How would you celebrate your Mother's 60th Birthday? In Chinese tradition, at 60 years of age, it is a very important point of life as it symbolises the completion of a full life cycle.
For my brother and I, our plan was to introduce our Mother to the thrills of life that she should survive through to complete this meaningful 60 years of life.
Off to Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal, where it seemed time came to a standstill. Always wondered why the ferry passenger's experience in our ferry terminals could not match even a small bit of the Changi experience.
Less than an hour and we found ourselves at the Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT) Ferry Terminal in Bintan! The shuttle bus took about 15 minutes to reach Nirwana Gardens resort.
Elephants with "elephants"
Nirwana Gardens comprised several clusters of hotels and villas. Our accommodation was the Belantara 2-room Villa (a Banyu Biru Villa).
Lunch was at Neydles House, the nearest restaurant to the Banyu Biru villas.
The noodles were as good as the majestic look of the restaurant building
Marvellous Beachside View at the Neydles House
Our first thrill of the trip: the All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) experience!
Little did I know that both my Mother and my Brother would be driving the ATV for their first time.
Onwards!
We signed up for 1 hour of ATV. While some ATV off-road trails bring you to traverse jungles, beaches and muddy fields, ours was mainly forested trails and a short trail on fine sand. We were told the hot weather had dried up the muds...
No kick
It was challenging to determine what water sports would be an appropriate level of thrill for Mother. She had done jetski; and parasailing with Father. Short of going for diving school, we finally decided on doing the Undersea Walk, a first for all of us.
We were ferried to a stationary boat where the equipment for our adventure were located. To perform the Undersea Walk, one had to put on a heavy helmet, connected to a pipe which brought air from the surface into the helmet, and climb down a ladder to reach the seabed.
While doing the briefing, our instructor Richard asked how old Mother was, and remained silent when he got the answer.
My Brother was the first to enter. As an experienced diver, he ought to. My Mother went next. Once she was fully submerged in water, I candidly asked the other staff what was the oldest age of a participant they had ever assisted for Undersea Walk. The answer was 40. Gulp.
The way down was challenging with a less-than-calm water, and the pressure on the ears. There was sufficient gap between the helmet and the neck for one to insert one's hand to pinch the nose to blow off and equate the pressure on the ears.
Finding Nemo
Once at the seabed, we basically held on to a railing and walked to and fro. It was an amazing close encounter with fishes, and a complete sense of peacefulness, being cut off from all sounds except the air ventilation.
To complete the sea experience, we had seafood for dinner.
A moment of silence, please
Komodo Dragons near Breakfast venue
Not her first experience, but I would remember how we rode horses (leisurely as tourists) in our overseas holidays in childhood days. We had wanted to get my son riding the horse, and he had sounded excited about it, until he saw the horse.
And then something even more chill (literally) - air rifle and air pistol shooting. Not surprising that my Brother, a former competitive shooter, was hitting almost all on target. The eye-opener was the high accuracy of hits from his wife!
We spent the rest of our time setting up the water slide and enjoying the pool.
Home Sweet Home
Minus the sunburn, the holiday was a great getaway from the hustle and bustle of life. Back to reality!
