Riau Archipelago (Kepulauan Riau)

1. Bintan Island
Bintan Island is part of Kepulauan Riau province. Administratively, Bintan is a district with Tangjung Pinang as its capital city. It has thousands of small and big islands in the South China Sea. This island has beautiful beaches and many hotels and resorts. There are seven international hotels, two resorts and two international golf courses with 36 holes in Lagoi, covering 23,000 hectares. Other areas also have beach focused tourist attractions.
Bintan Island has many beach focused tourist sites with exotic natural conditions and climate. On this island, you can enjoy local historical and cultural attractions including Kota Piring palace which is located on Biram Dewa island, Melayu Kota Piring, Tanjung Pinang Timur, or Tugu Pensil and Gurindam Gubahan Raja Ali Haji, the icons of Tanjung Pinang city.
Visitors can sunbathe and enjoy the sunset. If you just want to relax, try a traditional massage. You can also enjoy water sports such as surfing, kayaking, and riding the banana boat. Because of its wind and waves at years end, Bintan is suitable for surfing. Visitors can also play golf on one of several international golf courses designed by Gary Player, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman and Ian Baker Finch.


2. Coastarina
Coastarina is located in Pasir Putih, Batam Center, Batam, Kepulauan Riau. It is a new tourist destination recently inaugurated by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono in early 2009. Coastarina has complete facilities for tourists. In addition to maritime tourism, there are several types of children’s games here. Coastarina is a big area with a clean beach. It also provides a stage for certain ceremonies. Visitors can perform water sports such as swimming and banana boating. In addition, you can also try various games provided there such as the giant merry go around.

3. Galang Island, A Vietnamese Refugee Camp
In the 1980, Galang Island suddenly became famous. This island was debated over by many people because it was a home for hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese who left their country following the Vietnam War. They came here by boat in alarming conditions. 40 to 100 refugees flocked into one boat. They floated in the South China Sea for months, without any clear destination. Some of them died in the middle of the ocean, but others managed to reach Indonesian territory including Galang Island, Tanjung Pinang, and other islands nearby. At present, this ex-refugee camp is a tourist site.
You will get a clear explanation about the daily life of the refugees by visiting a building previously used as a UNHCR office. In this building, you can see pictures of thousands of refugees who once lived on the island. You can also see pictures of incidences incured by the Vietnamese during their time here. This building is now used as a reception office and information center for visitors.
By visiting this camp, visitors are brought back to the past tragedy, when hundreds of thousands of people left their country for protection. Visitors can see worship places built during that era, which are still well-maintained and can be used by tourists.
4. Melur Beach
Melur Beach is a tourist destination with clean white sand. It has many coconut trees, making it a convenient environment for tourists to relax or find inspiration. Melur Beach is located on Galang Island, in Barelang, Tanjung Pinang or some 45 km south of the island of Batam. Melur Beach has white sand and extensive, clean and clear sea panorama. You can take a seat under a coconut tree while drinking young coconut water. In addition to enjoying its beautiful beach, you could also walk to the forest in the surrounding hills. You should not miss the chance to visit areas used by former Vietnam refugees in Sijantung village, on Galang Island. This humanitarian tourist site is located only two kilometers from Melur Beach. On Melur Beach, visitors can perform various activities such as swimming and looking for small fish and shells. You could also do light sports such as beach volley and beach soccer.
5. Nagoya Superblock Area
If you like shopping, you should visit the shopping complex at Nagoya Super Block in Batam, Kepulauan Riau province. It offers products in several modern shopping malls within one compound. In this pedestrian area, there are 450 kiosks and 170 shops with a Hypermarket on Nagoya Hill. The Nagoya area is located at Sudirman and Yos Sudarso Streets, Jodoh sub-district, Batam, Indonesia. This large area has many shops, restaurants, stalls, cafes, etc. Its super block malls are combined with offices, business centers, and residences including apartments and condominiums. In Batam, Nagoya is not the only super block area. You can also visit other super block areas such as Imperium Super Block and Harbour Bay. Compared to other super blocks, Nagoya is more strategically located as it is situated within Batams City Center. Visitors can enjoy walking streets with plenty of food and shopping without having to worry about the heat or rain because these streets have an integrated city walk similar to those in Singapore. The city walk area is located in the mall, but it is designed with wide spaces to look like a “mini city”. In this area, visitors can also enjoy live music.
