It's been a little over a year since I've been on on a trip somewhere. Work and school commitments in the past year took up the bulk of my time and the grind is making me so pissy that it'd be good to have a short break to unwind a little.
Came across this 'Canopi' place through a couple of friends' reccomendations. Proceeded on the check the place out via online sources and felt that it was quite decent. It kinda had the 'Maldives' feel to me where there was clear water right outside your accommodation, but more budget lol.
The Canopi is located in Bintan and is approximately a 10min drive from the Teluk Sebong Ferry Terminal.
I was actually quite amazed the second I entered the main lobby with how picturesque the place really was. The water was vast and crystal clear. On top of that, the place was also not swarmed with people, which made it less touristy and made the experience felt more like a real 'get-away'.
View from the Main Lobby
See the those pointy huts over there? Those are actually the guest accommodations. It really made the experience feel really different from your typical hotel room stay by having more of an 'adventure' vibe.
Our Tent
You'd think that a tent like that may have the interior of some make-shift beds and furniture, however it really still looks like a hotel room inside.
Interior
I swear, the whole interior looks like some couple oriented place. The initial idea of a bunch of guys hanging out inside was quite funny.
Shower Point
The shower was really amusing. The entrance to it was behind our tent and was essentially an 'outdoor' area where you could literally hear people passing by outside. There were also live plants being grown from the soil right in front of the showering point! 'Nature calls' huh.
We had lunch at a restaurant bar in the vicinity. Price-wise, it was quite expensive, given that I'd expect things in Indonesia to be cheaper. But then again, it's still in the lagoon area, so probably no surprise.
The Patio
Nasi Goreng
The food was acceptable I guess, given it's price (12,000 Rupiah). Had to order something though as we were really hungry after arriving and it was the closest thing we could find.
Mangrove Kayaking
After the meal, we headed out to the activity center to see what was available. I've already seen some of their activities available on their website and thiswas something that I really wanted to try.
The cost for the trip was around 45,000 Rupiah per pax. It is inclusive of a guide, but we were lucky as on the way, a local that was familiar with the mangroves tagged along with our guide as well.
Transport (UTV) to the Mangrove
Mangrove Entrance
Bridge leading to the Kayaks
Ready to go!
I must say, I was pretty thrilled when I arrived. I've never Kayak-ed in a swampy area before and first time experiences are always the most exciting. Also, seeing that noone else was around, we had the whole area to ourselves which made it even better.
Me and my bro were supposed to share 1 Kayak, but we
somehow managed to convince the guide to let each of us have our own for
the activity.
After being briefed on the route, techniques and some of the safety guidelines that we should follow, we got on our kayaks and headed off!
Starting Area
Smile!
Paddling down the Mangrove
During the paddling phase, I had some problems at first going straight at first, but eventually got used to it. We were initially paddling upstream as well, so it was quite shack on the shoulders. Still, glancing around once in awhile and seeing no one but us in the whole river stretch feels really good man.
Within the Mangrove
Guide brought us off the main wide river stream and into one of those small passageways at the side. When we paddled in, the trees were all closer and there was a lot less space to maneuver around. This was the time where there was some feeling of uncertainty and danger.
In this area, the guide and the local also pointed out a snake to us which was literally just above my head at one point in time. Seriously, those things are really damn camouflaged and it's super hard to see. Good thing that none of them dropped on me.
Continued to make our way to the end-point, before taking a short break.
Victory Pose!
Spent a good couple of minutes trying to get the balance right lol.
The way back was actually a lot easier for us. Remember I said that we were paddling against the current before? Well, now it's just pulling us back. At times, you didn't even need to paddle, but only adjust at certain points.
This made the return trip quite relaxing, we could literally lie down in the kayak and chill while the current pulled us back.
And... We're back!
Gave our guide a good tip as he was super helpful and accommodating (gave us water, told us about the history of the place, helped us take photo & all that).
Jetovator
Well since I was already wet and dirty from the kayaking trip and was too lazy to change my clothes, I figured that I'd go ahead and do the Jetovator straight away after.
This was one of the activities that I've been eye-ing to do even before the trip. However, it is fucking expensive (189,000 Rupiah for 30mins incl. coaching). That's approximately 195 SGD. Ouch, but meh, I just paid.
Had to sign the usual indemnity forms again before the crew proceeded to get the whole thing set up.
Jetovator
The Jetovator is essentially a water powered flying bike that is powered by a Jet Ski via some kind of hose.
Received a briefing from the crew regarding the Jetovator.
Basically, there are 3 nozzles that the water shoots/gushes out from. One in the middle, which is at a fixed angle and the other 2 which can be controlled via the 2 handlebars at the front. The advise given was to always pull or push both handle bars at the same time and not to pull/push 1 more than the other. Also, don't over pull or you'll flip backwards and crash into the water.
Body positioning is very important throughout it's whole usage. The whole machine is seriously super sensitive to any slight shift in weight. Sometimes even when I thought that my body was straight, it was actually tilting slightly to the left, causing me to flip even before I start to move.
Had to wear a motorbike helmet as well for safety purposes.
First Few Tries (Falling)
Initially, even before flying, I kept flipping around in the water and fell a few times at the start which was slightly depressing.
However, after a few tries, I started to get the hang of it.
