Bintan Trip 2005

Went to Bintan last weekend for a short get-away with a bunch of crazy friends. The company was good but I can’t say the same for the resort we were staying…

Although we had a villa with a private pool, the pool was breaking apart. Tiles were falling off, the filter broke down on Day 2 and a big, bad cockroach was found swimming in one of the bathtubs. Bintan Lagoon Resort is certainly not a resort I would wish to return.

Nonetheless, it was great to hang out with my college friends again. Some are as crazy as ever, some are as irritating as ever and some are as fat as ever… seems that nobody changed. We were reduced to a bunch of kids again, played stupid games in the pool, played with our food and had tons and tons of alcohol.

But I did realized that I have changed… Yes, it was fun but I thought we were so… …frivolous. I thought that with the same amount of time and money spent, we could have done something more meaningful? I was not that self-indulgent anymore… seeing the amount of food wasted and the amount of alcohol and cigarettes bought and consumed, made me a little sick.

I knew that there were many kids in other parts of Indonesia, who are starving… but there, we were… living in excess.

I am neither a saint nor a Mother Theresa wannabe. I don’t think I can go to India or Africa for missionary trips but I do believe in saving resources and using only what we need.

I guess I’ve been watching too much National Geographic and Discovery Channel.