Turi Beach Resort (Day 1)

Last Mother's Day, the hubby gifted me with a fabulous staycation at Conrad Centennial Singapore. The kids enjoy staying in a "new house" (aka hotels) so much that hubby and I made a pact not to give each other material gift on special occasions as "the gift of experience" is more valued and appreciated by the entire family. So came the month of June, I started planning for our mini Father's Day getaway.

I bought 3 vouchers worth $99 each from the Turi Beach Resort groupon deal. We've been to Harris Resort Waterfront, Batam in 2012 but we left via Batam Fast from Harbourfront Ferry Terminal to Waterfront Ferry Terminal. I had this wrong notion that everyone traveling to Batam leaves from Harbourfront and everyone traveling to Bintan leaves at Tanah Merah.

Little did I know that when you travel to other parts of Batam, you had to leave from Tanah Merah. Suffice to say that this time around, we boarded Batam Fast Sea Flyte at the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal early morning of Father's Day eve to bring us to NongsaPura Ferry Terminal. Turi Beach Resort is one of the many Nongsa Resorts located at NongsaPura, Batam.

We read in one of the Nongsa Resorts print ad that our destination is only about half an hour (35 minutes to be exact) ferry ride from Singapore, and we proved that it is not just a marketing gimmick but a fact. It only took us a pleasant 35 minutes journey on the waters. Can you tell that the kids were really excited with our mini-adventure?

NongsaPura captured my heart the moment we arrived at the terminal. My eyes must have been too used to seeing the modern Singapore that I find every sight at NongsaPura so beautiful!

I took this using my phone and posted on Instagram. It reminds me of this travel quote by Irving Wallace: "Every man can transform the world from one of monotony and drabness to one of excitement and adventure". Isn't that so true? Locals may view this sight as extremely ordinary but in my eyes it's overwhelmingly extraordinary.

Took a quick photo opp on our way to the Immigration checkpoint. G's eyes started wandering, he is checking out the mangroves which proved to be very interesting in his eyes.

Getting our passports stamped was a breeze and we were welcomed by two staff of Turi Beach Resort dressed in floral polo shirts and dark trousers. They escorted us to this parked van which took us and the rest of the guests to the resort.

It took us less than 10 minutes to arrive at the resort. The entrance reminds me of Japan's famous bamboo forest. Like I said, everything is new to our eyes hence everything we see excites us.

The resort lobby reminds me of our stay at Bintan Lagoon. It is quite spacious and airy. It makes you feel like you just arrived in a tropical paradise. We were served with a refreshing cold ginger tea while checking in. Hubby and I loved it while the kids hated it so we had their share. Methinks, too exotic for their taste buds. Haha.

We arrived at the resort quite early (Indonesian time is 1 hour behind Singapore time) so we didn't get our room keys right away. We waited here for almost two hours but didn't complain at all because the view from the cabana is a delicious slice of paradise.

Didn't I say slice of paradise? I didn't exaggerate, did I? Haha. I totally went bonkers taking snaps from my phone and my DLSR. Almost every angle is picturesque.

So while I clicked to my heart's content, the kids took a dip at the pool with their regular clothes. I have a little bit of an embarrassing side story. We totally forgot our luggage at Nongsapura Ferry Terminal. All our clothes are there hence I couldn't get the kids to change to a proper swimwear. Hahaha! Can you spot my little one? Not long after, the big sister joined him in the pool.

Imagine two hours of fun in the water and we haven't even checked in our room yet. LOL. After I had enough photos for posterity and er, blogging purposes, I was lulled by the fresh sea breeze. I used the beach towel as a pillow and had a quick cat nap at the cabana whilst the hubby took care of the kids. "Ahhhh, this is the kind of life I truly enjoy!", my bubble thought reads as I drifted to slumberland.

Around 12 noon, our luggage finally arrived (we had one of the resort staff to take it on our behalf for a minimum fee of $1) and shortly after, our room key was handed to us so off we went to check in our room.

The hubby requested a room at the ground floor and we were so stoked that they gave us a room right in front of the swimming pool! I took this photo from our room's balcony (see previous photo) after the kids and M changed into proper swimwear and continued their water fun. We are practically just a few steps away from the kids' heaven. Isn't that amazing?!

The kids obviously didn't want to be disturbed from having fun in the pool so we did the next best thing: order our lunch from the room service menu. From top right clockwise:

• Nasi Goreng Kampung (chef's recommendation) - a combination of fried rice with seafood, topped with fried egg, prawn crackers, tender beef and pickles
• Chef's Salad - julienne of chicken, roast beef, chicken ham and cheese on a bed of lettuce with thousand island dressing (optional French or balsamic dressing)
• Fish 'N Chips - deep fried fish fillet and potato fries served with tartar sauce 

After lunch, we took a rest for a while and went back to the pool. My kids are both water magnets and the hubby and I couldn't help but indulge them with endless water fun. Around 2pm, we showered, watched cartoons and had siesta.

By the time we woke up it was already 4pm. Such a good life 'no? Didn't I tell you before, hubby and I slave ourselves to work 80% of the time and indulge our family to a "good life" on the remaining 20%? Fair enough right? I wish it's 50:50 ratio though. Please go ahead and ask me to dream on. LOL

Our kids' routine every time we go for a staycation or vacation is like this: swim, eat, swim, sleep, repeat. Needless to say that after waking up from our siesta, they wanted to dive straight into the pool again. Luckily I remembered that my girl brought some flower crowns for an intended photo shoot so I convinced forced them to go for a quick DIY photo shoot. Mission accomplished! (insert dancing mommy emoticon here, LOL).

In case you didn't notice, Turi Beach Resort boasts two separate swimming pool areas. This one (everyone calls it the blue swimming pool) is right in front of the cabana where we waited earlier and the other one (which my kids refer to as the green swimming pool) is the one located right in front of our room. Both areas are kid-friendly so you may choose whichever your kids fancy.

Hubby booked a BBQ dinner buffet by the beach/pool. There were a variety of food from salads, roast lamb and many local delights but the ultimate crowd favourite were the grilled prawn, smoked salmon and chili crab.

We were treated to a live band whilst we adults feasted on seafood. If you are wondering whether the menu is kid-friendly, I would think so as G was able to eat a lot of steamed rice with veggie and tofu in egg sauce.

Looking back to what we did the entire day, I'd say it is one of the best days for our family. We were not blessed with a stunning sunset like we were on our first day in Phuket but we are equally grateful for having a taste of the awe-inspiring island life.

Tune in Click here for our Day 2 fun explorations! Spoiler alert: The kids found a sea cucumber along with Nemo and his friends. :D

xoxo