6. Natuna Archipelago
If you are an adventurer who looking for a natural beach which has not been overly exploited by the tourist trade, then the Natuna Archipelago could be the right place for you. It is an archipelago with some 270 islands and amazing greenish blue water. Bunguran, Jemaja and Serasan are the three largest islands in this archipelago located in the northern most territory of Indonesia. Natuna is a district in Kepulauan Riau province with Ranai as its capital city. Ranai is often translated to “Rantau Nan Indah” (a beautiful state) because of its amazing panoramic vistas. Natuna is surrounded by deep seas that border Vietnamese, Cambodian, Malaysian and Singaporean waters and has many very beautiful beaches.
Natuna has amazing scenery with natural beaches. You could travel to a number of beaches including Tanjung, Sebagul, Teluk Selahang or Setengar beach. You could also visit caves such as Batu Sindu, and Batu Kapal caves, or the stones of Alive Stone Park. In Natuna, tourists can also find an endangered species of primate called `Kekah`. This monkey only lives and breeds on Bunguran Island in areas that include the Gubung Sintu area (Pian Tengah, Sepang, Seberang), Mount Ranai, and Mount Ceruk. If you are lucky, you can find turtles laying eggs on several beaches. Don't forget to visit Tiga Island, which is famous for its coral reefs. This area is where the Napoleon fish lives and breeds.
This area’s natural beaches will surely make you feel at home. In addition to enjoying its beautiful beaches, you could also try activities such as snorkeling or diving allowing you to explore the beauty of the underwater areas.
7. Pelawan Beach
Located at Pangke, Meral, Tanjung Balai Karimun, Kepulauan Riau province, Pelawan Beach is the right place for you to find inspiration and peace. This beach has white sands, big rocks, and mangrove forests in its surrounding areas. It has a special enchantment for visitors. Its beautiful beach and blue water make it the pride of those living in Tanjung Balai Karimun. It is also a favorite place for weekend and new-year celebrations. The nature of Pelawan Beach is still well-maintained as you could see from its clean sand. Pelawan Beach is extensive and has many large rock formations. Huts are available near the beach where you could enjoy its scenery while eating and drinking. Visitors can enjoy the beaches beauty and nature. In addition to swimming, there are ample facilities for you to enjoy and explore the beauty of Pelawan Beach.
8. Penyengat Island
A small island situated across Tanjung Pinang, capital of the Riau Islands Province, the island of Penyengat in the 18th century was the twin-seat of the Sultan of the Johor-Riau Kingdom. Today, the Sultan’s palace is being restored. It is an interesting blend of Javanese and Dutch architecture, still imbued with an air of dignity, even though it has been abandoned for more than 80 years. Here are tombs and crypts, and a restored fort.
The pride of the island is the Sultan’s Mosque (shown on the left), the Mesjid Raya Sultan Riau Penyengat. Peeping through the palm trees like a fairy tale castle, it is still in use today. Rumour has it that a large part of the mosque was made of eggs, gifts from the Sultan’s loyal subjects on the occasion of his wedding. The egg-white proved to be a strong bonding agent. The mosque has excellent acoustics and even a whisper can carry right across the auditorium. Here is also the beautifully preserved handwritten and illustrated Quran of over 150 years old.
Around the island, descendants of the Riau royalty still live here in modest stilt houses. Even today there is hardly any transport on the island, and life goes on very much as it has for centuries. There are good walkways on the island. A new cultural center holds performances of Malay and local dances including Malay wedding ceremonies, the joget dance, and demonstrations of pencak silat, the Indonesian martial art.
