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Bintan: blue water, forest and an enormous mango

Blue Lake, Mount Bintan and a beautiful morning on the shore, with meals around the island.

Indonesia20239 photographs

By Julius Uy2 min read

A low wooden jetty reaches into bright turquoise water beneath ochre banks at Blue Lake Bintan.

This Bintan trip took in the turquoise water of Blue Lake, the forest at Mount Bintan and a beautiful morning by the sea. There were meals around the island too, plus a mango so large it barely fitted in my hand.

Blue Lake Bintan

At Blue Lake, bright turquoise water met bare banks of pale sand and ochre earth. A low wooden jetty reached out from the edge, with a few trees standing on the ridge opposite.

The surrounding ground rose in rounded mounds and sharply worn ridges. Small shelters stood on the open earth, while wooden walkways crossed another stretch of water nearby.

A low wooden jetty reaches into bright turquoise water beneath ochre banks at Blue Lake Bintan.
Blue Lake Bintan: turquoise water and ochre banks.
Rounded ridges of pale sandy ground stretch beneath a blue, cloud-filled sky.
Pale ridges in the landscape around Blue Lake.

Mount Bintan

The Mount Bintan visit took me into dense green forest. Long vines looped between the trees, sunlight came through gaps in the canopy, and fallen leaves covered the ground.

Moss grew thickly over fallen wood. The trail passed a small shelter and a signpost among the trees.

Long looping vines hang between trees above the leaf-covered forest floor at Mount Bintan.
Vines in the forest at Mount Bintan.
A fallen trunk covered in bright green moss lies among leaves and dense forest plants.
Moss-covered wood on the Mount Bintan visit.

Morning on Bintan’s shore

“Beautiful morning” was all I wrote about this part of the trip. The sun was low over the sea, with its reflection stretching towards the beach.

Large boulders lay across the sand and in the shallow water. A wooden walkway wound between them, while a broad tree shaded the shore.

The low morning sun shines across calm water towards a rocky beach shaded by a large tree.
A beautiful morning on Bintan’s shore.
A wooden walkway with small lamps winds between coastal boulders towards the rising sun.
The walkway among the shore’s boulders.

Meals around Bintan

At one restaurant, the staff managed to butcher both the chicken and my name. The reservation card supplied the second half of the joke.

Meals elsewhere in the album included chicken and rice with cucumber, tofu and tempeh, and a bowl of noodles, greens and meatballs. There were also skewers, crackers and small dishes of sauce.

Then there was the gigantic mango, still waiting to be butchered. Holding it in one hand was enough to show just how large it was.

Chicken, white rice, cucumber, tofu and tempeh are served with a small bowl of red sauce.
Chicken and rice during the Bintan trip.
Meatballs, greens and fine noodles sit in a clear soup in a white bowl.
A bowl of noodle soup with meatballs and greens.
A large red-brown mango fills an outstretched hand.
The gigantic mango, still waiting to be cut.

A low wooden jetty reaches into bright turquoise water beneath ochre banks at Blue Lake Bintan.
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