Hey peeps!
My dad just came back from Bintan and before he left, I kinda gave him a little "task" for his trip. Yup, it's to shell for me in Bintan. So, he has returned and given me the shell haul of his trip. It isn't alot but is all right considering the only time he shelled was the 15 minutes of spare time he had occasionally. In case you do not know where is Bintan, here's an map of the island that is 45 minutes away from Singapore. By the way, both places are world's apart so if you are planning to come to Singapore, you might want to stop by Bintan on the way. :)
So here's a picture of the beautiful sunrise. Unlike the beaches in Singapore, Bintan boast beautiful, sandy beaches and crystal clear waters.
This is his shell haul, Bintan Seashells. I guess the best of this collection is the miter, olive and auger. frankly speaking, I have no idea what their exact species is but will have to research and will return to you asap. :) There are also many black-lipped conches, nerites, top shells and a dog conch.
Bintan is situated southeast of Singapore. Apparently, I think its under a scheme in which Singapore and Indonesia jointly develops the Riau islands. Another island worth taking a look is Batam, south of Singapore. This island has superb seafood such as see haam (blood cockles) as large as a fist (ok, maybe not so huge but its not less than half a fist thats for sure), live fishes, mantis shrimps. The most famous is 933, or九三三 seafood.
I'm not sure of this photo's credibility but I guess its possible, probably in some secluded area of Bintan. Enjoy :)
Hi, may I know which resort it was that your dad stayed in? My child has been wanting to go shelling and I'm desperately looking for beaches with shells.
ReplyDeleteHi Serbrina, apologies for the really late reply. (Hope this reply is still useful.) Actually, you might want to take a look at the other few posts that I have published regarding Bintan seashells. The posts are more comprehensive as compared to this comment. Anyway, for seashells, you might want to look at three locations.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, if you would take an hours drive to the eastern coast of Bintan to the beaches of Trikora, you would find numerous unusual seashells like the Black-Lipped Conch and the Unequivalved Blood Cockle. If you are lucky, (which is most of the time in Trikora :P)you may find a Common Spider Conch (Lambis lambis) which would be an awesome addition to your collection, especially for our child! :D
Another would be the beach of Mayang Sari, a quite, less happening resort a short walk past from the more famous Nirwana Gardens. Shelling here would give you smaller but more colourful seashells, such as the Chameleon Nerite, various Moon Snails (I have an older post on Moon Shells if you are interested. :) ) and others. These can all be found along the wrack line on the beach. Occasionally, you may find the rarer Janthina Shell.
Another shelling tip, do try to visit the beach at low tide (or better still, when the tide is receding) and also as soon as the sun rises in the morning. You would be able to collect the most shells then. Additionally, to look for the uncommon-in-Singapore Burnt Murex, try looking for them among the rocks situated on the left side of the bay. They are really hard to spot (Usually algae or barnacle covered) but once spotted and cleaned, they would be the star of your seashell collection.
Once again, apologies for the late reply to your comment. Hope that this is in time for your visit to Bintan and wish you and your family an enjoyable trip there! :D