Indonesia: Bintan Island
By: Jamal Kanj
November 01, 2010
Today’s Spiel is less political than my usual write ups. I
am writing from a small Indonesian island called Bintan located about one hour
fast boat ride from Singapore where I have been since last Saturday.
After a long work week, I decided to leave the hustle and
bustle of Singapore for a weekend in this Indonesian Island. I was hoping to
spend couple of hours snorkeling or diving but the “winds’ direction did not
line up with the sailor wishes” or as it is said in the West the “stars were
not aligned.” It was both the short stay, and weather conditions that did not
make that possible.
Instead I went for a wholesome honest 60 minutes
Aromatherapy traditional Swedish massage. Why traditional, yet Swedish in
Indonesia, I have no idea. Nevertheless I chose the oil from five different
aromas and was sent to the massage room where I received the first ever
professional massage.
I don’t know about others’ experiences with massages, but it
felt like a work out, without the physical exhaustion. Like after a hard
exercise, it felt refreshing when it was over. Hitherto, I must confess that at
times I was so relaxed, I may have had intermittent naps.
Towards sunset, I went discovering the area around the hotel
noticing plentiful of trees growing in the seawater surf. As a water engineer,
I was curious how fresh water trees could survive in salt water surf, when many
nations suffer from disappearing greenery due to seawater permeation into the
freshwater table. It is very unlikely
that the water salinity level is less than 35,000 parts per million, which
makes it unsuitable for freshwater trees. During low tide walking the beach, I
noticed water seeping back from land into the sea. That could have been
receding salt water or freshwater osmosis, but either way, I suspect it would
still have high salinity level. Even if
the abundance of underground water table could explain trees within the surf
line, how it was possible for trees to grow then in small landmass islands
located in the middle of the sea. This
is in an interesting phenomenon that may have answers to places where greenery
is disappearing with water over pumping.
The weather in this Island, like that of the neighboring
Singapore, very warm and humid (in the 30s), during the one night and two days
I spent here, I did not
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