That Was a Trip That Was

Now before I start, you must know that this is only the second year that I've been living alone. I mean before that, I did nothing, literally nothing on my own. I didn't have to lift a finger. And now suddenly I found myself thrown into a world of laundry and midnight library sessions and half-baked microwave lasagne.

But clearly, that wasn't enough for me, or my roommate because we decided to do something interesting this fall break. And by interesting I don't mean renting bikes at ECP (though that would've also been cool). We decided to take a short weekend trip to another country.

So it was a typical day at home. I was sitting at the desk, working on my laptop (read: trying to download the latest episode of How I Met Your Mother) and Sakshi was sitting on the bed listening to music.

Sakshi: You know what? We should go to Bintan in the break.

Me: We should totally go to Bintan this break! Wait, let me Google it...

Bintan is one of the many islands of Indonesia. It’s a charming place really, tropical beaches, white sand, palm trees, the whole package.

Me: Oh you know what! We'll see if Ayushi is free and then the three of us can go together!

Sakshi: She has a boyfriend.

Me: Oh, okay.

I swung around on the revolving chair to face my roommate. "Wait, what does that have to with Bintan? Her boyfriend lives in Calcutta."

Sakshi: Yeah but he's visiting her in Singapore in the break.

Me: Oh, okay.

So the plan was made. We found a travel agency and booked our holiday deal for two, a 2 day 1 night trip to Bintan, Indonesia.

Me: Aren't you excited? We're going to Indonesia!

Sakshi: Yeah! Are you sure we need the small suitcase? Can't we just take a bag?

Me: Sakshi, we're carrying kilograms worth of Body Shop lotions and creams and facewashes. You really think it will fit in a bag?

Sakshi: Point.

So the big day arrived. We had to get up fairly early (much to my disgust), but a cup of coffee later, I stopped complaining. We took the MRT to the coast. Then we waited what seemed like forever for a bus. Then the bus took an eternity to reach the ferry terminal.

Once we arrived at the ferry terminal, we checked in our luggage and and converted some dollars to Rupaiyah. Sakshi picked up a bag of chips. I looked outside. "Sakshi, it’s raining."

"Don't worry; I'm sure the weather will clear out by the time we get there."

By the time, they announced boarding, I was very excited. I did not however realize that the boarding jetty instead of being fixed, bobs up and down with the sea.

Me: Oh God, Sakshi, I don't like it one bit. It’s making me sick.

Sakshi: Oh come on! Don't be such a baby. See you're holding up the line...

Once I was on the ferry, I felt much better. Sakshi made me sit by the window and opened the bag of chips.

The ferry ride was uneventful but interesting. They showed Finding Nemo on the flat screen in front of us. I saw many kinds of ships from the window including what I think were a carrier and a battleship. At one point, we also saw a lighthouse.

Forty five minutes later, we reached Bintan. It was still raining. After immigration we found the bus that was supposed to take us to our hotel. A reasonable amount of time later (when all the remaining guests had tottered out of the ferry and cleared immigration) we boarded the bus which was headed towards Nirwana Resort.

Our stop was the Beach Club. It was still raining. There was a large, airy, open lobby with a couple of hotel staff. They rushed to help us with our one, tiny red suitcase (yes, containing our Body Shop toiletries). We sat in the large, wicker chairs and drank the welcome drink, which though of a questionable colour was really interesting in fruity, tropical way.

We were given our key to a room in a cottage, or Cabana as they called it. For some reason, that excited me a lot and I started humming Barry Manilow, but stopped soon when I caught Sakshi's eye. We went inside the Cabana. The room was sparsely furnished, but it was pretty, very Cabana-like. Most importantly, it had two Very Large and Comfortable beds. This was such a change from our narrow, squeaky bunk bed that both of us flopped down and promptly went off to sleep.

We got up an hour later, refreshed, but starving. Sakshi looked outside and exclaimed, 'Hey look, it stopped raining. Wow! The beach looks gorgeous!"

It really did. The sea was a clear blue. Small waves crashed into the white coral beach. The sun was up and the rocks and trees by the sand were glistening with the drops of rain. Excited we headed out. But first things first, we went to the restaurant. We were hungry so we ordered some local cuisine and proceeded to enjoy our latish lunch. After that we went for a walk on the beach. Let me tell you, walking on soft, white sand without your flip-flops feels almost magical. I saw some weird, small, round, white, flower-like, star-shaped living/dead creatures washed up in the tide. I spent half an hour arguing with Sakshi as to whether they were jellyfish or starfish. We still don't know. There were hundreds of other shells and corals. I even picked up a piece of a green brain coral.