Nearby is the tomb of Raja Ali Haji (shown on the right), author of the dictionary, grammar and history of the Riau Malay language, which became the base for Bahasa Indonesia, the present national language of the country. Further down is the tomb of Engku Puteri Permaisuri, queen of Sultan Mahmud. She was a Bugis Princess who received the island of Penyengat as her dowry. She took power and reigned here until her death in 1844.
9. Pongkar Island
Pongkar Island is located in Pongkar village, Tebing sub-district, Tanjung Balai Karimun. This 100 hectare (approx. 247 acres) beach has beautiful scenery, with white sand and blue seawater.
10. Sultan Riau Mosque
Sultan Riau Grand Mosque is a famous historical tourist site on Penyengat Island, Tanjung Pinang, Kepulauan Riau province. This mosque was built when the island was the residence of Engku Puteri Raja Hamidah, wife of the Riau ruler, Sultan Mahmudsyah (1761—1812). Initially, this mosque was a simple wooden building with brick floors and about 6 meter tall towers. Sultan Abdurrahman then invited participation from his people to help build a bigger mosque. People from many places around the Riau Lingga area came to the island to donate their materials, food and manpower. Some said that due to abundant food supplies of rice, vegetables and eggs, workers were so bored eating eggs that they only ate the yolks and used the whites as adhesive material. The egg whites were mixed with sand and limestone to make this mosque which still stands strong today. To travel around Penyengat island, you can take “Becak Motor (Bemor)” (a three wheel motor vehicle) for Rp 20,000 (2 US Dollars). On this island, visitors will not find any cars or similar vehicles. Many visitors come to pray in this historical building. If you're more interested in the architecture, here are some details. The walls of this mosque are 50 cm thick and the mosque is the only one remaining from the Riau-Lingga kingdom that is intact. The total size of this mosque compound is about 54.4 x 32.2 meters. The size of its main building is 29.3 x 19.5 meters, and is supported by four pillars. Its floor is made of clay bricks. In its yard, there are two Sotoh houses for travelers and meetings. There are also two halls where local people place food during parties or fast breaking sessions in the evenings during the holy month of Ramadan. This mosque has thirteen domes and four sharp towers as high as 18.9 meters that were previously used by muadzin to call for prayers. This mosque looks as strong as royal palaces in India. Its domes are varied and grouped into three and four domes. Total number of domes and towers is 17. It reflects the total number of rekaat in Moslem pray that must be performed by every Moslem every day. Sultan Riau Mosque has very unique architecture. It is not known from where this mosques architecture originates.
11. The Tomb of Raja Ali Haji
The Tomb of Raja Ali Haji is situated on Penyengat Indera Sakti Island, Kepulauan Riau province. It is the tomb of a famous leader not only in this province, but also other parts of Indonesia. This island is synonymous with the great poet. For the local Malay, particularly those living on Malacca peninsula, he is a great hero who should be respected and honored. His full name is Raja Ali al-Hajj ibni Raja Ahmad al-Hajj ibni Raja Haji Fisabilillah bin Opu Daeng Celak, alias Engku Haji Ali ibni Engku Haji Ahmad Riau. He was born in 1808, or 1193 Hijriah, in Riau-Lingga Sultanate on Penyengat Island, and died in 1873 on the same island. To travel around Penyengat Island, you can take a “Becak Motor (Bemor)” (a three wheel motor vehicles) for Rp 20,000 (2 US Dollars). On the island, visitors will not find any cars or similar vehicles. His simple tomb is located at the foot of a small hill surrounded by shaddy trees. When entering this cemetary, you will find several typical buildings including a small mosque with a dome dan niche. It has yellow and green walls with round windows. You can continue your journey to other historical sites on this island such as the Sultan Riau Mosque, tombs of Kings, forts, Government Palace, etc.
(references: www.indonesia.travel and www.my-indonesia.info)