GLADIS — SERIES 2
Beneath Bintan’s Blue
Gladis woke before her alarm.
Beyond the curtains of her villa, the morning light was slowly finding its way across the sea. Somewhere below, the sound of the waves came and went with the breeze, quiet enough to make her forget that she was only a short ferry ride from Singapore.
She was staying at Banyan Tree Bintan, surrounded by tropical trees and the quiet coastline of the island. After yesterday's journey from Singapore, the resort had been exactly what she needed—a place to slow down, breathe, and let the island settle around her.
But this morning was different.
She had somewhere to go.
After breakfast, Gladis returned to her villa and prepared her things. Swimwear, sunscreen, towel, phone. She checked everything twice, then looked at the time.
Her guide would be arriving soon.
When the car finally appeared, she left the quiet of the resort behind. The road slowly carried her away from the resort area and toward another side of Bintan.
The scenery began to change.
Resort entrances gave way to stretches of green. Small houses appeared beside the road. Motorbikes passed occasionally, and in the distance, palm trees moved gently in the morning wind.
Gladis looked through the window.
Yesterday, she had only seen Bintan from the ferry terminal.
Today, she was beginning to see the island itself.
After some time, they reached the coast.
A boat was waiting near the shore.
Gladis stepped aboard, and the warm sea breeze immediately brushed against her face. The boat moved away from the beach, leaving the coastline slowly behind.
But they weren't going snorkeling yet.
Ahead, Gladis noticed a structure sitting quietly in the middle of the sea.
At first, she thought it was simply a floating platform.
As the boat came closer, she realized it was much more than that.
It was their snorkeling shelter.
The boat pulled alongside, and Gladis stepped onto the shelter. This was where the snorkeling equipment was kept, making it the starting point for the underwater adventure.
She looked around.
The open sea stretched in every direction.
There were no roads here. No buildings. No traffic.
Just the shelter, the horizon, and the endless blue.
Then she looked down.
Something caught her attention beneath the water.
Through the clear surface, she could see shapes moving beneath the shelter.
Coral.
And not just a few scattered pieces.
A long formation of coral reefs stretched beneath the shelter, creating an underwater landscape that seemed to continue far beyond what she could see.
Gladis stood quietly at the edge.
So this was what they had come to see.
Her guide began preparing the snorkeling equipment.
Mask.
Fins.
Life jacket.
Gladis slipped on her gear and looked down once more.
From above, the water had looked calm and almost empty.
But beneath the surface, it was alive.
She took a deep breath and entered the water.
The world changed instantly.
The sound of the boat disappeared. The wind disappeared. Even the voices from the shelter became distant.
Beneath her was another Bintan.
Rows of coral stretched through the clear water, gently moving with the current. Small fish darted between the reef, disappearing into the blue before returning moments later.
Sunlight filtered through the surface and painted moving patterns across the coral below.
Gladis floated slowly above it all.
She had come to Bintan expecting beaches, resorts, and a few quiet days away from the city.
She hadn't expected this.
For a while, she forgot about Singapore.
She forgot about the ferry.
She forgot about the road waiting back on the island.
There was only the water, the reef, and the quiet rhythm of her own breathing.
When Gladis finally lifted her head above the surface, the shelter was still there, floating quietly in the middle of the sea.
She looked back toward Bintan.
From here, the island seemed different.
Yesterday, it had been the place where her ferry arrived.
This morning, it had become the beginning of something else.
Gladis smiled.
She had seen Bintan from the shore.
She had seen it from the sea.
And now she had discovered what was hiding beneath the blue.
But her journey across the island was far from over.
To be continued ...
Gladis Series 1
Want to experience Bintan like Gladis did? Explore our Bintan tour experiences and discover the island beyond the usual getaway.