batam, i dont know where to start

it hasn't even been 2 months but again i find myself in indonesia; this time with the gf :)
this time its on the island of batam.

not much to do on this island but all was good, we made the most of it.

we stayed at the ace hotel next to the massive nigoya mall and ventured out on day 3, had ourselves brekkie and then decided to check out the local beach next to turin. the experience? 

interesting.

the taxi dropped us off in front of these village huts. i turned to the driver and he looked right back. yep, this was it.

he didn't know much english but he did nod, which at this point was at an all-time high. 

this was definitely our stop.

Amerie and I looked at each other and began to walk towards the shore. we meandered through rickety old wooden planks and find the shore.
indonesian families in the dozens all strewn across the shallow beach,
naked toddlers running here and fro,
the serious and stern looks of middle-aged indonesian men all pointed directly at us.  

i hold Am's hand tight and do what i always do in these situations,

i smile and walk as if my feet were light as feathers.

after a good mile of walking we took a little break and lay our beach towel. we settle next to a family and take everything in. its nice
we resume our walking and find ourselves at the edge of the cove in a park where groups of 10-20 indonesians deep were cooking goodness, dancing, and having a great time. 

we didn't not want to stick around much longer so we began to walk back to see if we could find a cab to turin beach but no cabs were to be seen. we walked along the highway in the humid and heavy indo heat and after a few close calls, we found a random ferry terminal that had shuttle services to turin beach.

i guess i should also mention here that this is when the food poisoning began.

yes, again.

i was and currently still am suffering the symptoms of food poisoning. not as severe as the first time in bali, but the diarrhea; well, it hasn't been pretty. Amerie also wasn't feeling all that great but we held it together. 

ok, so we found turin beach and its pretty much controlled by the island resorts and the shuttle that took us there spent almost an hour touring around the enclave of the resort villas. 

we finally made it and my stomach wasn't feeling that great. thankfully the resorts had amazing and beautifully scented washrooms.


we made our way along the resort grounds and they sure did cut themselves a nice slice of beach. it was nice even with the patchy clouds looming around.



the moral of the story?
getting food poisoning sucks.
getting food poisoning a 2nd time in less than 2 months sucks even more.

but seriously, even in the midst of difficult and challenging circumstances, your company will always be the breaking or selling point. it truly reveals someone's character and i was so blessed to have spent it my gorgeous angel.

the last time i was in indonesia i felt like i was going to die. this time i had Amerie with me :)
my singaporean ray of light.