We took a break from the resort hoping to get the feel of the locals here.
First stop, The Pang Long Village at Berakit.
We were greeted with many young children who were ecstatic upon seeing the snacks we brought. These kids were carefree, happy with their simple life. The houses were simply built, there were small shops beside their houses, probably their way of earning. This village is mostly made of fishermen. Just behind these houses, there is another extension of the village which is called Pang Long Village which had all the fishing activities. Different types of nets, fishing lines for different types of sea animals. When we were there, the villagers were actually drying many types of fish to make ikan kering/ masin to be sold to other locals in Tanjung Pinang.
Next up, we managed to get a glimpse of men hand making boats just by Trikora beach. These boats are custom made to needs and wants of the fishermen.Trikora is a public beach that has many huts built by the beach. The locals will have to rent these huts for their weekend picnic. Wow imagine bringing your own Nasi lemak spread and having that by the beach!!
We took a short boat ride ( about 10 mins) from Tanjong Pinang to Pulau Penyengat and over there, we got to see the very cultural part of the locals. Wells were still seen used in many houses. We toured the island with a motorcycle trishaws. Roosters and chickens were seen everywhere! That got Selma really excited!! We managed to see a few resting places of the Sultans, Princesses and the royal family. The largest mosque found here is the Masjid Raya Sultan Riau Pulau Penyengat. There is also a events hall here where weddings, convention are held and below the event hall itself, there is a well which people believed to bring good luck or has anti aging property if u drink or bathe with it.
Foodwise, we stuffed ourselves with an amazing array of Indonesian food found in Tanjung Pinang. For lunch we had authentic padang food at Restoran Nasi Padang Sederhana. The sambal hijau is unforgettable personally! For dinner we had javanese food at Resturant Jawa Timur. The spread is amazing! They had really yummy sotong goreng tepung! Overall, it is very easy to find halal food in Tanjung Pinang. Towards the end of the day, we also managed to check out the biggest mall in Tanjung Pinang- Tanjung Pinang Shopping centre! Now this would look like the usual mall that we have in Singapore. So many food kiosks, huge hypermart (we managed to stock up some snacks and actually got a really delicious cheese donut here) and there is even a coffee place just inspired by Starbucks Coffee, called Maxx Coffee. That was a good coffee stop for all of us. It was the kind of coffee that I'm more familiar with ahahaha not those kopi kao kind!
We had a long day and The Canopi was just the perfect place place to spend our last night.I can already tell we are going to have a really good sleep cos Selma has her own separate bed! Yay!! Can't wait to take a dip in the crystql lagoon tomorrow although it is still opened cos it is 24 hrs! Yes 24 hours! I know. We are saving it for tomorrow!
Next up, we managed to get a glimpse of men hand making boats just by Trikora beach. These boats are custom made to needs and wants of the fishermen.Trikora is a public beach that has many huts built by the beach. The locals will have to rent these huts for their weekend picnic. Wow imagine bringing your own Nasi lemak spread and having that by the beach!!
