(Family time) Our first family getaway!

We just had our first family trip on 12th to 14th April! It was amazing. Gerald, Leia, Jo, my in-laws, my mum and I went to Bintan for a short trip. Leia's first time overseas! We stayed at Angsana bintan and we were lucky to have seafacing rooms with awesome views.

The journey:

Our ferry rides to and fro went pretty well! Just a short 45 mins ride one way. Even though we didn't book emerald class, the economy seats were comfortable and the ferry wasn't crowded (Sunday is a good time to travel!)

Leia did well during the ferry rides! She slept through most of it and wasn't very cranky. She barely cried =D

The hotel:

G and I have been to Angsana before so we knew how it was going to be. I love that it's a quiet hotel with good service.

It has a good sized swimming pool with jacuzzi and cool big floats to play with. Beach is awesomeeee. Waters were clear and turquoise. Bintan is really much nicer in April compared to other parts of the year! What was disappointing though, was that there were tar/oil spills on the beach. All of us had our feet and slippers stained! -.-

Lots of greenery and flowers making the place very serene. Nothing beats being surrounded by all this nature.

Angsana's rooms are a bit old I must say. I thought they renovated but they still appear rather shabby. Their walls and furniture look old. Their toilets could be a lot newer and cleaner. I still prefer Nirwana's hotel rooms. But in terms of sea view, Angsana's was awesomeeee. 

What we did:

On the first day, we didn't get to do much. Just checked in, explored the compounds and checked out the beach!

We had 2 highlights at the beach haha. One was having our feet stained by oil spills. The other was discovering that Leia has an immense phobia of sand! She does! Not sure if it's common for toddlers to be so afraid. Basically, after we put her down on the sand, she started crying and clung onto us like a koala bear! She totally hated it lol.

We had dinner at The lotus cafe at Angsana. Food was good but soooo pricey. That's the downside of Angsana compared to Nirwana, meals are so expensive! 

On the second day, we woke up to the most gorgeous sunrise in our hotel room. Our view was breathtaking. 

Our buffet breakfast was good. Filled our bellies before we all went to the swimming pool! It was so exciting because it was Leia's first time swimming! She totally enjoyed sitting in her float and playing with the water. No fear, whatsoever. Lol. My in laws joined in swimming as well and we all had fun in the sun =D 

We headed to D'bintan for a massage whilst Leia took her nap. We weren't very impressed with the massage. There weren't any private rooms for us and the ambience just wasn't enjoyable. We were  all in cubicles, separated by curtains -.- massage was so so only. Lunch at Ole Ole was good though!

After we got back, we hung out at the beach where Gerald and I went into the sea. We let Leia swim again since she loved it so much! 

Our day ended with dinner at the Kelong. Food was surprisingly good and quite affordable. I was quite paranoid at the place because it was surrounded by the sea and the barricades weren't very extensive. Was so afraid Leia would run and fall off -.- But all was good and we enjoyed the dinner very much. Portions were big!

On the last day, we just had a very very full breakfast. Gerald, my mum and I went to have a massage at Angsana spa and it was soooooooo good. Much much better than D'bintan! Pricey but worth it. Loved the ambience, the massage, the tea and fruits swerved. Everything was just perfect. 

I really enjoyed the family trip. We had family and personal time. Really thankful for all the help we had for Leia. So grateful that she stayed safe throughout our trip.