Indonesia’s pleasing green rice fields, festive dancers in vibrant costumes and traditional houses with high rooftops create an enchanting land.
Sign up for an Indonesian cooking class
Food is one of the most intimate ways to discover any culture in the world. Sign up for a cooking class to soak up the true flavours of Indonesia in its salty, tangy, piquant best followed by heavenly desserts. Hotels like The Residence Bintan offer farm-to-table cooking classes. This type of class is amongst some of the top Bintan Island things to do.
Learn the art of traditional rice cultivation
Join a day tour to explore Balinese traditional ways of rice cultivation. Watch them use a buffalo-drawn plow to plough the fields, and join in to scatter rice seeds in the muddy, rich fields. You can quench your thirst with refreshing young coconuts, and join the farmers for an authentic lunch.
Go on a spontaneous village trek
Pick a picturesque village, and explore it on your own. Take your time to watch the villagers going about their day. Stop at roadside stalls for a snack and some tea. Gaze at the pastoral fields and mountain tops, as timeless moments tug at you.
Look for mud lobsters and fireflies at the Bintan Mangrove
Go on a boat ride along the lush mangrove forests. Get up close and personal with the ecosystem, and gaze at the wildlife. Day tours offer glimpses of mud lobsters, mischievous macaques, silver leaf monkeys and ever alert kingfishers. If you go on an evening tour, keep your eyes peeled for those shimmering fireflies flitting through the marsh.
