Sorry it's a bit late, I hit the ground running since I got home. It's now 2.30am & I need to get some sleep. Tired after a busy day today. Hairdressers - hair now shorter, coloured & shiny straight. Yes!
Time was on wings on my last day. It flew so fast that before I knew it the morning was gone & I hadn't done anything! The manager came to my door at 11:30 to ask what time I would be leaving. 6pm I said. She looked surprised, then thanked me for staying with them. At 12:30 I get a phone call from reception. What time are you leaving asks a man's voice? 6pm. We will have to charge you another 1/2 day for the room. Yes, I understand. I guess the 3 emails confirming this over the last 3 months weren't clear enough. Oh well, it would be my only complaint and a small one at that. I have loved staying at Villa Puri Ayu, despite the take over of my plunge pool.
I was hungry for lunch. Ate under the leafy canopy of Donald's restaurant on the beach. And yes, the chair sank in the sand again. I had lumpia with peanut sauce which was quite nice & garlic bread which was delish. I was very tempted to have another serve of garlic bread, it was so nice. Planes were flying in low to land. Soon mine will be taking off, returning me to the reality that is my life. Hard to believe I'm leaving soon. I sat there after I'd finished my meal, the ice long since melted in my coke with lime & the watery puddle around the glass was expanding by the minute. Funny the things you notice that are usually beneath your notice. I'm going home soon so soaking up every experience like a camel storing water for the dry months ahead. Memories for later on. Yes, a camera is equally handy in this situation. The sun was sparkling on the surface of the sea. The sea itself was calm, breakers in the distance crashing onto the reef, but a gentle whoosh can be heard if you listen for it as ripples make it into shore. A lone yacht drifts past, a red sail billowing with its trapped breeze. The same breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees above my head, lifted the ends my hair so they drifted intermittently into my face & mouth, blew my crumpled serviette from the table in a graceful spiral dance to the sand at my feet. So peaceful .... Hold that thought!
Ouch! The same feet that tiny ants were snacking on, little buggers. They hurt, & their tiny bites itch like crazy. Rudely dragged from my reverie, I couldn't help noticing that uneven ring of dirty speckled brown around my ankles as I scratched - the last stubborn remnants of my fake tan. Lesson learnt, people. No fake tan next time. Note made to self, to be lodged in subconscious so if the thought crosses my mind again it is to be stomped upon. Lilly legs be damned. You folks will just have to suffer.
Back in my room I had a little nanna nap. Memory making is tiring work you know. I blinked & suddenly it was time to pack. I kid you not, I had enough bubblewrap to give a king size bedspread a run for it's money. I could probably wrap the whole bed in it & still have some left over. I used about a metre of it, wrapping absolutely everything that might break, gave a metre or so to the ladies in the room opposite & still had oodles left.
I didn't think I'd bought much this trip, but my suitcase was bulging. I weighed it with my weighing thingy (the one with lbs & kg) & it went past a full revolution, so I knew it was over 22kgs. (Weighed in @ 26.9kgs at the airport, which is outrageous!) I've hardly bought anything except DVDs, 2 bottles of Bali Moon & some spa products. 10 kg worth? Luckily I had a 30kg limit. Even so, I still couldn't fit in my cuddle buddy (cushion) so had to lug that around under my arm like a teddybear. Managed to fit my laptop in my cabin bag using brute force & left all at reception while I went on the hunt for food for dinner.
I decided on Caesar's again because it's close by and I enjoyed my last meal there. There was a table free on 'maiden's row' with my name on it. One more Cosmic Colada for the road. Indulging myself & to use up my remaining Rp, Miss Piggy had an entree of smoked salmon & melon salad, which was fab. Love a good smoked salmon & this one was good. Highly recommended. My main course was the same as last visit but I couldn't finish it all. Oink.
Hailed a taxi, returned to the hotel, heaved my obese luggage into the boot (actually the taxi driver did the heaving. I hope he has a good chiropractor!) & we drove to the airport nose up. Very busy, lots of traffic & suicidal motorbike riders. So many risks taken just to get a few cars in front. Sheer stupidity. Can't believe the queue of cars waiting to get into Bali Galleria. It's 8:30 at night!
No dramas going through luggage X-ray. Maybe the officials don't like Bali Moon liqueurs? In the short queue for star class. A fellow called me over to his counter & when he realised I was bound for Melbourne & not Sydney he told me off for getting in the wrong queue. Isn't this the queue for star class? Yes. You called me over, didn't you? Yes. (I looked at the signage above his desk, which was turned off). I can't see anything that would indicate to me that this is the queue to Sydney. It was busy before - the Melbourne check in is over there (indicating the next counter). I can put you through to Melbourne. Yes you can, but don't send my luggage to Sydney please. I double checked that my allocated seat was the one I booked, which fortunately it was. He also wrote an invitation for 2 people for the premier lounge, which I didn't realise until I got there. I must have frazzled him. I have a look that with one raised eyebrow turns my brother into a quivering confessing mess! I must have used it on the check-in counter guy. A helpful porter carried my cabin bag up the stairs & later, down for me. Another man stowed it in the overhead locker on the plane for me & yet another lifted it down on landing. See girls, men have some uses! Hehe!
