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Two nights in Bintan

A short family trip across the water for a close friend’s 40th birthday.

By Thawaio1 min read26–28 June 2026 · Bintan

A sandy beach curving away along calm, shallow water at sunset, under an orange and pale blue sky, with a line of dark trees and a few small islands on the horizon.
Sunset on 27 June.

We went to Bintan from 26 to 28 June for a close friend’s 40th birthday. I travelled with my family, and we crossed from Tanah Merah to Bandar Bentan Telani by ferry.

The ferry from Tanah Merah

We left from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal on 26 June and crossed to Bandar Bentan Telani. From there, we made our way to Four Points by Sheraton.

The open rear deck of a ferry, with empty wooden benches, a red flag on a pole and a small gate marked “No entry, crew only”, looking out over blue sea under a cloudy sky.
On the ferry from Tanah Merah, 26 June.

Arrival and the birthday evening

By the time we reached the hotel, it was evening. We stayed in a bungalow with a private pool.

That night, we celebrated our friend’s 40th birthday at the hotel. After the celebration, we called it a night.

A white multi-storey hotel building behind tall palms and casuarina trees in the early evening, with lawns, a small pond, umbrellas and an illuminated sign in the foreground.
The hotel grounds on the evening of 26 June.
Silhouettes of tall coconut palms against a blue and orange dusk sky, with the sea behind them and a pond in the foreground reflecting the trees.
Dusk on 26 June.

A day on the water

On 27 June, we went on a banana boat and rode jet skis.

I shared one jet ski with my son. A close friend rode another with his son. Riding alongside each other is the moment I remember most clearly from the trip.

I do not have a photograph of that ride, but it is the memory that stands out.

Later, we had drinks beside the pool.

Fireworks over the resort

That evening, fireworks appeared over the resort. They were not part of our birthday celebration, and I never found out what they were for.

A firework bursting in white and red sparks against a black night sky, with a trail of smoke beneath it and the dark tops of palm trees along the bottom of the frame.
Fireworks over the resort on the evening of 27 June.

Returning on 28 June

We returned home on 28 June. It was a short trip, but the jet-ski ride with our sons stayed with me.

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