Bintan Angsana - Day 2 (31 Oct 2008) - Pasar Oleh Oleh

Bintan is actually quite a big island and much of it is undeveloped. You see lots of trees when you get out of the resort areas. You also see many power lines too. The nearest "town" is Pasar Oleh Oleh which is essentially a place for tourists living in the resorts. It was the first time I went there as usually I only remained in the resort compound.

The entrance of Pasar Oleh Oleh, which consists of close to 30 stores and restaurants, welcoming visitors. The food is definitely cheaper than in the resorts but other than the cheaper food, there is nothing else to do. There are a couple of spas/salons offering massages, hair stuff and facials at a lower rate but I am not sure of the quality and the ambience is definitely not there.

It is not the typical street market where locals actually buy things from. Instead it was so quiet that there was hardly any activities or life at all. You could buy souvenirs and trinkets for keepsake too.

The "center" of the market. Maybe there will be more people in the evening when people want to have cheaper eat? The shuttle costs $6 return. The ticket is valid for multiple trips for the day though the bus driver will ask to keep the ticket. You just have to tell them you are making multiple trips.

Some restaurants offer free shuttle pick-up if you are going to dine there. Or they also do food delivery for a certain fee. Unfortunately this information is not available in the resorts. I guess it will come from experience. M ordered the hor fun which was not too bad. The restaurant was run by a Chinese Indonesian who was from Tanjong Pinang.

I was craving for nasi goreng. This had more ketchup taste which I did not fancy. The nasi goreng over at Angsana was way better. But at the price (S$3.50 compared to US$10.50) I can't complain too much.

V ordered the fried chicken. I didn't try it but it looked real dry.

I think this is Pasar Oleh Oleh (POO) mascot or something. This was just outside the tourist information booth where you pay for your shuttle ticket.

Goodbye, Pasar Oleh Oleh. Across the road, there is a new market place too with much more authentic Indonesian food and a much better looking spa. The F&B at POO was more fusion with Western, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and Indonesian dishes.

We bought dinner from an Indonesian restaurant across the road and it was good. Sop ayam, gado gado, some rice with tempeh, fried chicken, fried beef, egg and rojak for 3 of us. Nice.