Before I begin my recount(s) of our latest sojourn to Bali, I have no problem with anyone asking questions, or disagreeing, arguing or flaming anything I write. I'm far from one of the 'wussy' brigade of people asking not to be taken to task about anything they comment on. It's all my honest opinions, please feel free to respond with anything !! All questions will be answered when I can...promise
Friday 6th November, I finish work at 3.30pm, the boss lets me leave half and hour early. Woo-hoo, I'm on holidays!! Have not done one stick of packing, and as I whizz along the Inner City Bypass, all of Brisbane's fast emerging skyline is a blur. It is my wife's birthday tomorrow, and also her 6th, and my 5th visit to Bali. Knowing that she will spend most of her special day aboard Jetstar, I arrange a dinner with friends at a top notch restaurant, (easy to find in BrizVegas), for this evening. We enjoyed this very much, the pressure of our jobs can dissipate for a week, and we leave for home in a great state of mind. I remarked walking back home that the sea scallops I had just eaten seemed a bit 'fishy', and my stomach was a bit dicky...oh no... please don't tell me....
Back to our apartment, it's 10pm, time to do our packing. Mine was done in a flash. I never take much, I don't need to. So three changes of clothes, shaving gear and shoes, and I'm done, on goes the padlock , suitcase by the door. I'm ready...... for the toilet!!! Oh dear, am I going to create a new trend? Am I actually going to take Bali Belly with me? It sure does seem that way. Perhaps I'm just excited and have a few butterflies, no, it's full on pebble dashing time.. What to do? Good idea...sleep it off!!
We were up at 5am, do some last minute cleaning, make sure we have everything packed, and wish my wife a very happy birthday. She opens some presents, and we go out for breakfast. Unknown to her , I have booked a limo to take us to the airport, just a bit of a treat for a woman who works so hard, and is my best mate. The white beast rolls into our drive spot on time, the driver bids us good morning, takes our luggage, and we are on the way to Brisbane domestic. My stomach is rumbling like one of those crappy Harley Davidson things, and I'm glad that we are only 10 minutes drive from the airport. We arrive in good time; I dash for the loo, and check all the documentation while I'm sitting there! Checked in with good old Jetstar, we are informed that the plane is all on time for departure. I had already pre-booked our seats in row 5... the check in attendant tells us to 'leg it' when we get off the plane in Bali, and that the queues for VOA could be huge. I'm not worried, I've never had to wait long, but what if nature calls? Perhaps I should have got a shonky VIP thingy? Time will tell.
Buy a Courier Mail, ready for me to stuff up the hard Sudoku, and a quick snack at Aroma coffee shack...why are these airport things so expensive? Boarded the plane, on time, and off to Darwin on Jetstar JQ81. Smooth take off , we bid farewell to Brisbane CBD, and away we go to Darwin . Half way through the flight, I ask my better half if she is hungry, and with the press of a button, I summon the Flightie and order a cup of hot noodles, and egg sandwich and chocolate bar....don't let anyone tell you I don't know how to give a girl a good time. Talking of girls, I had been seated by this gorgeous German backpacker girl on our flight. It was quite obvious from the onset of conversation that she wanted my body; however I calmly diffused any sexual tension by answering all her questions about Brisbane, hostelry, part time work, and other places she must visit when she returned in 3 months time. After half an hour of good Anglo-German relations, she alighted from her seat, and asked if I would watch her purse, Ipod, and bags while she went to the loo. Now, I knew , that she knew, that I knew that this was international code for 'would you like to join the 5 mile high club' , again, I did the pure gentlemanly thing and watched her belongings until she came back. Yes, of course she was disappointed in me, but then again, women usually are. The age of chivalry isn't dead. She plugged in her ipod, and it was loud enough for me to hear that rubbish duff duff techno drivel that masquerades as music. How anyone can listen to this for hours just baffles me. Give me Jim Reeves and Slim Whitman anyday.
