Bali Bound
We rose in great anticipation before the sun (and the rest of our families) today and I was greeted with a hot coffee and Keryn’s smiling face while it was still dark. We were going to Bali! We crawled our way through the peak hour throng on our way to the airport for what seemed like forever and were bubbling with excitement when we met up with Suzie at the check-in counter.
Earlier discussions had confirmed it would be a good idea to pack lightly, Amanda proudly announcing she would just “throw a few sarongs in a bag”. So simple. So admirable. Surrendering our bags to the weigh-in machine (also known as scales), soon revealed we each had our own interpretation of what it meant to pack “lightly”. Suzie came in as the clear champion, weighing in at a mere 13kg. Keryn tipped the scales at 17kg, which was a stellar effort and, while I tried earnestly to pack lightly, I failed miserably and came in at 19.8kg. In hindsight I probably didn’t need 5 pairs of thongs in different colours. It looks like Suzie will be lugging all our purchases home!
Defying past form, we did get to the airport with ample time up our sleeves, visiting Suzie’s father-in-law at the help desk to get the inside information on where to buy the best coffee (thanks Big Al!) We even had time for a leisurely stroll through the duty free shop before an obligatory shot in front of the Departure sign and an ushering into our seats onboard our Bali-bound Virgin jet.
Feeling a bit more like a domestic flight than an international one, with legroom only Tattoo from Fantasy Island would find befitting, we were perplexed as to where they may be hiding the television screens. Under the tray tables? No. Hidden compartment in the roof? No. Hmmm. The Captain was enthusiastically spruiking the “in-flight entertainment” choices on the PA but there was no sign of where our entertainment might come from. We were also told to switch our phones to aeroplane mode, which we did.
After sitting on the tarmac for a good half hour, we heard a whisper that we needed to use our OWN devices. Luckily we had iPads but unluckily they were safely locked in the overhead lockers! Tough luck if you don’t own a device. No movies for you! We discovered at the eleventh hour that there was an app we needed to download, using our own data, so we could then log into the Virgin onboard entertainment wifi and all of this had to happen before the last of the cabin doors shut! It was a mad scramble to get out of aeroplane mode and get the damn app before take-off! I managed to get it just as the back wheels tucked under and we had lift off but Keryn and Suzie weren’t so lucky. It would have been nice to have had a heads up on this! We could have downloaded the app before we’d even boarded!
Flying diagonally over Australia’s massive land mass took up the majority of our 6 hour flight and brought with it a fresh realisation of what a huge country we live in! There was an excited announcement from the Captain when we were flying over the Alice but alas, we were on the wrong side of the plane. Before we knew it we were making our descent into the tropical unknown, crystal blue seas twinkling at us from below.
Emerging from our anchored aircraft into the muggy Balinese afternoon, our heads were swimming with snippets of advice we’d collected from our well-travelled Bali-savvy friends. Don’t let ANYONE take your bags. Don’t make ANY jokes about security, bombs, drugs or Schappel Corby and certainly don’t mention bodyboard bags! To be honest, it was a bit daunting. Filling out the Immigration Forms, I couldn’t help but think of the Bali Nine; signing a declaration that they had no narcotics. Keryn had some Nurofen in her bag and we were even paranoid about being caught with that!
We’d read that we needed to have US dollars for our “on-arrival” VISAS so we were well-prepared, felling quite smug and loaded up with green backs as we approached the unsmiling man behind the counter. He took Suzie’s US$20 and then swiftly handed it back, stating unapologetically that he wouldn’t accept any note that was pre-1996! What the? The note she’d handed over was actually pristine and we’d joked that our wrinkled notes were quite inferior. Suzie had to fork out AUD$50 and it was just lucky she still had some cash on her! Keryn and I approached the counter with much trepidation, ironing out the dog ears on our crinkled offerings. We were so relieved when he, still unsmiling, ushered us along to the next queue, which was a beauty! It snaked around for miles! It took a good forty minutes to wind our way to the one-at-a-time queue. None of us could truly relax until those passports were stamped and we were in possession of our luggage!
Speaking of luggage, by the time we got to our baggage carousel, it was almost completely bereft of bags of any shape or size! Where the heck were our bags? Over to one side, we spotted a couple of guys in official looking outfits, pulling all the bags off and putting them in a pile. They looked suspicious by all accounts and we were paranoid and on high alert. We’d already broken one of the golden rules. Don’t let anyone touch your bags! Satisfied that our zipper cable ties were still intact, we were thrust out into the Balinese daylight, in the stifling heat to find, with relief, our trusty driver. Phew!
The drive from Denpasar to Seminyak was an experience we won’t forget in a hurry and one we all hope not to have to repeat! It was chaos! The sheer number of mopeds and motorbikes on the road was insane! Packs of 10 or more bikes in clumps, weaving in and out of the traffic with the speed and zeal of a fiddler’s elbow! We saw one guy giving his undivided attention to composing a text message while trying to navigate the minefield that is the Bali traffic! He only bothered to avert his eyes from his screen seconds before he may have slammed into a dozen fellow-bikers. We saw little kids perched precariously on the fronts of their parents’ mopeds, without helmets, while they darted in and out of buses, trucks and oncoming traffic! Scary stuff!
The scenery was not quite what we expected either. There seems to be a strange mixture of upmarket, rural and really run down places, right beside one another. Our driver, “Madday” had extremely limited English which made it a challenge but what he lacked in language skills, he made up for in enthusiasm. He was suggesting all kinds of things for us to do and see but we didn’t have a clue what on earth he was talking about! Just smile and wave! Teriima kasih!
Our villa was down a narrow side street that sailed past cows sitting in paddocks of long grass, burnt out buildings, small fields of green, building sites, slums and rambling driveways. At the end of the road, the van came to a halt and we dubiously walked down a laneway of stepping stones, emerging in a beautiful oasis of frangipanis, statues and waterfalls; our villa was magnificent! Our host, Putu, showed us around and introduced us to our own private chef who proceeded to cook up a storm for us while we paddled in our own private pool! The meal was scrumptious and now we await the arrival of the other 3 girls, excited about what tomorrow will bring!
