Bloke Outings (Golf and Scuba Diving)

Wayne ventured out with a group from work for a days golf - at Ria Bintan in Indonesia. Fantastic golf course, great views over the sea, very technical with loads of bunkers and water hazards. Apart from nearly getting sunstroke after 5 and a half hours in the sun with 30+ degrees and near 100% humidity it was superb. My first experience with a caddy - they are so helpful, just a pity my golf wasn't up to standard.

The signature hole is hole 9 which is par 3, 130m hitting across the sea to land on the only flat piece on land in sight.

The next weekend Wayne went Scuba diving on a live-aboard luxury dive boat called Black Manta. Six dives in two days is full on diving! We left Singapore 7pm on Friday night and motored for 12 hours to Anambus Islands in Indonesian waters off the East coast of Malaysia. Very comfortable diving - water was 30 degrees and at least 20 metres of visibility. Didn't see any whale sharks or manta rays as hoped, but did see plenty of Nemo's mates. Diving highlights included a ship wreck (super tanker sunk in 1960s) and a night dive.

Bintan Indonesia

We decided it was time to visit a nearby holiday resort and booked into Niwana Gardens for two nights on Bintan Island, Indonesia. Nice and convienient - a one hour fast ferry trip from Singapore and you're in another country with white sandy beaches!

It was very cosy having a standard hotel size room with 2 adults and 3 kids sharing a king size and one single bed! But hey, the odd communication mix-up is bound to happen when you're travelling. We spent most time outdoors and the kids stayed up as late as they could manage.

The kids loved the giant swimming pool more than the beach! But we did ensure we spent time playing in the sand, running up and down the beach and swimming in the sea. Joshua and Tessa started to learn how to snorkel and loved it. Not many fish to see though and the water was a bit murkey - not surprising when you can see oil tankers out on the horizon!

It was a fantastic first holiday away and we'll be back sometime (especially for the golf courses which are some of the best in the world!).