From memory we landed at Darwin at 4pm, I said goodbye to Fraulein, and head for duty free. Here , we bought and reserved our alcohol and some cigarettes ,(for insane family members), our bags went straight onto the connecting flight, so left us approximately 3 hours to kill. * HOT TIP ALERT *.. by the baggage carousel is a courtesy phone... USE IT !! we got the free shuttle bus to Darwin Airport Resort & Hotel... you could walk it, it is less than 1km.Here you can relax, have a real nice snack and some cold drinks. The bar staff even sectioned off part of the bar area and put the aircon on for us.. here we enjoyed some chilli calamari and fries , drinks etc. Much better than sitting around in Darwin airport!! We rested for a couple of hours, and then asked for the shuttle to take us back to the airport for our flight to Bali. Again , on time, we take off a few minutes early... almost there..yay!!
No problems on the flight, I put my running shoes on ready to flash past everyone to the VIP counter. We land almost 10 minutes ahead of time, the doors open, we disembark.. the smell, the heat, the humidity... hello Bali !!! We get to the VIP counter ,pay our $50us, take our 2 slips of paper ready to give to Mr Grumpy, and join the line. During our wait, I note many people with name cards, who hardly look official, trying to find people who are obvious VIPVOA victims. What a joke !! Two Asian men were demanding their money back, others couldn't find their 'customers' and we were through in 15 minutes. I had to laugh when some VIP (so called) where in the line behind us. You should have seen the look on their faces!! I thought this system was to take you straight through? Again, another trip that I have cleared immigration in quick time and just cannot see the point in this VIPVOA thing, it does seem a rip off and complete waste of money.
We collect our bags, and decide to have a gentle stroll to Starbucks and have coffee before we descend upon the streets. Two soy Caramel Macchiato cost us 110,000rp, it sure is the way to make money here. Charge Australian prices for average fayre. Half an hour later, we grab our bags and walk out of the airport and head towards Tuban. We never use any airport taxis or connections. Hailed the first Bluebird we saw, and off to TB we go. Arrived at the Novotel by 10pm , checked in to our beautiful Tropical Terrace room, and I am glad to see the toilet !! I was amazed that the reception staff remembered us, and they gave us the closest room to the lobby and pool. We open the door, and those wonderful staff have prepared a birthday cake , two plates, knives and candles... thank goodness there are no smoke detectors
The porter dropped our bags in the room, and we decide it's not to late to go and have a birthday drink and dinner.... But where to go? Of course...we head for The Tree !!! Great choice!! My stomach was really churning, but, they build them tough in England, and I decided to risk a nice cold Bintang and Beef Rendang, talk about fighting fire with fire.My wife had a superb Mie Goreng, and I struck up a chat with the part owner of the place. I overheard a previous conversation he had, and couldn't believe that he was from Wolverhampton in the UK, a place where I grew up, what a coincidence. We shared many a tale about pubs and life back in the old country, really nice guy, and I can highly recommend a visit to this place, it will become a popular place for ex-pats and holidaymakers alike. The menu is excellent and well price pointed, beer selection is a bit limited for the boys, (that will improve), but the girls will enjoy the cocktail menu immensely. The Tree is over the road from the Peninsular Beach resort on Jl Pratama in TB, and adjoins Casanova restaurant, (Laguna spa is next shop down) The Tanjung club amongst us are trying to keep this place a secret, but, it's popularity will soon wreck any chance of that
We returned to our hotel around midnight, I switch on the TV, and was amazed to hear that Indonesia had been rocked by an earthquake, strange , the only rumbling I was aware of was in my pants !! I channel hop, I'm dead tired, and by sheer fluke I get to Star Sports, and they are showing my beloved Wolverhampton Wanderers live against Arsenal, I simply have to stay awake to watch this, I know it will be a defeat, but I'm on holiday, and I can have a lie in... to be continued....