Getting Better
After a while, I realised that the trick (for me at least) was to ascend slowly. I initially focused on going straight and tried to prevent myself from flipping around in the water. Once I could do that, I'd slowly pull the lever towards myself and straighten my body to a standing position, without tilting as much as possible.
It's seriously all about feeling and managing the handlebars properly and getting your weight distribution correct.
Once I was slightly up, I experimented turning and it was seriously quite delicate business.
Couple of tries in, I was finally 'flying' and it felt DAAAAMNNN SHIOK MAN!! I actually shouted 'WOOOO!!' the first time I flew up.
Felt so boss riding this thing. The sound of the water jet propulsion is really quite loud, so all the aunties, uncles and kids passing by or are in the area will keep looking at you LOL.
Happy Man
Would totally do this again some other time. If only it weren't so pricey, I'd be all over this shit.
The Kelong Seafood Restaurant
Had to book a car to fetch us to this place as there were people that wanted to try the food here due to certain good reviews that they had online.
Restaurant Sign Board
Kelong Dining Scenery
Even though it is called 'The Kelong', the whole place is quite modernised and is nicely built over the sea. It is essentially a chinese restaurant serving all kinds of related cuisines.
Broccoli with Mushrooms & Salted Egg
Scallops
Fried Chicken
Dessert - Mango Pudding
The food was really tasty and the view of the sea made the whole dining experience a lot more flavorful.
Bill added up to be approximately 90SGD for 4 people, which is quite similar to a typical restaurant back in Sg.
On our way back, we made a stop at Pujasera Village to stock up on supplies (water, snacks, cup noodles, etc). Some of the locals couldn't really understand english and we had to use hand signs to communicate which was quite fun. Also, the stuff was really cheap - 1x 1.5l bottle of water cost only 5000 Rupiahs (0.50SGD).
Sunset @ The Canopi
Headed back to our hotel to rest and retire for the night.
The next day was a pretty chill day and we were mostly just walking around/sunbathing/swimming/lazing around on the beach chairs or in our room.
In the morning, we had our breakfast at the resort, which was those typical international buffet. Me being me, I just took 1 of everything that didn't look disgusting.
Day 2 Breakfast
Gobbled that up quickly and headed over to the activity center to get my hands on a scooter as I've always been wanting to try one. (Ever since my mom told me to f-off when I asked about getting a motorbike license >.<)
Scooter Rental
Me and my Scooter!
Rider's View
The scooter is actually electric powered and has no gears. Basically, just the throttle, the front break and the rear break. Balancing on it is somewhat like a bicycle, you have to accelerate to help keep your balance.
Oh ya, the throttle is quite sensitive, twisting a little already pushes you forward by a considerable amount.
Vroom Vroom
Wish that this thing could go faster though, they probably mod it to be super slow. Then again, it is probably the reason why they let you rent one of these without a motorcycle license.
Indoor Air-soft Range
Passed by a shop letting you shoot some BB guns. 30 bullets for 60,000 Rupiahs, why not?
Air Rifle
Air Pistol
The stuff really felt like the real thing. I asked the guy about it and he said that the weight and make is quite similar to the real thing, the only difference was that it was shooting BB pallets instead of real bullets.
The pistol is actually harder to aim as there is less support and is more prone to shaking + my shooting skills is quite cui already.
Ended up shooting 90 bullets, before walking to some neardy make-shift road side stores to get lunch. Ate satay, 2 ramly burgers and 1 beef noodle soup (with the excuse of bulking of course).
Day 2 Lunch
Lazed around the beach seats after and watched some Harry Potter back in our room (they were playing every single movie consecutively, without commercials).
Almost ate (but didn't) our 2nd dinner at the resort, which was super boring.
Went to the counter and asked if there was anywhere outside to go. The staff recommended me a Kampong restaurant where you had to take a boat ride to get there. Seeing as we had no other plans for the evening, it'd be a good way to go out and kill some time.
Mangrove River Kampong Restaurant
This dinner trip was quite interesting as we had to first take a car to a jetty area, where we then had to get onto a boat which then sent us to some ulu restaurant in the middle of nowhere AT NIGHT.
Boat Bringing us to the Restaurant
The journey was actually quite an eye opener. The boat was literally travelling in pitch black darkness. I couldn't see anything at all aside from some outlines, highlighting the semblance of a couple of small islands around us.
The boat trip took around 5-10mins before we finally reached the restaurant.
Outside View
It was another chinese restaurant, but this time, the prices were more reasonable than the one we ate yesterday. There were also performances of the locals doing some traditional dance/martial arts as you ate.
Day 2 Dinner
We ordered Salted Egg Calamari Rings, Mussels, Kai Lan, Hotplate Tofu & a Black Grouper.
I must say, the food is seriously damn good. I'd even rate it higher than some of the higher end chinese restaurants back in Sg.
After the meal, it was around 8-9pm and we headed back to The Canopi. Apparently, the Harry Potter marathon was still going on. Watched finished the 'Goblet of Fire', before packing up my stuff to get ready to check out the next morning.
The following day, we packed our bags, checked out, took the ferry back
to Tanah Merah ferry terminal, before making our way back to home sweet
home.
Special
shout-out to all the staff there as well. They were all super helpful and
really did go the extra mile to provide good service. Kudos!
Even though the trip was short, I felt that it was a nice break to have.
Also managed to get a nice tan. :D
