Bawah Reserve: The idyllic island paradise just 4 hours away from Singapore

“Look, turtle tracks!” Corina Ruswanti exclaimed excitedly. We clambered out of our motorboat onto the beach and followed the flipper prints to where they disappeared into the bushes. Corina, a marine biologist with Bawah Reserve, started digging around the area for turtle eggs, hopefully undiscovered by their reptilian predators.

There is never a dull day in Bawah, a sustainability-focused resort comprising six private islands — Bawah, Batu Tokong. Muerba, Sangah, Lidi and Elang.

We had woken at 6.30am, bleary-eyed but excited, to follow marine biologist Corina on one of her turtle egg rescue missions. Our jobs were easy: Make gleeful noises when we spot tracks and hold our breaths as Corina and her assistant plunge metal probes into the ground and going on all fours to dig up sand and sniff them for fishy turtle scents. During the egg-laying season from March to September, such turtle patrols are carried out daily to bring the eggs into a protective enclosure. We eventually found a day-old nest but alas, scratch marks and deformed eggs indicated that a monitor lizard had already beaten us to it.

Bawah (“under” in Bahasa Indonesia) is located in the lowest part of the 255-island Anambas archipelago, which is approximately 280km northeast of Singapore. It is a four-hour skip away, from a chauffeured ride from your Singapore home or hotel to the Tanah Merah Ferry Terminal to a scenic 80-minute flight on an amphibious seaplane from Batam’s Hang Nadim International Airport.

As lush, foliage-clad islands surrounded by shades of blue loomed into view, there were spontaneous gasps of awe. The moment we stepped off the plane onto the boardwalk, chronological time fades, and the days are marked by daily spa treatments, meals with feet in the sand, wanderings in 100 hectares of untouched forest — all included in the daily room rate.

On our first night, we had a magical beach dinner, lit up by the closest, biggest, and brightest Super Blue Moon of 2023. There were no bad meals, really, as we slurped up Indonesian soto ayam at breakfast and dug into sizzling barbecued meats with sambal for dinner. Private beaches aplenty — 13 spots to be exact — meant no lack of picnic spots to tuck into of tasty roast pork sandwiches, satisfyingly crunchy zucchini noodles, healthy grain bowls and protein bars in bamboo tiffin. Placid turquoise waters made kayaking around the islands a tranquil treat.

Fresh, natural ingredients were not only found in our dishes but in our spa treatments too. Skilled therapists were either massaging out knots with lavender, grapefruit and lemongrass oils or scrubbing our faces clean and glowing with a combination of cucumber, honey, and brown sugar. Snorkelling, hiking, batik painting, cooking lessons and concoting bespoke perfumes quickly filled up the rest of our four-day agenda.

Bawah’s owner, shipping magnate Tim Hartnoll, fell in love with Pulau Bawah’s six islands during one of his sailing trips and was determined to keep it untouched, such was the rich biodiversity that included 2,000-year-old trees and over 240 species of reef fish.

He and Singaporean architect Sim Boon Yang made sure no heavy machinery were used in the construction. The 36 standalone villas, ranging from one-bedroom tented beach and overwater suites to a four-bedroom infinity pool villa, as well as the other facilities were built using only manual tools and labour such as breaking up rocks by hand. Furnishings such as lights and shelves were made from fishing nets and driftwood pulled out of the sea while bathroom sinks were fashioned out of recycled copper and placed on counters made of wood from felled trees. The permaculture gardens supply nearly 40 per cent of Bawah’s fruit and vegetable needs while other ingredients are mainly sourced from the neighbouring islands, Batam and other parts of Indonesia.

In the villas, textures of wood and fabric are matched with modern amenities such as USB charging ports. Guests can only take 15kg of luggage each on board the seaplane, but fret not; there’s free laundry service, reef-friendly sunscreen, insect repellent and toiletries, and even kaftans provided.

Eco-consciousness aside, some creature comforts were inevitable. Retreating into my air-conditioned overwater villa on a blazing 36-degree-Celsius day was always a treat. I felt better knowing that most of the resort’s energy needs are powered by 18 floating solar platforms, which generate the equivalent of 329 days and 113 days of power for the guest suites and the entire resort respectively. I tried to do my part, too, by using the ceiling fan as much as I could; and jumping into the waters beneath my suite to escape the heat.

Ramping up the isolated luxury factor is Elang Private Residence, once built to house the Hartnoll’s family but was later designated as a buy-out island residence for 14 to 20 people. The five one-bedroom lodges and a two-bedroom longhouse decked in wood, bamboo and soft textiles open up to stunning sea views with dedicated spa and dining spaces to party on your own terms. Our final dinner in Bawah Reserve was on Elang’s beach. As we raised a champagne toast at sunset, a two-metre-long monitor lizard made a guest appearance but slunk off into the undergrowth soon after.  Under an inky canopy of twinkling stars, with a campfire crackling in the background and a whistling breeze blowing through, we recounted the trip’s happy moments as we savoured a meal of traditional Indonesian dishes such as ikan bebas (grilled fish in banana leaves) and kueh serabi (crepes). How does one leave when paradise feels like home? The answer is: You never really do. I am still dreaming about it today.