, so that this weekend  Mrs. Patricia is in action to make our living space more green!

It was a really sunny day and removing plants from the polybag to pot in direct sunlight was not a good idea, but Pat insisted to do it bcoz it was the day she’s been waiting for coz yeaaah we finally had some plants! And we’ve just realized that having plants inside home is kinda like a serious business bcoz yes they’re living creatures which should be taken care of, and the green vibes that come from them, it’s so relaxing and like giving us more energy! Our tips for choosing houseplants : look for different unique shapes of the plants, their color and texture, and of course their ability to grow in indirect sunlight. Any plant has the power to add a little mystery and magic to your space, but the big one can create the impression into your living room.

We place the houseplant at some spots inside the house to give a little balance to the interior. Some of them are on the shelves, hanged near the window, next to the TV cabinet, or just sit on this diy gold painted pail. Looking at that curly one lol so exciting, although after few days it’s slowly been dried out, but hang on we’re on our way to revive you curly plant! I’ll update you soon! *fingercrossed*

with love, baba

Warmest Place / Kedai Kopi Pagi Sore

Hi guys! Whatsup there? Earlier today, We went to have brunch at our fave prata place. We have known about roti prata since we went to Malaysia & Singapore, and it’s been our fave food ever since. It’s light, sweet and savoury, a perfect match with kopi  (coffee) / teh (tea) tarik! Back in Jakarta, it’s quite hard to find prata – I only know one prata place actually ( one at  jaksa street.. ugh i miss it) 😦 But when we came to Bintan, prata place is everywhere! Wohoo!One of the oldest & famous prata place in Tanjungpinang is Kedai Kopi Pagi Sore. But this time we will review its branch that located at Pamedan, not far from our home at Batu 8 Atas area.They have been serving malay-indian food since 1957 – it’s been 60 years :O! It was founded by Haji Kamu, an Indian man live in Tanjungpinang, and now being run by his children.They have various kind of prata here, from prata kosong, beef prata, chicken prata, to cheesy prata. Our fave is prata kosong and beef prata. Prata kosong is the plain one, comes with curry sauce as dip. It’s savoury and crispy on the outside, soft on the inside, ah perfection! The curry sauce texture is semi-creamy, seasoning is great and the flavor was vibrant. What makes it different from others is, you can feel the richness of the herbs and spices in the curry sauce. Meanwhile, the beef prata has multiple thin layers of dough that are somewhat chewy, rather than crisp, fills with ground beef and onion. It comes with sweet and salty soy sauce. It makes a good option if you want something heavier than prata kosong.And when you mention prata, it’s not complete without kopi / teh tarik. My fave is iced kopi tarek, while Ivan’s is iced teh tarik. Their kopi and teh tarik is rich and creamy, never a dissapointment! (ps: If you want your coffee / tea to be thicker, or less sweet, you can personally ask them! :D)

Other than that,  they also serve other dish like fried rice, nasi mandhi (indian-type rice, served with roasted chicken / lamb, haven’t try this one yet, but of course i would!), and asma rujak. Asma rujak is a crab dish, served with tofu, cucumber, fried dumplings and peanut sauce. If you ever heard of batagor, this one is similiar, but comes with crabs. And if you love peanut sauce, you would not want to miss this one! Their lamb fried rice is quite good too. It’s been Ivan’s fave lately, always comes with that perfect smokey aroma and the portion given is quite generous for single serving.

For the price, it’s not the cheapest place in town, but it’s certainly one of the best value places as they always use fresh and high quality ingredients.

1. Let’s call it hunger anxiety  | 2. Cute plants in front of the shop | 3. Beef prata on the go | 4. Prata dough is grilled           | 5. Mr.Hendri the prata master! | 6. The beef butter | 7&8. Coffee relieved!

1. Today’s brunch | 2. Beef prata | 3. Lamb fried rice| 4. That generous lamb meat!| 5. the frozen curry pasta                      | 6. Today is not the brightest day but the food enough to warm our heart!

Kedai Kopi Pagi Sore is one of our favourite place for brunch. Foods and drinks are yummy and come out quickly, service is friendly, and we’re looking forward to taste their other dishes as they have various menu. Overall, it’s always been a good experience there and I’d recommend you give them a try. Oh and for you prata lovers, they have frozen prata and curry sauce paste too! Just make sure you order 2-3 days before!

Have you tried Kedai Kopi Pagi Sore yet? Make sure to stop by once you are in Bintan  and let us all know what you thought about your experience in the comments below!

