Sorry for the delay in getting this post up. It's been a busy week with lots of work for both of us. I'm also dealing with a sinus infection, which is fun.
Anyways, the beach weekend...
First I should tell you about Friday night. Shreyas let us know that there was a beer fest on campus at the staff lounge, the bar on campus. Gabe and I headed over and had some fun tasting different beers. I think Gabe enjoyed it a bit more than I did, but it was still fun. Shreyas showed up later and I let them have their fun so I could pack and sleep.
We booked a nice weekend in Bintan, Indonesia. It's just an hour by ferry. We scheduled the first ferry of the day, at 8AM. That meant we had to be there at 7, and the ferry station is an hour away by MRT, so we got up at 5 or so and took the train across the city. I slept the whole ferry ride. Upon arrival, we were filed into a cute little building and got our visas-on-arrival. Then we went to a nice bus and took a short ride to Nirwana Gardens, which is where our hotel was.
The beach was gorgeous. We checked in and changed into our bathing suits before going out to the beach. The water was cool and clear and wonderful.
The weekend was relaxing and we pretty much just walked around and didn't do much. After relaxing for a bit on the sand, we went for lunch, where I had a very seafoody fried rice and Gabe had delicious fried noodles. After walking around a bit more, we went for a couples massage that was included with our trip package... It was the most interesting experience I think I've had in a long time. I learned that every square inch of my body is ticklish and not to have another full-body massage.
Dinner was on the other end of the area (it's sortof like Hilton Head, with different large neighborhoods) - Thai food that was quite tasty. Gabe had a yellow curry that we ended up sharing and then we also had Thai spring rolls. Then we walked around looking for dessert. We stopped in every restaurant... About six. The ones we found ended up being out of stock that night, so I ended up with an ice cream bar from a quick mart, but it was still yummy. The whole afternoon, there was a storm building. By the time we got back, it was starting to drizzle and the lightning was gorgeous.
The next day we had a wonderful, delicious breakfast. Pastries, eggs, beef bacon (still strange), yogurt, breads, cereals, everything. We haven't had "real" American breakfast in a long time. It was amazing sitting there, eating yummy food and watching the storm on the beach. The day was overcast, but we still headed to the beach and explored a bit. For lunch, I had a light chicken soup and then we walked around some more.
In all of our walking around, we came across a "mini zoo" which had birds, snakes, crocodiles, and very cute little deer. It was cool to see them, though it was a true "mini" zoo, with only ten or so cages. All the animals were rescued from illegal breeders and owners, and they seemed to be well taken care of. It was nice.
Our ferry back was the last of the day, so we grabbed dinner - sharing a plate of nachos and a chocolate dessert - and then took the bus back to the ferry. Apparently the ferry plays Tom and Jerry the whole way, which was interesting. The train ride back was uninteresting, and we pretty much fell asleep when we got back.
This week has been busy, but we're planning to go to Manila next weekend. My photos are on facebook.
Goodnight-lah.