Awakenings. Sunrise at Club Med in Bintan, Indonesia.

This write-up should have been posted more than a month ago.  I actually forgot I have these photos from our recent Club Med Bintan retreat; and I was only reminded of having them when I was looking at my passport while on queue at the renewal section of the embassy a few days ago.  I have to admit that long holidays are always short.  Even much shorter for a weekend company retreat like this one.  And because they are short, there is always the chance of bringing home only a few photos; which you easily forget.

So I post them here.  I am not getting a commission for promoting this place in this post by the way. 🙂  It is just not fair not to share these few images.  Some other people contemplating on coming here could still use a little more of these images to get a sense of the beauty of this place.  The colours in the photos here are real and without much processing or editing.

Cool for the Summer. Beautiful morning at the pool deck of Club Med in Bintan.

This is our third company retreat in Indonesia (the first two we had in Batam and Bali).  The first time they announced this Bintan trip, I have to admit I was ecstatic; even excited about the prospect of experiencing another airplane ride.  Then I realized we were in Singapore, and our destination is not like Bali.  Bintan is just 30 minutes away and can be reached by ferry or boat.  Silly of me actually. 🙂 So, do I still consider this 30-minute boat ride as travel?

This post is relatively short compared to my previous ones.  And I apologize for not writing more about the beauty of this place and about the things that we did while we were here.  Maybe I ran out of words to say or just simply uninspired.  At the moment, I am okay with that.  If there is one thing I learn again from this trip and this unexpected dry spell, it’s that Silence is Golden (and Speech is Silvern).  Do you remember your dear friends who talked lengthily when all you needed from them at that moment is the comfort of their presence and silence?  I don’t have the gift of gab but I do write occasionally.  But even that I can overdo sometimes; and the first people to tell me that I write long emails and letters are people who love writing long emails themselves.  Experts cancel each other out. 🙂

Passion Walk: The main building of Club Med in Bintan, Indonesia.

There are moments when writing is spontaneous and a narrative is clear.  Sometimes, you have to wait for inspiration to come.  And other times, words are not needed to get your message across.  That last one I began to appreciate just recently through the posts and works of others; and only the real photographers are able to move me just like that.  In meditation (and in prayer) listening is as important as talking (or chanting).  It is in that moment of silence when you have nothing more to say (and your mind is clear of all clutter) will you hear that soft, gentle and clear voice.  And the message there will be profound.  Honestly, we all could use more of that right now.  ‘Nuff said. 🙂

See you in my next post.  Cheers!!!