Side Activities at Bintan Agro Beach Resort [Bintan Island, Indonesia]

Bintan Cabana Beach Resort is an ideal place for relaxation and besides that, there's frankly nothing much for you to do in the daytime.

Thankfully, there is a free shuttle to its sister resort 15-20 minutes away - Bintan Agro Beach Resort that offers much more amenities than sunbathing.

For god's sake, you can even take a horse ride on the sandy beach!

The sea view from Agro is not as spectacular as Cabana and screams of commercialism which is inevitable due its bigger size and placement of a sea sports centre.

Our groupon voucher allowed us to rent a bicycle for 30 minutes and we took the chance to explore the resort. Children might be pleased to know that there is a mini zoo within the resort.

Unfortunately, the living condition of the small animals (limited to tortoises, parrots, rabbits etc) was rather dismal and i would be better off not seeing any.

This structure was located at the eastern end of the resort and i was so damn curious of its purpose! With pipe-like connections leading to the structure, i am incline to believe it is either a pumping or sewage station.

Concentrated area for accommodation. For such a huge area that the resort occupies, these blocks took up roughly 20%! I didn't stay in Agro; therefore i could not comment further on its accommodation.

Two swimming pools are available for guests who could not stand having millions of sand in their swimsuits! This is the more popular one as it has a sea view.

Day activities managed by the Sea Sports and Recreation centre and their charges are listed in the above sheet. My intention was to snorkel after that amazing trip i had in Krabi but the operator was not offering snorkeling that day due to poor water visibility.

Foreground is the sports centre while the background features a small yet picturesque island that houses the sun moon restaurant.

A wooden bridge connects the island to the mainland and these huts, initially suspected to be private dining rooms, are in fact rooms managed by Oceanic Spa for guests to have spas, massages and/or jacuzzi baths.

If you are not that particular about privacy, you could pay a slightly cheaper price for a massage in this open gazebo. The price of one massage is still more expensive than Krabi - i paid S$10 for an hour Thai massage in Krabi but i have to fork out around three times the price here.

For more information on the rejuvenating treatments offered by Oceanic Spa, please look above. Do note that prices are in Singapore dollars and subject to change.

Like Bintan Cabana, they have rocks in Agro as well. The differences between the two resorts are obvious; smaller rocks that appeared to be covered in black slush is a far cry from the clean, majestic stones in Cabana.

As you can see, the beach at Agro is also not as pristine even though it should not come as a surprise since this resort attracts more visitors and the installation of any sports centre means increased pollution from motor boats.

You would have noticed the kite-like equipment in some of the photographs - known as kite surfing; this seemed really fun, really exciting and really really tiring! Damn the poor wrist or i would have gladly paid to join this adrenaline driven activity!

Low tide in Bintan Agro was unlike low tide in Singapore; the exposed sea bed in Agro can stretch for a few hundred meters!

That feeling of walking literally out into the sea was breathtaking!

Alex, especially, could not resist the temptation of being the centre of attraction in the 'middle' of the sea. The seawater barely reached above our ankles and we would have proceeded further if not for the darkening skies.

Another reason was that we were too lazy! See the figure in the white circle? That man walked doubled our distance and yet i can still catch sight of his lower thighs! It's more important to fill our stomachs!

Picture of a speed boat lying on the dirty sea bed. This area is near the sports centre which handles motorised sea vessels for island tours and games like Banana Boat.

This tree, adorned with Chinese lanterns in celebration of the recent Chinese New Year, looked pretty eerie at night.

While waiting for the free shuttle to bring us back to Bintan Cabana resort, we found an air-conditioned place that offered free karaoke as long as you purchase a drink! Alex, the self professed singer, belted a few songs in response to apparently horrible singing by other patrons.

Daytime again! We were back in Bintan Agro for a trip to White Sands Island with a group of newly made friends! By the way, the above was one of quite a few retro looking cars parked near the lobby.

It was high tide and the sky looked gloomy - not exactly perfect condition for an island tour. Oh well, i shall touch on White Sands island another day.

Kayaking! We were given the choice of either kayaking or bicycling as part of the Groupon deal and i seriously wanted kayaking. But the tide was too low... :(

Alex had a thrilling time on this Great Marble ride! According to him, this was way better than the banana ride he took later one.

Sadly, i could not partake in any of these due to my problematic wrist. Anyway, you may wish to sign up for the special packages which are slightly discounted.

Just some brochure pictures to pique your interest. I am so going for the Flying Fish when i recover!!!!

A last look at the overcast sky before we left for the ferry terminal.