Club Med Bintan Island Resort Stay Day 1: 17 July 2015, Friday
地中海俱乐部民丹岛度假村第一天：7月17日2015年, 星期五
It was our first time visiting a Club Med Resort. Club Med Bintan Island Resort is the nearest to Singapore, and can be reached via ferry and then a bus ride. No need to take a plane. How convenient? We reached Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal around 8am in the morning and waited for our ferry. Once on board the ferry, it took about an hour to reach Bintan Island. We disembarked at a dock area where a huge "Welcome to Bintan Resorts" sign welcomed us onto the island. We then gathered at the Club Med booth in the waiting area for the Club Med guide to pick us up. Once our coach arrived, it was another half an hour of bus ride before we passed through the gates of Club Med Bintan Island Resort.
Bintan Island here we come!
Goodbye Singapore.
So excited!
We have arrived at Bintan Island!
The ferry that took us to Bintan Island.
Waiting to be picked up by Club Med staff.
A gigantic eagle statue welcomes us onto Bintan Island.
Since it was our first time visiting a Club Med resort, there were some terminology we had to get used to:
The G.O or Gentil Organisateur is the Club Med employee. This name is a Club Med invention. It is unique. The G.O is the ambassador of the Club Med spirit and upholds the company's 5 values: kindness, freedom, responsibility, pioneer, multiculturalism.
The G.E. or Gentil Employé is also a Club Med employee native to the country where the resort is located. He or she is sedentary and has a different status from the G.O. G.Os and G.Es form the same team to work towards the same goal: satisfying the G.M. They do different but complementary professions.
The G.M or Gentil Membre is the customer of Club Med. G.Ms can be of all ages, single, in a couple or family. They come from all over the world looking for a little happiness in our magical resorts where G.Os and G.Es work for them, without being their servants.
[taken from http://www.clubmedjobs.sg/100-jobs-be-discovered/working-village/organisation-our-villages]
After passing through the main gate of the resort, we witnessed Club Med GOs on both sides of the road, with their arms half-raised, and waving both forearms and hands at the same time, much like the windscreen wipers of a car, welcoming us to the resort. Guess it must be their unique way of welcoming guests. The village chief, Jessie Chao, gave us a warm welcome with a little welcome speech, once we alighted from our coach. She then gave instructions to her GOs and GEs on what to do to get us all settled down. Our luggage were already being transferred to our rooms while all of these happened, and we were also given our keys to our rooms. Since we had breakfast very early in the morning back home, and after such a long trip, our stomachs were complaining again. We quickly found ourselves at the nearby restaurant called The Terrasse to have a quick snack just before lunch. This restaurant overlooks the South China Sea and the resort's very own private beach area. Really gave the relaxing feeling that you're in a resort.
The village chief giving instructions to her GOs to give us a big welcome.
Had late breakfast since we were so hungry.
The chef skillfully making us some omelettes.
We could see the beach from this area.
Some of the rooms also in sight from this area.
After the light meal, we roamed and explored some parts of the resort, since our rooms were not yet ready. Got myself a beer since the weather was kinda hot. What a way of relaxation to be able to walk around enjoying a glass of ice cold beer, coupled with the gentle sea breeze and sound of sea waves. We walked to our rooms via footpaths and saw a mini golf course, a lotus pond, a trapeze area. Witnessed some small animals like squirrels and monkeys checking out the rooms as well via the balconies.
Many such water features around the resort.
A booth set up to sell their Club Med T-shirts.
The waterfall has stopped flowing for now.
Enjoying ice cold beer amidst the hot weather.
A mini golf course for golf lovers.
This lotus pond is right outside our block.
Squirrels can be seen scurrying around the balconies.
And monkeys trying to join in the fun too.
