On the face of it, Bawah Island looks a lot like something from the Maldives: azure waters, check; milk-white sands, check; over-water villas with an edgy futuristic fit-out, check. And there’s nothing wrong with that, of course. Except it does prompt the question: with Malé so near to the Middle East, why bother with the extra air miles to visit this new super-resort in Indonesia? Especially when it’s not exactly a fly-and-flop (the islands are reached by seaplane from Batam Island via ferry from Singapore). Answer? Space and freedom. Unlike other luxe beach resorts that occupy only a fringe of sand, this place is huge – 300 hectares huge. And its guests, who max out at 70, pretty much have the run of it all. So that’s wilderness picnics on one of 13 beaches; jungle hikes through primary rainforest; morning paddle-boards across one of three lagoons; oh, and probably some of the best – read, least discovered – diving in Asia. Transfers, it turns out, are included too. So, despite some early reports, getting there really isn’t the hard part. In fact, it’s the leaving…
