Why I left my phone in the hotel room and went for a run instead

We celebrate our wedding anniversary annually with a trip away. Away from work commitments, household chores, and the noise that drowns out our lives. We try get away from it all.

This year, we couldn’t have picked a more perfect destination than Club Med Bintan Island, tucked away off the coast of Singapore.

The view over the pool area from reception

It was an absolute paradise! The food, the drinks, the people…

There are x4 things I did that made it even more blissful and ensured that I enjoyed each and every minute on the island.

1. I locked my cellphone away in the hotel room safe everyday. For someone like me to not have my phone constantly with me was hard! But when I lay on the deck chair overlooking the ocean, I saw for myself just how obsessed people are with getting that perfect photo, taking pics of their food or simply seeing their heads facing down staring at their screens when in fact there was such beautiful scenery all around us.

I don’t have many photos of the holiday but what I did come back with are hundreds of conversations between Karl and myself. We spoke. A lot. And I switched off. I detoxed digitally and it felt good not exposing myself to all the hatred and anger that exists on social media.

2. I ran. In fact we must’ve run almost every single day on the island. The humidity at 8am did not stop us either. You kinda think that on holiday, you should take a break from exercise but we loved the fact that we had time to run whenever we wanted to! And to explore different routes and pathways around the resort. Yes, so I did get lost on my first run. I blame the Club Med chief of the village who claimed the distance around the club was 4kms. It was actually 8kms! Pffft, non-runners!

I was not mentally prepared for the uphills and humidity on my first day of running. But once I knew the route, it was just me (and the monkeys) on a road surrounded by palm trees and lush vegetation, next to a beautiful golf course with the piercing sound of the Cicada bug, apparently the loudest insect, zinging in my ears. Bliss!

This naughty little bugger made off with my running cap that was drying out on the balcony!

3. I ate everything and more on my plate. We diet way too much. We have become so obsessed with our Banting / low carb / paleo / weightless / weight watchers / Sleek geek / plant-based eating schemes that we’ve forgotten to find joy in actually eating something that tastes really delicious! I ate bowls of pasta, ice-cream, fried rice, curries! I ordered cocktails at the pool. I lived! And the damage was not as bad as I had imagined! I still have clothes which fit. LOL

Food food and even more food!

I didn’t dish up massive portions but I made sure I tasted as much as I could – from spicy Korean dishes, to Indonesian crab and lots and lots of fried rice.

4. I swam in the sea! You heard right! I swam sometimes three or four times in the same afternoon. The sea water was as like warm bath water and there were very few waves. If you looked down at your feet, the water was so clear, you could spot a fish or two dashing through your legs every now and then. Freaky!

I put my fear of the sea aside and not only swam in the sea but jumped on a boat to be led out to the waters to go snorkeling. With a mask covering my face and looking down onto the most beautiful coral reefs, a sea turtle swam passed me! My heart! And then yes, I gulped down a huge mouthful of sea water in all my excitement!

Here’s a couple of photos I did manage to take which gives you a sense of just how beautiful Bintan Island is…