Before long, lunch was ready at the main restaurant, The Waterfall, which was situated at the main building. Likewise, there were a few GOs at the entrance to welcome us, and one even with a bottle of hand sanitizer ready for us to clean our hands before our meals. The lunch spread was simply amazing. An international buffet. And it was so for all our meals in fact. The good thing with enjoying a stay at a Club Med resort was no need to fret about how expensive a meal is, because you had already paid for all of the meals and other expenses like drinks and activities, with a few exceptions. Therefore all we, the GMs, had to do was to waltz right into a restaurant and start grabbing food for ourselves and sit at any table we wanted. Same goes for any of the bars, where one could get any beverage like beer, cocktails without paying a single cent. The only exception was hard liquor and very expensive wine, where you would need to pay.
Waterfall, the main restaurant where everyone has their meals.
A huge chunk of cheese. Wonder how long it takes to finish it.
Wide range of fruits and salad for the health-conscious.
Spaghetti lovers will love this.
Whoa they even prepared a huge turkey!
With the huge variety of food ranging from Western, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, Indonesian, fusion, we were spoilt for choice as we spent quite some time browsing through the various options available. There were stations where chefs skillfully prepared some dishes, much like fine dining, and free for all GMs to grab one each.
Grill pumpkin with nuts and Roman lettuce
Chef salad
Some light snacks to go along.
Prawn noodles
Can't wait to sink our teeth into some mouth-watering meat.
Kolak, an Indonesian dessert made of pumpkin, banana and sago.
More desserts for those with a sweet tooth.
Kids can't wait to enjoy some ice-cream.
Japanese cuisine like curry and udon was also available.
For steak lovers.
A nice view of the pool and beach area.
After the hearty meal, we were told that our room was ready so we went to check it out. It was a really cool relaxing-looking room, with a huge king-sized bed. There was even a small zen-looking corner with sofa which one could relax at. Our balcony overlooked the lotus pond, but we would have preferred it to overlook the beach. And what could be a better thing to do after such a heavy meal than a nice afternoon nap on the comfy bed?
A relaxing-looking resort room.
Nice big sink area.
A comfy zen-looking corner to relax at.
All the things you need for a nice stay.
Our balcony area overlooks the lotus pond.
After our nap, we decided to give some of the various sports activities a try. There were tons of sports to choose from such as badminton, basketball, squash, volleyball, yoga, water polo, tennis, kayaking etc. Unfortunately, Momo Dear does not know how to swim and therefore sea sports was out for her. I gave kayaking a try for the first time while she looked on from the safety of the beach. It was quite a cool experience for me since we would not kayak very often back in Singapore, even though we are an island country. After the kayaking experience, I went to wash up and get ourselves ready for dinner. Yes, food again!
All the fruits you can imagine were on display.
Look at all these beautifully crafted dishes.
Vietnamese spring rolls
Specialty of the day: Smoked Salmon Carpaccio
We had satay and otah too. Yummy!!
Indonesian Mie Ayam, or chicken noodles.
Plenty of pastries and cakes as dessert.
Melting Chocolate Sphere
The spread was simply amazing. And the menu was different from that of lunch. There was simply no way to give every dish a try, given the variety of dishes available. As much as we wanted to eat as much as we could, given that it was buffet style at every meal, there was no way our stomachs could fit all the dishes. The desserts were also so beautifully designed that there was no way we could resist not sinking our teeth into them. We just had to exercise and burn off those extra calories when we returned home right...?
Jessie and her team of managers.
And then there was a dancing event after dinner. There was a DJ console set up, with a bit of decorations, such as the iconic "45" and "88" numbers as backdrop behind the DJ console. Then the GOs gathered all GMs to the area and the DJ started playing some dance hits. The GOs at the same time taught GMs some simple dance moves and grooved to the beats. Truly an awesome activity GMs of all ages could enjoy together.
45 88
Everyone dancing to their heart's content.
After the dance off, we gathered at the indoor stage area, where a night of great performance was to be expected from the GOs. As all the GMs sat around the stage area, the GOs started performing various things like skits, singing, dancing and acrobatic acts. The finale was getting all GMs onto their feet and doing a mass dance (again) to some of the latest hits. It was the eventful end of our first day at Club Med Bintan Island Resort. So looking forward to the next day!
The GOs about to give an amazing performance for the night.
A dance performance to start things off.
Followed by some acrobatics.
Be amazed by their skills.
Everyone gets invited to join in the fun.
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