Beyond Bintan Resorts

All hotels have activity desks, which provide several full-day excursions to various parts of Bintan Island. Guests can choose to travel either by speedboat or by land arrangements.

Do note that beyond the borders of Bintan Resorts, the use of the Indonesian Rupiah predominates, so remember to change your money before you pay a visit down south. Alternatively, a good place that offers better exchange rates is at the Tanjung Pinang town centre or at Tanjung Uban.

Berakit

Many of the sea-faring 'orang laut', the original settlers of this myriad of islands, have relocated here. At this village you can see the daily activities of the Riau fishing community, such as the thousands of 'ikan bilis' (dried fish) being dried in the sun.

Sebung Pereh & Busung
Sebung Pereh and Busung are typical of the small Malay fishing villages that can be found around the coastal coconut plantations. The settlers in these villages live in unique traditional houses on stilts, elevated over the water and lead fairly simple lives, often getting by without modern amenities or even electricity.

Tanjung Uban
The second largest town in Bintan, Tanjung Uban is also an oil storage and district centre. It also serves as a take-off point for Batam.

The main thoroughfare is the 'Pelantar' (boardwalk) with its houses, accommodation, shops and restaurants built over the sea.

Behind this is the main street lined with service shops, typical of the small coastal towns within the Riau Archipelago.

Trikora Beach
Located on the eastern shores of Bintan Island, Trikora Beach boasts of beautiful and isolated beaches on Bintan Island. With its powdery white sand and clear pristine waters, Trikora Beach also serves as a getaway for the locals during holidays and festive seasons.

Lining the beachfront are several atap huts which double up as stalls during the holiday seasons, selling local Indonesian snacks.

Trikora Beach is also home to a fishing village located nearby and is evident by the numerous 'mobile kelongs' that line the horizon. There is also a small ship-building facility nearby where the local fishing community build and mend new or existing boats using ancient traditional methods of boat making.

Kawal
Located a few minutes away from Trikora is Kawal, a quaint fishing port where fish auctions are frequently held. Being the only deep-water channel in the North-East, Kawal is also the fishing centre of Bintan.

From the bridge in the centre of the town, observe a vista of fishing boats, houses and storage yards all built on stilts. A remnant of the past at Kawal is the large kilns once used to make charcoal from "bakau" (mangrove wood).

Senggarang

• Historical Significance
  Senggarang, another short sampan-ride away from Tanjung Pinang, is the hometown of the Chinese which began arriving in large numbers in Riau in the 1740s and 1750s. Between 1734 and 1740, the second Bugis Yamtuan Muda of Riau, Daing Chelak, invited Chinese merchants and coolies to open up gambier plantations on Pulau Bintan. While most of the Chinese settlers remained in Tanjung Pinang, a large number of Chinese villages sprouted further up north at Senggarang.
  
  Today, Senggarang is an old settlement mostly built on stilts and the village's cobbled square is lined with a number of hundred-year-old Chinese temples with carved doors and eaves.
  
  
• Main Attractions
  There is a particularly unusual Chinese temple sitting below a gigantic, spreading banyan tree. The story goes that an old man had wanted to die in his house and be buried in it. A tree then grewaround the house.
  
  Villagers came to make offerings and ask for favours, which were granted. And in time to come, the house became a temple. Till today, devotees from as far away as Singapore and Malaysia make their yearly pilgrimage to visit this shrine, believed to bestow good fortune to the lucky.

Tanjung Pinang

An excursion to this picturesque town offers travellers a glimpse into the quaint and rustic lifestyle of the Riau people in a bygone era of kings, warriors and simple fishing folk.

On arrival, visitors are greeted by a cluster of wooden huts set on stilts which are linked by a maze of open-planked walkways (pelantar). Beyond the stilt villages is the town proper which is a hive of colour and activity.

With busy streets, waves of people weaving in and out of the alleys, and the deafening shouts of street hawkers calling out to all-and-sundry to buy their wares, Tanjung Pinang projects a cheerful sense of 'disorder' which is extremely attractive to those looking for an off-beat experience.

• Historical Significance
  Pulau Bintan is the largest island on the Riau Archipelago. Occasionally, due to its large size and political significance as the seat of the Johore Empire during the 18th century, historians have commonly referred it simply as Riau. Riau was located near the present site of Tanjung Pinang, which was the main port of call. However, during the 18th and 19th centuries, Riau also included minor establishments (i.e. markets, fortresses, places, etc.) at Sungai Riau, Pulau Biram Dewa, Pulau Bayan, Pulau Penyengat and Sungai Galang Besar.
  
  All these places are located in the vicinity of Tanjung Pinang in the western part of the Bay of Bintan. Among the local Chinese population at Tanjung Pinang, Riau is in fact the most commonly used name for Tanjung Pinang.
  
  
• Sightseeing
  Raja Haji Fisabilillah Monument of Struggle
  Situated in the western part of Tanjung Pinang and directly facing Penyengat Island is the Raja Haji Fisabilillah Monument of Struggle. This 28-metre tall monument describes the exploits of the sea hero Raja Haji during the struggle against the Dutch colonial rule. The battle on sea took place exactly in front of the monument on January 6, 1784, where the defending locals managed to defeat the Dutch battleship, Malaccas Wel Varen and killed more than 500 Dutch soldiers.
  
  While the battle, almost 220 years ago, was a scene of carnage and strife, the monument is now a picture of perfect tranquility to view the sunset.
  
