So yeah, for this year's Christmas holiday, my dad and mom decided to take a long trip to Singapore. Yes, I did say it, LONG. Despite the fact that you can travel from Jakarta to Singapore for only 2 hours using an air plane, they chose to travel from Tanjung Pinang, then to Batam, and then Singapore. A long and not very comfortable route. But that was fine, since that gave me the chance to travel to the other side of Indonesia.
So we departed on December 24th last year. Our flight was at 8.30, so we had to wake up early. The day before, me, my mom, and my lil sis got an accident. Luckily (or not?) we're still alive, but, hell, my body wrecked. I got a hard time waking up, but somehow managed to do it. We went to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK), took care of those check-ins etc, and waited at the lounge. To keep it short, at 8.20 or around that, departure called, and there we went.
Compared to Changi, or Narita, or Hong Kong, I always thought that Soekarno-Hatta was quiet sucks. But when I arrived at Tanjung Pinang's airport, Raja Haji Fisabilillah, well, Soekarno-Hatta looked just like Changi. To put it short, my first impression about this airport was, "Is this a fucking airport? You gotta be kidding me.". Only one entrance, one reel for baggage claim, and then, tadah, the exit. It was not an airport, you could just say it 'airport'. I was too amazed that I didn't take a picture. It would be better if you see it with your very own eyes.
Enough about the airport, let's just talk about the island. Actually, Tanjung Pinang is my old man's homeland. He grew up here until... 12 yo, then he moved to Palembang, then to Bandung. So this trip was not only for vacation, but some kind of nostalgia for him. We were picked up by a driver from my mom's co-worker, then, following my old man's lead, we drove around the city. Tanjung Pinang was like some kind of China Town. Go there and see Chinese, Chinese everywhere (that was a favourite joke between me and my bro, even though we're both Chinese too). We went to eat Ta Mi* (supposed to be 'Mie Pangsit' in Indonesian, but hey, we're in China Town!) and Fish soup. It was delicious! I enjoyed it!
After that, we went to a relative house. A bit family chit chat, and whatsoever, then they suggested us to see some pagodas around. I was very interested in Buddhism, so it was a pretty good idea for me. Then, first, we went to a pagoda in Batu Empat Belas*. I have a very weird fetish towards temples, pagodas, Buddhas, etc. So I took lots of photos. Here's some!
 |
| somehow I LOVE this dragon statue |
 |
| Buddha listening for prayers |
 |
| in real, this is very beautiful |
 |
| three headed Buddha |
 |
| my favourite, Swastika symbol, which is rare to find |
 |
| the gorgeous dragon pillar |
 |
| here's the gate |
And so, that was Batu Empat Belas. The place was pretty, and somehow serene... there weren't too many people there. Guess nobody's interested in visiting Pagodas, haha. Well, after that, we went to some kind of park, with some statues in it. The statues weren't very pretty, but they were interesting, since they were from 'The Journey to The West'. The Park wasn't a remarkable place (I even forgot the name), but here's some photos.
 |
| Buddha, and swastika |
 |
| Buddha with lots of hands |
 |
| Cu Pat Kai and the white horse |
 |
| inside the caged bath, there were turtles |
After this place, we went to a somewhere called Patung seribu, which means 1000 statues. Well, in this place, there were sure lots of statues. Just like the 300.000 (or around that number) statues temple in Japan. This is probably the most interesting place that I've been in Tanjung Pinang. Some of the priest statues had very funny facial expressions! I'll show you some!
 |
| i found this is hard not to laugh at |
 |
| the middle one was.. very photogenic |
 |
| like some MLM seller |
 |
| line of laughable priests |
 |
| beautiful |
 |
| the uninstalled statues |
Overall, I found that Tanjung Pinang wasn't that fascinating. Well, the story would be different if I stayed at Bintan resort (a goddamnly expensive resort, that was preserved for foreigners. They even use SGD as the currency. Hey, this IS Indonesia!). But if you love foods (esp. Chinese food). Well, do come here! Maybe in the middle of your trip to Singapore, just like me and my family did.
