Trikora (Elly) Kelong Adventure – Fishing & Getaway Trip

Fishing, a hobby that was influenced by my dad when I was a young boy, recently revived again after a long period of absence away from fishing. Since my return to fishing with my first kelong trip to Hot Boys Kelong in Johor recently, I was kind of looking forward to more fishing trips again and I was very keen to explore other kelongs nearby Singapore. One kelong that was recommended and quite widely discussed was Elly Kelong in Bintan.

During my recent Thailand trip with Sue, Amanda and Sue’s family, chatting with Sue’s dad, whose an avid fisherman, I got more excited to visit Elly Kelong and discussions went ahead to plan another short getaway trip to Elly Kelong! Finally, on the weekend of 8th and 9th October, the 4 of us, Clayton, Sue and Amanda, along with Sue’s parents and their friends, we began our adventure with a ferry ride from Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to Tanjung Pinang in Bintan. After reaching Tanjung Pinang, we had our lunch first nearby the town centre, tasted great local ba ku teh (more like many mixed pig meat parts herbal soup) that is yummy and delicious. Next up was a trip to the supermarket to stock up tidbits and drinks (mineral water & beer) before our 1 hour land transfer across to the other side of Bintan Island, from the west to the east. Where is Elly Kelong located, with reference to the map below, look for Trikora Beach and look up towards Teluk Bakau, it’s somewhere there!

Map Source : Welcome to Bintan.com 

Upon reaching, it was a quiet, peaceful and tranquil location, away from the bustling and hassle city life, tucked away facing the beautiful sea, clear water. The weather was very beautiful when it’s bright and sunny with clear blue sky along with white fluffy clouds formation. Clayton and I shared a room with air-con, simple yet comfortable and nice, with its own shower and toilet facilities. Kicking into action, I prepared my fishing equipment and was caught in no-man’s land because I replaced my fishing line in the wrong direction, Sue’s dad saved me by releasing the whole reel line and recoiling back in the correct direction, on top of that, my fishing weights and hooks were too big and heavy for the shallower kelong fishing here! Last but not least, I had terrible luck and couldn’t catch any fish for 2D1N ! Of course, I did try to fish as much as could over the 2 days!

Even though I didn’t caught any fishes, it was also a relaxing and fun getaway for me with Clayton, Sue and Amanda, from eating, chatting, walking around exploring the neighbourhood, playing with the lovely friendly cute cats of Elly Kelong, taking lots of photographs (glamorous and un-glamourous), swimming, sun-tanning, camping out at night with tidbits & beer, chatting under the moon. The getaway was awesome, relaxing and fun, with lots of making/poking fun at people (most of the time was directed at me since I am the “biggest target board”). Playing with fireworks at night, I love playing with fireworks since I was a kid playing with fireworks in Malaysia, at my grandma’s home!

The photographs will bring many memories for us, I am looking forward to go back again, more and better prepared for fishing, to buy more fireworks to play there, doing a 3D2N stay instead in order for us to visit the island across whereby we can do a day trip to enjoy the sun, beautiful sand and sea. Take a look at the photographs that I took of our Elly Kelong adventure!

Great short getaway, great companionship, peaceful, tranquil and a break away from the city life. It’s something that I would strive to have, hopefully every quarter in the future, a short 2D1N  or 3D2N getaway nearby …

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.