For the last installment in my JBR, I might just give a brief rundown on our final days, some special memories that will be with me for a long time to come.
The last 4 days were meant to be jam packed with sight seeing tours and mad rush shopping, but as they rolled around, hubby and I both decided that we didn't want to go back home in need of another holiday, so we used these 4 days to relax, soak up the sun, spend some great time with our new friends and my folks, and loosen the reigns on the kids a bit, and let them make some new discoveries of their own.
Hubby was very disappointed that he didn't get to the Bird Park, as he is a MAD aviariculturist, and this was the ONE thing he really wanted to do in Bali, but you can never really do everything you set out to do, and there is always next time ;)
The kids spent almost every day of the final week visiting their new found friend, little 3 year old Made, in the DVD shop that her mum worked in.( Twice DVD, Jl. Padma Utara 4) What a cutie!! They met her when they went in the shop to find a bin to put their icecream wrappers in, and upon asking her where the bin was, they were directed to all of the Mr. Bean DVD's! They absolutley fell in love with this cheeky little darling and spent their spending money on buying her icecreams, and special little presents. On one occaision, Made's mum had invited my 6 year old to stay and watch a DVD with Made, and when I returned to pick him up, they were both asleep on a sheet of cardboard at the back of the shop, holding hands. Made's mum made a joke that we could leave my youngest there with her and send her money to look after him. How tempting, lol!
Unbeknownst to me, my youngest had asked her if she wanted to come home with us on the plane, and when we went in to say our goodbyes on our final evening, she ran over to me with her shoes in her hand calling out "Mum, Mum, shoes on, we go!" ~ with her little backpack stuffed to the hilt with all of her favourite DVD's and a little teddy bear. It almost broke my heart to have to hand her back to her mother, as she was clinging to me and crying her eyes out. I certainly had a tear or two in my eyes as we headed next door for our final meal at Legian Snacks. As we sat down for pre-dinner drinks, my oldest asked if he could run next door and invite Made for dinner with us. I wasn't sure how her mum would react after the tearful goodbye we had just shared, but not even 30 seconds later, she came running in to Legian Snacks with my oldest, with the hugest grin on her face, and proceeded to set herself up at the table and play with the cutlery, pretending to cut everything in sight! My boys were so excited that she was eating out with us, that they wouldn't leave her alone. "Made, you wanna drink?" "Made, you want chips?" "Made, you want icecream?" "Made, eat, eat, drink, drink!!!!" Arghh!! They didn't leave the poor thing alone for two seconds so she could eat her meal in peace! But she loved the attention, and when we said our FINAL goodbye, it was with smiles, and not tears this time.(She was probably glad to be rid of them after the kindness overkill at dinner!)
As we all know, the last night before that late flight home is always a rush of trying to fit in last minute shopping and goodbyes, and for some reason, our meals took a LONG time to come and only left us with 30 minutes to say our goodbyes to everyone. So we literally shovel down our meals, and RUN back to GVC, to say goodbye to all the people and staff and down our last Bintangs before our transfers arrive to take us to the airport. When we get there, the band is waiting to sing us a special goodbye number "Leaving on a jetplane!" and the singer's aussie girlfriend, who i had made friends with, jumps up and does the chorus and tells us thankyou for the happy times. My mum and dad and kids all get into a group hug and dance, while i'm trying to get the last few drops of Bintang down. The driver is there, trying really hard to drag us onto our loaded and waiting van. I tell him emotionally, to wait, I'm not ready to go. I grab another Bintang and say my goodbyes again, with tears in my eyes. Hugs and sips all round, and I physically get dragged onto the van, for that L O N G horrible ride to the airport. Before we reach the end of the street, I am sobbing my heart out, and so are the kids. That drive to the airport is so hard.
Check in was a nightmare. I think there were 4 or 5 flights all leaving within a few hours. I was a nervous wreck over my luggage weight, but ended up being 20 kgs underweight! Could have brought all that extra stuff I didn't think I'd have room for after all! The kids were tired and couldn't wait to get on the plane, so when they told us our flight was delayed by an hour, I was kind of disappointed thinking about the extra time we could have spent at the GVC bar! Then we got the announcement that there would be a further delay. And I thought I was clever spending all of my Rp. down to the last 5, 000 (can't get a thing for that at the airport!) I changed over some Aussie dollars i had for a horrendous rate, and brought the kids and hubby a most disgusting stale cheese sandwhich and a drink each, and myself a coffee, which came to about 80, 000 Rp! Then we got an announcement that Garuda was offering all passengers snacks and drinks for free because of the delay! Figures!
Finally board our flight after a terrible wait, and the flight departs at sometime around 2am, although I can't remember exactly, as I was like a zombie by that stage.
And so ends our wonderful trip to Bali. What a fantastic experience it was for my whole family. I'm singing her praises to all I know in the hope that everyone will forgoe their QLD hols and head off to Bali instead. I, for one, cannot wait to go back, the sooner, the better, and believe me, it WILL be sooner :)
Thank you to all who provided me with much needed info to fuel ideas for my family trip, and big warm hugs to all of those special people I was blessed to have met over there.
Regards,
~Shell.