BINTAN ISLAND - RIAU ISLANDS

Bintan Island or Negeri Segantang Lada is an island in the Riau archipelago of Indonesia. It is part of the Riau Islands province, the capital of which, Tanjung Pinang, lies in the island's south and is the island's main community.

Bintan's land area is 2,402.28 square kilometres (927.53 sq mi) (total area is 60,057 square kilometres (23,188 sq mi) including 96% sea area). Its administrative region is designated the Bintan Island Regency, one of the six administrative regions of the Riau Islands province. The city of Tanjung Pinang is an autonomous area within the Bintan Island.

Bintan's history is traced to the early 3rd century. The island flourished as a trading post on the route between China and India, and over the centuries it came under the control of the Chinese, the British, and then the Dutch when it was declared part of the Dutch East Indies through the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824. In the 12th century, the Bintan island in the Strait of Malacca was known as the "Pirate Island" since the Malay pirates used to loot trading ships sailing in these waters.

Singapore, the closest major city, is a 45-50 minute trip by motorised catamaran across the South China Sea from Bintan Resort area in the northwest of the island. The island has beaches with beach-front International hotels and resorts; the most prominent of these beaches is the Bintan Resorts set over an area of 300 hectares (740 acres) of tropical environment. The archipelago of the Riau islands is right opposite to this resort across the South China Sea. Indonesia is promoting Bintan as the next best tourist destination after Bali.

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TANJUNG PINANG - RIAU ISLANDS

Tanjung Pinang or Tanjungpinang is the capital and second largest city of the Indonesian province of Riau Islands after Batam. A city with about 200,000 residents,[citation needed]) it is a trading port between islands in the Riau archipelago. Tanjung Pinang is located on Bintan island and has ferry and speedboat connections to Batam, Singapore (40 km away), and Johor Bahru.

Tanjung Pinang was a political center 500 years ago, when the Portuguese won the battle of Malacca and the Sultan Mahmud of Malacca fled to Tanjung Pinang to create a resistance against the Portuguese's very hostile expansion.

Tanjung Pinang has always played a leading role in Malay culture. A few hundred years ago, Tanjung Pinang became a powerful trading port, attracting regional, Western, Indian and Chinese traders.

Migrants including Chinese were also attracted, much in the same way how Malacca had developed into a regional power three centuries earlier.

The Indonesian national hero Raja Haji Fisabililah died during the battle of Malacca against the Dutch in 1784. He was a famous Malayan king and had his palace (istana) on the island Penyengat off Tanjung Pinang.


Landmarks
The cultural center for stage performances of Malay music and dances is located in Tanjung Pinang. The center organizes regularly festivals and other performance. Culture happenings such as music and dance. Renowned Buddhist temples are located outside central Tanjung Pinang in a small town named Senggarang.

Penyengat Island
The old ruler's palace and royal tombs, among them the grave of the respected Raja Ali Haji, who was the creater and author of the first Malay Language grammar book, are one of the many legacies left by the Riau sultanate. Still in use is the old vice-royal mosque, the Mesjid Raya. The site is being considered to be on the World Heritage list of sites which has "outstanding universal value" to the world.

The Raja Haji Fisabillah Monument in Tanjung Pinang.
The 28-metre tall Raja Haji Fisabillah Monument was raised in memory of the national hero Raja Haji who died during the battle of Malacca against the Dutch in 1784. He was a famous Malayan king and had his castle on Penyengat island outside Tanjung Pinang.

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BATAM - RIAU ISLANDS

Batam is an island and city in Riau Islands Province of Indonesia, known for its free trade zone area as part of the Sijori Growth Triangle, is located 20 km (12.5 miles) off Singapore's south coast. The 715 km² (276 miles²) island has a population of 1,025,044 (June 2010).

Batam is located east of Karimun and Bulan Island, west of Bintan, north of Rempang, and south of Singapore. The Riau Strait (Selat Riau) separates Batam and Bintan. The biggest community on the island is Nagoya. Other main communities include Sekupang, Jodoh, Sungai Panas, Batam Centre, Baloi, Batu Ampar, and Bengkong.

The official language on the island is Indonesian, and due to the sizeable Chinese population, Chinese languages including Teochew, Hokkien and Mandarin are also spoken.

The indigenous community of Batam are ethnic Malays and they speak Malay in the Riau-Lingga accent which is also the accent of the Malays in Singapore and the Malaysian states of Pahang, Johor and Selangor.

The island is connected by several ferry services to nearby cities, including Bintan, Karimun, Singapore and Johor Bahru (Malaysia); the trip to Singapore takes less than one hour.

Hang Nadim Airport is the island's airport, and has the longest runway in Indonesia; Jakarta is the most important destination.

The "Barelang" bridges are a major landmark on Batam. The name is an abbreviation of Batam-Rempang-Galang, the three major islands connected by the bridges, and 3 more smaller islands. The bridges were constructed under Habibie as the Minister for Research and Technology with funding from the German government.

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