The island I went to is called Batam. It is what I imagine Central America to be like, although I've never been there. The economy was on an upswing recently, due to gambling resorts on Batam. A few years ago, the government outlawed gambling on the island, and the economy took a nose dive. Skeletons of unfinished buildings are not an uncommon site, looking like they stopped working the day the heard the news. Although they call it a tourist destination, I didn't see too many.
So I found no beaches, but used my hired taxi to stop wherever I asked to take pictures. The best part of the trip was talking to the people. As you can see from some of my favorite photos from the day, smiles were everywhere. I did not see another westerner the entire day on the island, and was probably a bit of a novelty.
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