Monkeys and Beaches

Yesterday I took a bit of a tour around the islands, Steve and I drove across Batam, then across this bridge, which is sometimes used as the symbol of Batam;

To another island, then two more bridges and two more islands to get to Barelang Island. There we visited a Vietnamese refugee camp, which was set up when a load of people fleeing the war got on a boat, and set up a village wherever it landed. The camp is abandoned now, except for monkeys and tourists, so we drove around a little and tried to feed the monkeys;

After that we went to this idyllic beach;

and swam in the sea, tossed a football, and let Zbyszek roam the sands;

We left as the sun was going down;

and went back to the first bridge, where there are many stalls selling fruit and barbequed sweetcorn;

I bought some corn, a dragon fruit (which I'm still not sure how to eat) and a coconut. The coconut was prepared with a machete, the outside chopped off and some straws inserted, and tasted very good.

Then it was the rest of the drive home, with some more Batam traffic;

Once we got back I played PlayStation for a little while, before taking a walk around my neighbourhood and getting some seafood noodle soup. On my way back I stopped at a mini market and saw this strange combination of Eastern and Western cuisine;

When I got back home it was some skype conversations with friends and a relatively early night.

Today I finally got my new laptop working. I'm heading back home now to rest because...

First day of school in tomorrow!