The premier lounge was not the haven I was hoping for. Sure, the fittings were nice & the chairs comfy. The lounge sounded like a creche! A very vocal young 3yo boy & a baby made themselves heard. Please be on the Sydney flight became my mantra for the next 15 minutes until the Sydney flight was called. Woohoo! They left. Felt a fleeting twinge of guilt for the other Sydney passengers, soon outweighed by my own relief. Don't get me wrong, I love small children - just from a distance, say another continent! But on a plane? Maybe they could be checked on as luggage. They can make as much noise as they like in the cargo hold & everyone would be happy. Before you mothers get too outraged & flame me, you can check yourselves down there too to keep an eye on them. I am only joking, of course.....sort of.
I helped myself to a coke, but was feeling a touch seedy so downed another Travelan, which did the trick. One of the downsides of solo travel is that there is no one to mind your stuff for loo trips, so you have to lug the lot around with you & risk losing your seat to boot. Stomach more settled, fortunately. I'd packed some leggings & a 3/4 length tshirt to wear under my dress for the flight so changed into those. Came back into the lounge, significantly quieter. Another couple with a young baby were sitting close by. This child was very well behaved. He was asleep.
They are calling my flight. Gate 8. Not gate 1, near the lounge. No, we have to walk the length of the airport for our departure. Another X-ray of our luggage (overkill?) and a hand-search of both my person & my bags. Had a combo lock on my cabin bag with my computer in it. Held up the line while I hunted down my glasses (new, by the way & very stylish!) so I could see the numbers to unlock it. Had a seat for about 5 minutes before the front seats were called to board. Had to elbow my way through the eager economy patrons crowding around the checkpoint.
Damn, I have company for the flight home. Actually the chap was very nice & offered to move across the aisle after takeoff so we both had more room. A glass of champagne? OK. Some chocolate, cookies, nuts? OK. Would I like to be woken for breakfast? OK. We were 15 minutes late taking off. Goodbye Bali, I waved (in my mind) as we kangaroo hopped down the runway. Hello Airport People, some runway pothole filling wouldn't go astray! Teeth jarring! The twinkling lights of the resorts along the coast were soon replaced by lone fishing boat lights dotted about the darkness I knew to be ocean as the plane banked until I could no longer see Bali. Bye.
As soon as the seatbelt sign went off, the row in front lowered their seat into my lap. And there it stayed. All the way home. Have you ever tried to get out of your seat to go to the loo when the seats in front of you are fully lowered? There is no grace whatsoever in the manoeuvre. I almost gave myself an armrest enema and came close to landing in the lap of the man who had kindly (and wisely) moved across the aisle. I was grateful I had donned my leggings. I might have accidentally kneed the back of the seat in front, shaken the seat (twice) & grabbed a hold of some hair to steady my balance. Oops.
I hate flying. I'm not scared of crashing or anything. I hate being forced to sit in one position for hours on end until my coccyx has burrowed out of my butt and is now drilling for oil in the seat. Or having to use a space smaller than a broom cupboard to pee in. Or forced to breathe in obnoxious and noxious bodily smells. Not my thing. I love travelling, except for the actual travelling part. It's a pain in the coccyx.
I turned on my iphone, plugged in my earphones and drifted off to Deva Premal chanting. I managed maybe 2 hours sleep in total. Breakfast came - spinach quiche, an anaemic sausage, sliced potato & baked beans (really? Is that wise on a Bali flight?). I ate the bread roll & the baked beans (I am a wild thing) with an apple juice. Another 40 minutes and were were landing, 15 minutes ahead of schedule. It looked a bit foggy outside. An icy blast hit as soon as we were released off the plane. Our arrival gate was at the far end of the airport, of course. A Singapore airlines flight was spewing passengers out at the same time. Quick! Short legs were pumping! Customs were penning us in like cattle. Tempted to moo or bleat, but thought they might send me off for a cavity search. It didn't take long to get through customs. Luggage was already going for a ride on the carousel. I missed spotting my bag the first rotation, got a hernia on the next one as I retrieved it. I had declared my dozen packets of Mr P chilli coated peanuts. I was waved through to the exit without them being sighted. I must not look like a drug mule today. How reassuring. So I am in the arrival lounge 15 minutes after getting off the plane - a record for me. It is bloody freezing.
I am at Mum's picking up my dogs 45 minutes later. Two hysterical toy poodles are doing backflips at the front window as I pull up the drive. Hello boys. Have you been good? One is doing half back-flip spins, the other is a canine pogo stick. They are happy to see me. Mum is happy to give them back. We are off home to unpack, do the washing, pay the bills, go grocery shopping, back to the world of mundane living. And put the heater on. It's bloody freezing! *sigh*
Until next time ......selamat jalan.
Cheers,
Bagusbabe. xxx