Gladis had always been drawn to the ocean.
Perhaps it was because she grew up in Melaka, a city where old streets, history, and the sea seemed to quietly tell stories of their own. Or perhaps it was simply something in her nature.
A Melaka girl of Chinese heritage, Gladis had always been curious about places surrounded by water. She liked the feeling of standing near a coastline and knowing that somewhere beyond the horizon, there was another place waiting to be discovered.
So when someone told her about Bintan Island, she didn't ask about the resorts. She asked about the sea: “How do I get there?”
The answer was simpler than she expected: Cross the sea from Singapore. And that was how her little journey to Bintan began.
1. From Melaka to Singapore
The journey started in Melaka. By the time Gladis reached Singapore, the familiar streets of her hometown already felt far away. Singapore was different—faster, taller, and much more crowded. But she wasn't staying long. There was still one more part of the journey ahead of her: The sea.
From Singapore, travelers heading to Bintan commonly begin their ferry journey at Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal (TMFT). For Gladis, reaching the terminal felt strangely exciting. She wasn't simply waiting for transportation. She was waiting to leave one country behind and cross toward an island she had never seen.
Inside the terminal, there were the usual things to take care of—check-in, immigration, boarding, and the quiet wait before departure. Then, finally, the ferry began to move.
"Singapore slowly slipped away behind her. The buildings became smaller. The shoreline faded. And eventually, there was nothing left to watch except the open sea."
— Gladis aboard the Bintan Resort Ferry
2. The Journey to Bintan
The ferry ride from Singapore to Bintan is relatively short (around 60 minutes), but Gladis didn't feel the need to hurry through it. The journey gave her something she rarely found in the city—a little time with nothing demanding her attention.
Outside the window, the horizon stretched in every direction. The water changed color as the sunlight moved across it, and the sound of the ferry became almost comforting after a while. She began to wonder what Bintan would look like: Would it feel like Singapore? Would it feel like Melaka? Or would it have a character entirely of its own?
When the ferry finally approached Bandar Bentan Telani (BBT Lagoi), the island slowly appeared ahead of her. After arrival procedures, Gladis stepped outside the terminal.
The first thing she noticed was not a famous attraction. It was the space. The roads seemed quieter. Greenery appeared between destinations, and the landscape felt much more open than the city she had just left behind.
3. The Island Beyond the Ferry Terminal
For first-time visitors, there is something worth understanding about Bintan: It isn't an island where every interesting place sits conveniently next to the ferry terminal.
The beaches, resorts, restaurants, villages, attractions, and other experiences are spread across different parts of the island. That means the journey doesn't really end when the ferry arrives—in many ways, it starts there.
Gladis had arranged private transportation for her trip, so she didn't have to worry about finding her way around. As the car left the terminal, the island unfolded slowly—stretches of green, small settlements, palm trees moving gently in the breeze, and occasional glimpses of the coast.
4. But Gladis Had Come for the Sea
Eventually, the conversation returned to the reason she had come: Snorkeling.
She started asking questions: Where was the clearest water? Where could she see fish? Were there coral reefs around Bintan? What did a snorkeling trip actually look like? Her curiosity grew with every answer.
That evening, after settling in, she thought about the journey she had just made: Melaka → Singapore → The Ferry → Bintan. A simple route, perhaps. But somehow, it already felt like an adventure.
Tomorrow, she would leave the road behind. She would leave the shore behind. And finally, she would find out what was waiting beneath Bintan's blue water.
Series 2 — Beneath Bintan's Blue
"Sometimes, the most beautiful part of an island isn't the part you can see."
Read Series 2 Next Episode →