Pirates these days no longer operate in the Caribbean. They focus on the new, state of the art business centers worldwide like Singapore.

Investors from Singapore have started to take over huge gravel pits and quarries on Batam island and Bintan Island Indonesia. Some of the bigger Riau Islands. To provide for gravel needed to increase the land in Singapore with landfills. And land to set up reservoirs for the drinking water needed in thriving but small Singapore which is pumped across the Strait of Singapore. Which, together with the Strait of Malacca is one of the busiest waterways for trade these days.

There are even plans to deepen the Strait of Singapore to provide access for Malaccamax size vessels.

It is also again site of rising piracy. But these days more from the Pirates, who roam in the financial centers of the world like Singapore. And who set up new resorts, entertainment swanks and golf courses in Indonesia. Indonesia has fewer effective restrictions than Singapore. And open hands of local Indonesian politicians. Few compensations have been paid to the former landowners, which does not mean that only low sums were paid by the investors.

Climbing on palmtrees is a nice way to built up the body of the tourist in the new resorts.

 

 

We had a Duck on Batam some years ago and we enjoyed the ferry trip across the Strait of Singapore.

 

And now we have a team on Bintan Island which has some lovely first-class resorts.

Some nature enclosures still exist and provide for some nice trips through the Mangrove Forests.