We walked along the entire length of the beach where it ended with a clump of trees and rocks jutting out to form a cove. There were a couple of sand pipers hopping about on the rocks. It was all very picturesque, like stuff you read about in books, or see in movies. After that we began walking back to the hotel lobby, but first we stopped to check at the water-sports counter. 

Now Sakshi, as you have already realized, is the mother hen of the two of us. She however, is also a very brave, adventurous and plucky young girl. I, on the other hand, scare easy. I mean, I refused to get on the Singapore Flyer because it reminded me of a ferris wheel my cousin and I were coaxed into riding in a village fair. I can safely say that both Babu and I were permanently traumatized that summer.

Anyway, so Sakshi has done all kinds of adventure sports in the past, especially air and water related ones, and has actually enjoyed them. I have been in a go-kart, with my dad, when I was fifteen. Enough said? So my dear roommate wanted us to go on this ride called the banana boat, where they basically row you to the middle of the sea and then overturn the boat, multiple times. The other option was that bike-like thing which whizzes on the water, I'm forgetting the real name, but what I do know is that Salman Khan rides it a lot. And then there was sea-kayaking. That seemed like a safe option, and I was leaning towards it, but Sakshi decided that the best thing to do would be to go on the flying fox.

Me: Oh you have got to be kidding me.

Sakshi: Why? It sounds like fun! Plus I've always wanted to do it...

Me: Sakshi, they tie you to a rope and throw you from a tower. And then you fly, until you reach another tower. I mean, we could die.

Sakshi: Oh come on! It sounds like fun.

We went back to the hotel lobby and asked for information about the flying fox. Well Sakshi did, I stood there nervously in the background, scratching the gravel with my foot.

Receptionist: Well you could wait for the shuttle bus; it will be here in half an hour. Or you could walk there yourself. It’s not far and the path is right around the mini zoo.

Us: Mini zoo it is!

The walk was nice. It wasn't too sunny and the right amount of windy. The mini zoo was awesome. They had colourful birds, eagles, vultures, snakes, fishes, alligators, turtles. Eventually we reached the Nirwana Hotel. It belonged to the same resort that we were staying in, but the hotel was a lot nicer and expensive than our Cabanas at the Beach Club.

Me: Ooo, look! We can rent a buggy and go for a buggy ride!

Sakshi: We'll need to show them a driving license.

Me: I have mine, we could show them mine.

As it turned out, buggy ride rentals were closed for the day. The receptionist did however say that the shuttle bus would be arriving in a couple of minutes and we could take it down to the sports and recreation centre for our flying fox rides.

Me: Great, let’s go plummet to our deaths.

We enjoyed the shuttle bus ride though. The shuttle was an open bus that rattled along the winding roads of the resort. It had these adorable little seats and Sakshi and I would always sit in the front two, with the wind in our hair.

Eventually, we reached the sports and recreation centre. It looked deserted.

Me (hopefully): Maybe it’s closed for the day.

Sakshi: Look, there it is! The tower.

We went down to the flying fox centre, after getting instructions from a man in a chef's hat. There were several, smiling men standing there.

Smiling men: Hello! Would you like to try out our flying fox ride?

Sakshi: Yes!

Me: Hmmlhmmmfmfm....

Smiling men: Just pay up at this counter, sign a couple of forms, put on this protective gear and you're good to go!

Well we paid up. And we signed the forms (that basically said that we couldn't blame or sue Nirwana Resort if we got hurt or killed during the flying fox). We put on orange coloured helmets and something that looked like a horse's harness, only, for humans. They attached a pair of karabiners and hitched us up to the ropes.

Smiling men: Now you have to climb up to the top of the tower. Don't worry; one of our guys is up there. He'll tell you what to do.

Sakshi started climbing first.

Me: Dude, do you really want to do this?

Sakshi: Prianthi, you're already wearing the gear. Just start climbing. It’s not that high. And the other tower isn't that far away. Plus I can see a couple of safety nets at the bottom, she added defensively. Can you see the nets?

Me: I'm not looking down!

I started climbing, thinking of all the things I hadn't yet done in my nineteen years of life.

Sakshi: Wow! The view is awesome!

I won't lie. The view was great. I even saw a white elephant down by the coast. But that didn't make up for what was going to happen in the next couple of minutes.

Smiling man: Okay, here's what you do. When I tell you to, jump off the tower and spread out your arms. When you reach the other tower, you'll see a big net. Grab onto it. DON'T LET GO. And don't worry; one of our guys is up there to help you out of it.