  Offshore villages
  The delights of Tanjung Pinang lie in its many 'offshoots' - islands offering the authentic charm and history of Bintan and its people. The best way to experience Riau is to visit the offshore villages located a few minutes' ride away from Tanjung Pinang. The quiet fishing villages of Penyengat and Senggarang, a mere 15 minutes away provide an interesting contrast between the local Malay and Chinese cultures, while Pulau Mapur (Mapur Island) 16km east of Bintan has a long and untouched sandy beach with rocky headlands and is great for snorkelling and camping.
  
  
• Shopping
  Shopping at Tanjung Pinang is pleasantly affordable, with its colourful variety of goods and cheap bargains. The shophouses here offer all kinds of dried foodstuffs, electronic goods, antique ceramics and handicrafts but the best bargain is to be made with the streetside peddler.
  
  With their display of jewelled stones, hand-made toys, local artefacts, hand-made Javanese batik cloths and light cotton wraps (also known as sarong) dyed in various vibrant hues, the roadside peddlers are ever willing to explain their wares if you asked them.
  
  Roadside stalls with fresh produce are another common sight at Tanjung Pinang. Featuring an amazing variety of fish, gigantic prawns, dried shrimps, crunchy crackers, savoury ikan bilis (anchovies), and all kinds of sweet, sour or salty tidbits, fresh green vegetables, and local tropical fruits all stacked high on wooden carts, the rock bottom prices are still open to bargaining.

  Do note that most peddlers deal in the local Indonesian Rupiah so it's best to have your money changed before you head down south.
  

• Dining
  For true local dining, Tanjung Pinang is the best place to experience Riau cuisine at its most defined. While most tourists head down toward the larger and more expensive restaurants at the city centre, Sungai Jang is rather well known among the locals for its good and inexpensive seafood and wide selection of huge green mussels, gong gongs (seasnails), ocean prawns, fish and squid, etc.
  
  For traditional Indonesian Nasi Padang (cooked rice dishes), Jalan Bakar Batu near the town centre has many open-air stalls selling traditional curried meat dishes such as Rendang Daging, Dendang Balado and Singgam Ayam.

  The famous Tanjung Pinang otak otak - grilled over a charcoal stove - is actually fish meat cooked in coconut milk blended with Indonesian spices and wrapped ingeniously within two cuts of coconut leaf.

• Historical Significance
  Penyengat Island (situated on the southern tip of Bintan Island) was, for a long time, a strategic defence location for the rulers of Bintan because of its supply of fresh spring water and natural defence from the North-East Monsoon, thus making it the natural harbour of Riau until Singapore came along.
  
  Around 1803, Penyengat Island developed from a centre of protection into a state, which became the seat of the Yandipertuan Muda of the Riau-Lingga Kingdom. Since then, Penyengat Island became the center of government, tradition, Islamic religion and the cradle of ancient Malay heritage.
  
  The significant role of Penyengat ended when the last Sultan of the Riau-Lingga - Abdul Rahman Muazzan Shah, left the island for Singapore because he was not willing to sign the contract that terminated the rights and authority of the traditional king and officers of Riau.
  
  In Singapore, the Sultan and his followers were informed by the Dutch, then the colonial occupants of Bintan, that their properties, including palaces, buildings, land, etc, would be confiscated. Thus to prevent these properties from falling into Dutch hands, the Sultan ordered the people living on Penyengat to destroy the buildings or whatever the Dutch might take possession of.

  This is the reason why there is nothing left today from the Riau-Lingga Sultanate that shows its former glory; only a few structures such as the Sultan's Mosque, a few royal tombs, and a couple of old palaces and other old buildings remain.

• People
  There are about 2500 residents on Penyengat Island, about one third of them are related to their historical royalty. While most of the residents are fisher folk, some of them are also employed with the civil service on the main island but most of them today still lead the lives of fisher folk.
  
  
• Dutch Fort & Ammunitions House
  Dutch influence increased after the defeat of the Portuguese in Melaka in 1641 and the sultans gradually lost their hold on trade and eventually their independence. The remnants of the Dutch fort on Penyengat signify the yesteryears of glory before the British ousted the Dutch from both Melaka and Riau.
  
  
• Sultan of Riau Grand Mosque
  The main attraction in Penyengat is the acoustically perfect yellow mosque, built in 1818, still standing tall and well-preserved. Its charm lies in a fairytale local belief that the mosque had been built with the egg whites lovingly presented by loyal subjects on the eve of the sultan's wedding.
  
  
• Mausoleums & Palaces
  It is interesting to note that most of the mausoleums and palace architecture on Penyengat followed traditional Middle Eastern Muslim influences, as compared to the traditional Malay architecture of supporting structures on elevated stilts/pillars. The last Royal Palace that was destroyed before the Dutch took over also has similarities to the Istana Kampong Glam in Singapore.
  
  It is also interesting to note the fusion of cultures between the Chinese and Malay. For instance, the colour 'yellow' is also extensively used to denote royalty. This can be traced back to the yellow umbrella that was bestowed upon the first Sultan of Malacca by visiting Chinese ambassadors. Since then, royal markings are denoted by the colour yellow. Visitors should also look out for the octagonal roof found at one of the Royal Mausoleums, which also feature a gourd-shaped crown. (Both the octagon and the gourd are lucky symbols in traditional Chinese iconography.)