PART 1 ....the airport saga.
After counting down 100 days till we leave for Bali , 'the' day finally arrived.
Tuesday Sept 23rd Garuda flight departing 5.15pm. Our lift to the airport( a limousine) arrived at 2pm and the kids were really excited.We always take the kids in a limousine to the airport mainly because it is easy to fit all six of us and our luggage in and it is not much different in price to having to get a Maxi Taxi.
We arrived with lots of luggage in tow, I had packed about 40 kgs of donations for friends that are doing it tough in Bali over the last couple of years and for their extended families. We weighed everything at home and thought we were on target with the weight. Not so!! Apparently we were 7kgs over and were told to go through and distribute some stuff to take on board.
We decicded to take one of the small suitcases as on board luggage and that would work out fine.That was simple!!Off we went to order our duty free alcohol to pick up when we arrive back from our holiday, we had a bite to eat and a couple of drinks at the bar. I was rounding up the kids ready to go through to customs when my hubby asked if I was sure the suitacase we were taking on the plane wasn't the one we had packed all our liquids into.......OMG a fit of panic rushed through me we were boarding in 45 minutes and yep it was the wrong suitcase!!!
Off we ran back downstairs ,barking orders at the kids to stay put while we lined up to swap the bags at check in. We waited and waited and although there was staff at the check in counter they weren't doing anything other than chatting and fidgeting on the computer!! Time was running out so when we finally got to the desk 15 minutes later(it felt like an eternity!!) Sorry,we are told,check in closes 45 minutes before boarding!! We argued that we had been waiting for some time and blah ,blah ,blah there was nothing they could do and the bag would be taken and destroyed!!
Surely I can leave it for my sister to pick it up?? And with much reluctance they let me call my sister and gave her twenty minutes or the bag would be taken. We opened our bag and realised it had our duty free alcohol (which I didn't mind losing )as well as the 3 ltr bottle of sunblock and a few other things that I could do without. My sis managed to get there in time and we raced up to board with a few minutes to spare.She sent me a text letting me know that the bag was now in her possesion, God Bless her little cotton sox, and her chugg-along car not breaking down!!The stress drained from my body as I let out a huge sigh of relief and sunk into my seat!!
For those of you that recall my requests on the forum for help getting my sunblock to Bali, thats how it happened. No ,I didn't forget it and yes I was carrying extra weight in donations so I didn't appreciate the jibes on my post on how a 3lt bottle which equates to 3kg weight could be better used in taking clothing for donations! As there is six of us and we were staying for a month, we worked out that it would cost over $100 to buy many smaller bottles in Bali.Anyway I managed to get a friend bring it in and all was resolved.
We boarded our flight and all went smoothly, Garuda staff were lovely and the pilot kept the plane in the sky!!I dont like taking off and landing,as my 15 yr old son soon found out when he managed to peel my claws off of his hand,LOL. I was happy now and we were on our way .....
Still to come....Dewi Sri, Arc Clinic(botox),Bali zoo trip,Hard Rock Hotel,bowling,Echo beach,waterbom,rafting,Jayakarta Hotel,Safari park and shopping for a Gazebo and statues, a new tattoo and some great live music nights.
I will try to add each part every couple of days and will add in prices as I go when I get the chance to get on the computer.We have been back one week and sadly are dealing with a family member with terminal cancer,so not a lot of time on my hands!But,writing a Jbr is an escape for me and hopefully a source of info for all those about to go to the Island Of the Gods!!