Sakshi stood at the edge of the platform. I gulped.

Smiling man: GO!

She jumped. I clenched my eyes shut.

A minute later,

Smiling man: It’s okay, you can open your eyes now. Your friend's reached safely. Look, there she is!

I could make out Sakshi in the distance. She had been helped out of the net by the man in the other tower. She was standing on the platform. I could make out that she was waving to me, her orange, helmet-clad head bobbing up and down.

Smiling man: You ready?

Me: No.

Smiling man: It’s okay. Relax. Breathe. Are you and your friend having fun?

Me: Well my friend certainly is; this was her idea. I didn't even want to...

Smiling man: It’s okay. Relax. Stand here. Come on, you can do it.

In the distance I could hear Sakshi screaming "Go Prianthi! You can do it!" A second later, the man in the other tower joined in, "Yeah, you can do it!"

Smiling man: Now remember; spread your arms out wide. Look carefully for...

Me: Oh I won't be looking.

Smiling man: Fair enough. But towards the end, you have to open your eyes. Otherwise you won't see the net. You have to grab the net. Remember, Grab The Net. Okay, now when I say ‘go’, jump.

*dramatic pause*

Smiling man: GO!

I'm quite sure he pushed me off the tower. At any rate, there was this brief moment when I was soaring through the sky. My eyes were firmly shut. But then I felt myself doing a 360 degree turn and I opened them for a very brief second. And then I shut them again. And then I opened them again, I had to, because I was at the second tower and there was the net. 

I grabbed the net, and promptly screamed out, "I GRABBED THE BLOODY NET!"

Smiling man at the second tower: Hey! You grabbed the net! Now let’s get you out of there...

He climbed down from the tower to disentangle me. Sakshi was still standing at platform clapping and cheering like a faithful, little groupie.

Back on solid land, I climbed on to the platform to join my ecstatic roommate.

Sakshi: So how was it? Didn't you love it? It was so amazing!

Me: Hmmmlmmffmmm...

Sakshi: Well?

Me: Yeah, okay, it was good.

Sakshi: Maybe we should do it one more time...

Me: NO!

Sakshi: Okay. We should take pictures wearing all this cool flying fox gear, and with the smiling men!

Me: Yeah, let’s go back to the first tower, we left our bags there.

So we went back to the first tower. We survived the flying fox, and took lots of pictures to prove it.

Next up, we decided to go back to the water-sports centre to try some sea-kayaking. We waited for the shuttle bus that would shuttle us back to the Beach Club. We had just missed it so it meant that we would have to wait another half-hour. So we decided to explore the souvenir shops at the adventure and sports hall. I picked up a papier-mache Indonesian owl for my dad who has an owl fetish. Finally we boarded the bus and headed back to the beach.

At the water-sports shed we paid up. This time I was excited. Sea-kayaking seemed harmless. There was a long yellow boat. We would have to sit in them and row. The sea looked gentle, there were hardly any waves. After some more form-signing, we were given two lurid, orange-coloured life-jackets.

Me: What is this for? We don’t need this.

Water-sports guy: Oh you just might. Plus it’s a hotel policy.

He took us to the shore.

Water-sports guy: Now you ladies sit in the kayak. Good, don’t fall. Now hold onto your oars. My helpful friend will push your boat into slightly deeper waters where there are no waves, so you can row smoothly. You can wave all the way to the end of the beach to that cove there, okay? I’ll stand here on the beach and take pictures for you.

Us: Thanks!

Helpful friend (pulling the kayak against the current): You might want to avoid the shore girls, because the waves are rough. Just stay out in the sea. I’ll be here.

So off went Sakshi and I, rowing in our yellow kayak in the middle of the sea.

Me: Okay, so we’ll row, and I’ll cox.

Sakshi: What?

Me: Lead…

Sakshi: What?

Me: Never mind, just follow my instructions.

I turned out to be a terrible cox. Either that or the sea was too strong for us. Every time I managed to steer 

the boat into some sort of direction, an early wave would bob beneath us and throw us off.

Random surfer dude: Girls, why don’t you row to the cove? The sea’s gentler there. And don’t forget to watch out for the waves!

We took his advice and ultimately we managed to row to the end of the beach near the cove.

Me (looking down): Sakshi, why is the sea dark here?

This bothered me because the South China Sea is an exceptionally clear, bright blue.

Sakshi: Its shallow here, and there are many seaweeds.

Me: I don’t like this. I don’t like this one bit!

Sakshi (exasperated): Prianthi! They’re seaweeds!

Me: I know; I don’t like them. Let’s head back to the shore.