Xo, Pat

Addres:
Kedai Kopi Pagi Sore
Jl. Ali Haji, Tj. Ayun Sakti, Bukit Bestari, Kota Tanjung Pinang,
Kepulauan Riau 29122
Phone: (+6771) 317715
Instagram: @pratapagisore

Behind the curtain

Ivan is a clown, a happy person, talkative, sometimes incredibly absurd with his crazy ideas. Besides, he’s a well positive and futuristic thinker type of man. For him every opportunity is worth trying. On the other hand, Patricia is a crafty-shy-introvert girl. With her persistence, she always make sure everything is safe and sound before her family future destroyed by her impulsive husband ;PWe are the 2 souls behind this blog, Patricia and I were married in Jakarta and moved to Bintan island since then, we are both graphic designers and photographers. So many new things for us to learn in this new place, thats why we write this blog, Bintan Island fun journal from our personal experience!

Ivan grew up in Bali – the paradise island, the beach, the local culture, and all the vibe, I’m sure you know what I’m sayin about. But you know what? Everybody just wants to live there. And from my perspective, now the island is geting too crowded, coz not only the foreign tourist, nowadays many of my Jakarta friends move and live there! No wonder  the island now being reclamated, causing tensions among the Balinese people and the government, and that’s sad.

Teenage days in Bali were so memorable.  First thing: the culture is so diverse, there are sooo many people from all over the world, playing buggy surf with a bare known kawaii Japanese chick (Reiko-chan where are you now?) I was just 15 years old and played around with my mate, Sylvester ( now he’s a DJ in Bali I think?). And at school we had to take part time job, that’s why I’m having experience as a waiter, roomboy, and a bookstore staff. Until one day, I moved to Jakarta to start college, and met my wife, Patricia.Meanwhile Patricia was born and grew up in Jakarta, the city with the worst traffic congestion in the world. Her dad is from Jogja, and her mum is a Sundanese from Bandung. She is the youngest of two daughters. Her elder sister, Yohanna, works as a creative director at one of digital creative agency in Jakarta.

Since Patricia’s dad is from Jogja, art runs in their blood. Some of her family on her dad’s side were a painter or antiques & vintage collector, including her dad who had some vintage onthel bikes, to 40’s Italian ‘Ferbedo’ scooter. While her mum loves to be in the kitchen, cooking german dishes and baking cookies.1. Patricia’s parents | 2. Her sister Yohanna at antique shop | 3. Homemade cookies

Just like a modern artsy & trendy lady, Patricia loves anything about design, fashion, and crafty things. She likes to designing digital paper on etsy (we need extra $$$ so it must be a hobby haha!), making diy pompoms, and reading fashion magazine.

And oh, there are two things she likes to doing recently, cooking and gardening (even though not every food she cooks are edible and her plants starts to dying, lol – hang on there little plants!)  One thing for sure, she likes being at home and doing her thing, including watching next top model on TV.And when my wife doing her own thing, I like doing my own things too: playing my beloved PS4, or dota – hello my fellow angry steam friends out there! Other than games, I love photography. I always seeing myself as master of photography, and always brainwashing all my friends to believe that, haha! Furthermore I got a band called suasanasabtupagi, a collective band consists of a very talented non musician Jakarta youngsters.Back then, Patricia worked in a jewelry company as creative designer and I helped my family running a japanese food stall. Living amidst the hustle and bustle of Jakarta made us feel like loosing our dreams of living peacefully. That made us pondered on how to get out of this city and gain a new life to start, and then we decided to move to a place faraway, an island with fresh air and no polution, live in breezy & cozy beach hut, with no 24 hours traffic noise. But, where to, was still a BIG questionmark. Until one day when I was from Singapore, I made a stop at Bintan Island and visited my friend Iqbal who lived there. After strolled around at Tanjung Pinang and Trikora Beach, felt the atmosphere and the friendly people, I finally found the paradise we’ve been looking for!

And here we are! Having a peacefully new life with so many dreams to catch on in this island! We are not having our own beach house yet, but hopefully everything goes well here and maybe one day all our dreams will come true! *fingercrossed*Dear friends & families, how are you now? Moving to an island, leaving our family and friends is never an easy decision and does take courage. We make this blog to share all the island experience from other perspective – you know, sometimes true potential only can be seen from other person, right? That’s what we’re trying to do in this island, giving positive vibes, exploring the potential of this island, making Bintan Island great again, and hopefully our friends & family willing to come here as soon as possible to see us and this beautiful island! Miss you guys all!1. Our friend  Nana and Nia on our last day in Jakarta | 2. Our friend Mul in action | 3. One fine dinner | 4. Ivan’s college friend called The Bangsat | 5. Xmas dinner with Patricia’s friend | 6. Ivan’s mom and her poodle Ben drop us at the airport

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