Another gorgeous day in paradise. A lovely breakfast, followed by many hours spent swimming, before a leisurely poolside lunch. This is the life!!
Then reality kicked in when I realised I had 3 hours to pack before we were being collected for the dinner cruise we had organised as our final nights activity.
It took hubby and I 2 hours and 50 minutes!! But we got it all packed and ready for our departure tomorrow.
I dashed to the Bali Hai cruise pick up bus after a 30 second shower, hair still dripping, and the kids wearing their bulkiest clothes, but we had made it! Now... to relax and enjoy the evening.
Okay then.....
Our first stop was just down the road at the Aston where the driver of the bus hopped out to pick up a further 9 guests.
We sat stranded on the bus for more than half an hour waiting for the driver and his new guests to return, and as the doors were closed we couldn't even escape to find out what the delay was!!
So we used Auntie's lipstick to scrawl SOS on the windscreen and jumped up and down, pointing at it enthusiastically as the security guards standing outside of the bus looked at us strangely. We yelled, we screamed, we even considered mooning them, but as Uncle was the only one volunteering for the task, and the rest of us had every intention of dying before he was allowed to do so, we gave up.
Instead as we waited for dehydration and starvation to kill us, we sang songs to keep our spirits up. 'Why are we waiting...' 'The Wheels on the Bus' 'Stop the Bus I want a wee wee' and my personal favourite 'The song that never ends' kept the mood in the new and nicely air conditioned bus at a fever pitch. So as you can imagine our insanity levels were reaching dangerous heights and it was with a sense of great relief when we finally saw the driver and his group heading our way.
We were on our way!!!!
Except the half hour delay put us right in the middle of a traffic jam. All the way down the Ngurah Rai Bypass road it was bumper to bumper... and 15 minutes into the trip one of the new female guests mentioned that she ‘really' needed to go to the toilet!
Every so often this poor woman would squeak out 'I really really can't hold it... I have to get off the bus.. NOW!!' and I'd cower into my seat, hoping that she would be able to hold off just that little bit longer, and I wouldn't be assaulted with the smell of failure, and the sound of her anguish filled tears.
Luckily, despite the very tense journey, we finally made it to the Bali Hai cruises dock, and disembarked.
As our pick up had been at 4:30pm, and our arrival at Bali Hai was nearly 6pm, there was quite a rush for the ladies and gents rooms you could hear the relieved groans from Kuta!
We were ushered very quickly onto the waiting boat and no sooner had the last foot left the gang plank, than the engines fired and we were on our way. I'm sure all the other guests hadn't minded at all, they had taken the time to indulge in cocktails and free canapés.
The cruise itself was entertaining. The cost doesn't cover drinks, so make sure you bring cash with you, and after the first 10 minutes the scenery becomes rather dull, but the food was tasty, the two piece band lively, and the cabaret show highly amusing.
Would I do it again... maybe. It wasn't the best night out ever, but it wasn't the worst by a long shot!
Luckily after docking, the bus ride home was lovely and quick, and we arrived back at the Novotel shortly after 9pm.
The remainder of our final night in Bali was spent quietly in our rooms, preparing to say goodbye.
Actually in my case it was a mad rush trying to find the keys to the luggage locks, my Perth sim card (which is lost forever!!!) and a contact number for Air Asia.
I personally think we have an infestation of gremlins or something, because its stupid stuff that I know we have somewhere!
Anyways, the search will continue, for now off to sleep, and preparing to face our last few hours in paradise.
Oh dear!
Have a great day everyone,
BaliDaze