Sakshi was tired out by the rowing too so she didn’t complain. We steadied ourselves, changed direction and started rowing back to the shore. I was coxing better, or so I thought. The kayak wasn’t misbehaving and it was sticking to its designated route. Every now and then a small wave would come and bob beneath us.

Sakshi: The waves are getting bigger.

Me: Well, we’re getting closer to the coast. Plus they’re helping us get there faster!

Suddenly out of nowhere, the sky darkened and a giant wall of water formed in front of our eyes. (No, this is not a description of a tsunami, so please don’t get excited.)

Sakshi: That’s a BIG wave.

Me: I’m sure it will bob below us like the rest…

I don’t think I actually completed the sentence. The last thing I did hear was…

Random surfer dude: Girls, watch out!

Ten seconds later, I was spluttering. My arms and body were afloat, thanks to the orange life jacket. My head, neck, shoulders and legs were submerged. I was suspended in this very uncomfortable position for a few more seconds till I realized that I could swim. I cycled upwards and yelled out, “SAKSHI?”

Sakshi (spluttering): Here!

We were both fine. We were very close to the shore and so the sea wasn’t deep at all. In fact our feet were nearly touching the floor. Our oars had gotten away and I could see Sakshi stumbling after them so that they wouldn’t drift away. Our kayak had been completely overturned and it was too heavy for me to upturn it myself. I pulled it into deeper waters and signaled Sakshi to help me turn it while it floated.

Sakshi: I think we should head back to the hotel now, and take a shower.

Me: Yeah.

Helpful friend: Don’t worry, leave the kayak, I’ll tow it away later.

Water-sports guy: More pictures?

So Sakshi and I held up our oars, stood over our kayak and took pictures like a couple of triumphant shikaris who had just shot down some menacing beast.

Sakshi: That was some sea-kayaking!

Me: Yeah, and it turned into a banana boat.

Well after the interesting, albeit surprising turn of events in the middle of the sea, we decided to go back to the cabana and change. After that, we went for a walk, on the beach, again. This time, however, we took the shuttle bus to the Nirwana Hotel. We wanted to have dinner, but somewhere along the line we just ended up sitting on the bar-stools next to this really cool bar by the beach and ordering mojitos and brownies with ice-cream.

There isn’t much to do on the beaches of Bintan after its dark. So we went back to the cabana and took out our vodka and sprite, and started playing ‘I Never’. Let me just back up a little and say that this was a little weird because Sakshi and I have known each other since we were, like eight. And we both lead incredibly boring and simple lives. But throw in the cabana and the beach and the drinks and stuff; we had quite an interesting game going. Sometime, later in the night we crawled back from the patio/couch into our beds.

The next day dawned sunny and bright.

Me: Come on Sakshi, get up! We’re going for a buggy ride!

We decided to pack up our stuff because we had to check out of the cabana at 12.00 anyway. Soon we 

were on a shuttle bus on the way to the resort. At the buggy centre, I produced my driver’s license with a flourish and signed a couple of forms, again, writing away responsibility for our lives. Then we were taken to the buggy.

It was a small, white, battery-operated golf car, left-hand drive. I sat on the driver’s seat and listened to the hotel staff give instructions. They were pretty straight-forward. The car had but three gears. It didn’t even have doors, just a flapping, transparent sheet at the side. Sakshi sat shotgun, with two maps of the resort grounds. She was going to tell me the way.

Soon we were off. Having gotten my license last summer, I was feeling very confident.

Me: It feels so good to drive.

Sakshi: Yeah, I know. I used to drive all the time back in Calcutta. My dad taught me how to. Ah, I miss it!

Me: Hmm, there’s something I didn’t realize.

Sakshi: What?

Me: These roads are quite hilly. Some of them are quite steep.

Sakshi: So?

Me: So, I’ve never driven on an incline before, you know. Like a bridge or something.

Sakshi: WHAT?? You have a LICENSE, and you’ve never driven on a bridge? I mean, even I’ve been on a 

bridge.

Me: Hey! My training ground was on flat land and so was my examination…

Sakshi: Never mind. It’s not that different than driving on plain land. Now keep your eyes on the road.

Sakshi’s words gave me strength, unfortunately they were completely false as we were about to discover five minutes later.

I had just climbed a steep hill, the first we had encountered since we had embarked on the buggy journey. Now the buggy began hurtling down the hill on the other side.

Me: Oh God, Sakshi what do I do? Its going too fast!

