The idea to go to Tanjung Pinang was thrown out a long while back and it obviously stuck in her mind. Since my uncle landed in hospital again, and this time it seemed like he might not be able to leave as soon, she decided she wanted to go to Tanjung Pinang. While planning the trip, she kept wondering if she would be able to go, and kept pushing us to go as soon as possible. While we set a date, she still keeps wondering if she can go and I told her perhaps she should just confirm my uncle's place in the rehabilitation centre before she took the trip. She decided to give in to temptation and asked us to add her to the trip.
Good thing for her was that Angie got sick, and good thing for Angie because she did not have to deal with my aunt. So my aunt took Angie's place for the trip, of which we already planned a few things.
So the trip to Tanjung Pinang involves about a two-hour ferry ride from Singapore and my aunt gets seasick easily. My mom had advised her on what to do during the trip but she obviously did not listen as she decided she wanted to play some card games on the ferry. Everyone kept telling her to focus on something far out but she obviously does not listen and say it does not help, but somehow, focusing on the sun setting help ease her seasickness. Is that not focusing on something far away? Got off the ferry and she decided that she is the ultimate survivor until I remind her to keep quiet at immigration.
We managed to get the hotel to pick us up from the ferry terminal and while waiting for other passengers, she decided to tell the driver to bring her on the tour like it was her own taxi. Had to remind her that we are not the only passengers in the van that was only supposed to bring us back to the hotel.
Our first stop was a night market that seemed really close to the hotel and while the rest of us were looking to see what we wanted to eat and share, she decided to buy two packs of kueh baulu and kueh pie tee from the first stall she saw, all because they were cheap. Then as Adi and I went to order more food, she decided to order another pack of kueh pie tee thinking that we wanted more. Obviously not paying attention to the fact that we actually went to order food. There were about fifty stalls there and she decides to order the same dish from the same stall twice. You are here for only two days, how about try something you cannot get in Singapore?
After dinner, I managed to spot quinine mangoes and decided to buy about two kilograms back and she decides to follow suit with two kilograms for herself as well. Adi thought a kilogram was already too much, yet she buys two. She also got a bit offended when she did not get a free mango while Adi and I both got one stuffed into our bags. Perhaps if you picked the mangoes and helped to clear the stock, the stall owner would also do the same for you.
The next day, she wakes up earlier than Adi and I and decides that coughing around the room, digging through her bag and checking on her phone is a good idea. If you want to enjoy the view outside, just go out and leave the room quietly, close the door as the air conditioner is running, and try to be as quiet as possible. No one wakes up at 5am just for breakfast at 7am. An alarm has been set on my phone for a reason as well. Also, please get with the programme and realise that Bintan is an hour behind Singapore. Perhaps travelling with Adi and Angie so often has created a certain routine among us, and when anyone else is sleeping, all of us tend to be considerately quiet as tired travellers are grumpy travellers.
That said, we managed to hire a driver and the deal was to bring us to anywhere we wanted on the island. We told him we wanted to start at the market to get all the stuff I wanted as my dad would leave first as he needed to go back to work the next day. Shopping in the market was meant to be for products like dried fish and crackers, things that Tanjung Pinang is known for. However, she decides she wants to look for batik, and when she found them pricier than another part of Indonesia, she decided she wanted to leave the market behind and go somewhere else.
The rest of us stick to the market plan and while we scouted around and compared prices, she wanted to buy for the very first stall she spotted something as it was cheap. She then asks my dad if we could bring rice into Singapore as she wanted to get some, just because it is CHEAP! My dad had given up by then and told her we probably could not bring it in. She then buys everything that we are buying and in quantities too much for her consumption. Sees us buying tempeh and she buys one. See us buying crackers and she buys some. I'm not sure what she spent on but apparently by the second day she had spent most of her money.
She then tells the driver that she wants to visit a temple on the island as it is apparently the biggest one in Southeast Asia. After driving a little out of the way of everything, she goes into the temple and decides she does not want to give any offerings. You made the driver drive all the way out here, with nothing else interesting within sight to visit, and you decide not to give any offerings? Also you say that it is no good to take photos? You are just as bad as the monkeys jumping around taking selfies then.
We then check-in to the second hotel and the look of shock and horror when she found out she would be sleeping on her own in one room was priceless. She actually said that she had never travelled on her own, nor had her own room. I guess it was time she learn to be on her own as Adi and I were not giving up our place in the suite as we both needed a break from her.
Seeing that the hotel was quite close to the pasar malam we were at last night, we were hoping to get a few more quinine mangoes as I knew my uncle would appreciate some after his dengue attack. Right next to it was a supermarket and she decides that getting two packs of yakult was a bargain as it was REALLY CHEAP! Only 70 cents for a pack of five bottles. One more day in Tanjung Pinang and no refrigeration in sight, a milk-based drink is a brilliant idea.
Finally we send dad to get his ferry ride back to Singapore and we head back to the hotel for a nap. We decided to meet the driver at 8pm and by 7.15, we get an irritating series of knocks on the door which we tried to ignore. However, she decides to head back to her room just to call us and make sure we are awake enough to answer the door.
We head to another night market near the beach, and Adi and I just told her we will leave her to think about purchasing some ugly shoes, once again because they were CHEAP! She then gets scared and leaves the idea behind and joins us for dinner. While she wondered how is it she was left with so little money from the purchases earlier in the day, she still wanted to give her money away to a beggar who looked at her pitifully. Seriously?
Finally the last day and we were supposed to meet around 9am for breakfast. We were supposed to meet in the restaurant, but 8.15am and I hear someone knocking at the door. What do you not understand about just meeting downstairs? Do not bother people if they are sleeping. If you are done with breakfast and it is time to check out and you do not see us, perhaps only then do you come knocking on the room door, or calling the room.
We get down and we can hear her from the stairs, talking excitedly about something. The group next to her obviously wanted to leave and could only do so when we got to the table and stopped her from talking. All through the breakfast, she just could not shut up and I only had peace when she needed the toilet.
We then head up to pack and check out, and while we were halfway through, we get another knock on the door. She really needs to start getting a little more independent. This day we head to the Trikora beach and on the way back, I spotted a shop selling items woven from bamboo and rattan, things she had been looking for. When I told her about it, she asked me how we will bring it back. I honestly gave her the blankest stare I could while wondering if she was stupid or idiotic. Seriously, we are taking a ferry ride. There is no baggage weight restriction except for the one you put on yourself. Well, better that we did not stop for her to shop and head to the seafood place we actually planned to eat at.
While there, she decides to mention that we should not order too much things, probably because she did not have enough money. Here we are at one of the most famous and popular seafood restaurants in Tanjung Pinang, and you decide we should not order too much? Adi and I know what we can put in, but if you decided to eat the food rather than the big plate of rice served to you, I think we would have needed more food. In the end, we ate everything except two pieces of chicken, which was not wasted as they went to the cats.
Good thing she kept quiet throughout the ferry ride and most of the drive home.
No comments:
Post a Comment