Sakshi: …

Before the poor girl could make any comment, a lot of things happened, simultaneously. Firstly, one of her flip-flops went flying out of the car. Let me stress on the fact that since we were on a holiday, that was the ONLY pair of flip-flops she was carrying. Secondly, one of the maps flew out of her hand and plastered itself over the windscreen, blocking our vision completely. Thirdly, the other map flew out of her hand and attached itself over the steering wheel, jamming it in a magnificent manner. And fourthly, the buggy careered off the road into a ditch, hurtling downhill, at full speed, the whole time.

Me: I can’t move the damn steering wheel! Where are the bloody keys, got-to-stop-this-damn-CAR… Damnit! I can’t see a damn thing!

Sakshi: JUST PRESS THE BRAKES!

The car came to a screeching halt.

Me (weakly): The brakes. Yes, why didn’t I think of that?

Very slowly, I started the car again and brought it back onto the road. Sakshi began folding the maps.

Sakshi: Where’s my flip-flop?

Me: Eh?

Sakshi: One of my flip-flops, it’s not in the car.

Me: It must have fallen out into the forest. Wait here, I’ll get it for you.

Just then we saw one of those monitor lizards, those giant beasts at least four feet long making its way through the jungle with Sakshi’s flip-flop in its mouth.

Me: Not that I’m not in the mood to battle with a giant tropical reptile over your slipper, but do you mind if I buy you another pair from the hotel gift shop when we get back?

The remainder of the buggy ride was brilliant but uneventful. It was driving around the island. Sakshi came around and took many pretty pictures. We drove once to the cabana, parked successfully (courtesy, yours truly) and checked out. Then we drove back to the resort to the buggy. And of course, by this time I had mastered the art, or whatever it is, of driving on hilly roads, to perfection.

Afterwards, we had a couple of hours to kill. So first we went to the gift shop to buy Sakshi’s flip-flops and a couple of postcards. Then we went to the beach and lolled around, writing the postcards. I addressed one to Anwesha and the other to Paro. Soon the sky began to darken and the sea started to thrash around. Everything became from blue and white to grey. It was easily one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

The rain started lashing down so Sakshi and I took refuge inside the resort. She began to read a novel while I made a sketch of the sea outside listening repeatedly to ‘A Lonely September’.

Soon it was time for us to return to the Cabana from where we picked up our tiny red suitcase and boarded the bus to the ferry terminal. The rain beat down mercilessly as we stumbled onto our ferry. Even as it chugged out to the sea, it began to roll from one side to another making us thoroughly sick. To make matters worse, there was a very talkative Australian sitting in front of us.

Talkative Australian Guy: Hello mates! Yall speak Malay?

Me: Why would we, when we’re Indians?

Talkative Australian Guy: Whoopsie! My bad. I’m Alan by the way, mates. Alan from Australia! And yall will be?

Sakshi, who was looking green and sickly mumbled something half-heartedly.

Me: I’m Prianthi, and this is my friend Sakshi.

I prayed that this would be the end of the conversation, but that was not to be.

Alan: Have you met my friend here?

He pointed to a tall, dark-haired man sitting next to him.

Alan: He’s Dutch!

The Dutch guy got irritated and got up and left.

Alan: Why are they showing a food festival program on the liner tv? It’s just making me hungry… Oooh! 

Look, a chocolate fountain!

Sakshi: I think I’m gonna throw up.

Me: Help me look for my iPod in my bag, please!

Alan: Woah! You girls are blowin’ me off? Now ain’t that rude…

Me (helplessly): No no, of course not. We wouldn’t do that. Here, see, Sakshi wants to talk…

This went on for the next forty-five minutes. I’m going to spare you (the reader) the painful and gory details; and also because if I have to relive them again, I might die.

When we reached the ferry terminal at Singapore I realized how hard my head was spinning. Sakshi made me sit down while she collected our tiny red suitcase from baggage claim. I saw Alan and his Dutch friend leave with their stuff. They waved goodbye on their way out.

Me (whining): I want to take a cab.

Sakshi: Are you sure? We can just take the MRT you know, like last time.

We stepped out of the terminal. It was still windy outside.

Sakshi: Urgh, I feel nauseous. Let’s take a cab.

But there was no cab to be found. We ended up waiting for a bus, for what seemed like forever. It took us to 

the MRT station from where we hailed a cab.

On the comfortable cab ride back to the city we discussed what a wonderful trip we had had. Short, but eventful. The things we did were stupid, but daring and most importantly, they were fun. And we also decided that this trip merits a story. 

So here it is - to Sakshi. The world’s kindest, most patient, understanding and sensible roommate. And for all the fun we had in the fall break.

Let’s see where spring break takes us…