Lost and found. I lost my frown when I finished work on the Thursday knowing I had a trip ahead. Found the frown when I had to fly back to Brisbane on Sunday .
Flew out of Brisbane on Friday 20 December with 'G' airline. The plane wasn't full and I was in the second last row with a vacant seat next to me, so not so cramped. Actually had some tasty food on the plane, that's a first for me.
We were about half an hour late leaving Brisbane but the time was made up enroute and we landed on time.
Being in the second last row on the plane meant I was almost the last off. As I descended the stairs I saw a bus (no airbridge for us) pulling away absolutely jam packed. Another bus arrived shortly after and the remaining 10 or so of us had a less cramped trip to the terminal.
I had engaged an 'assistance' person to help with the visa on arrival. He was there waiting for me, sign in hand. I must admit the lines were long and I felt like a movie star just walking past everyone. I had engaged the same person to assist my husbands arrival earlier in the day as he flew in from Perth. He said there was hardly any line when he arrived.
In any case I was happy and into my taxi soon enough.
A bit of anxious texting as my husband was not waiting for me at the gate. Seems that his flight was late arriving and he had only just arrived at the hotel and was waiting at the foyer for me.
We stayed at the G* I* Kuta (cnr Jalan Kuta Pantai). Originally we were booked at the Bali wing, but when my husband arrived the lady talked him into upgrading for $20 a night to the Beach wing with ocean views. Best $20 he ever spent! The room was lovely, a big bed, nice shower etc
We did a cooking class at a villa in Sanur where Shannon from the biggest loser does his bootcamp every 8 weeks.
Went white water rafting, where I discovered that I am walking wrong. Seems I twist my knee when I walk down stairs, and we did a day trip to Bedugal, where I ate tofu for breakfast. I was NOT impressed with the idea of TOFU but it was actually tasty and I was very surprised at how good it was
I had my birthday dinner at Sardinia (am I allowed to say that?) it is a restaurant at the Beachwalk complex. Something about having a roomful of strangers singing Happy Birthday brought tears to my eyes.
Christmas Day we walked down to the Boardwalk restaurant.
New Years Eve we went to the hotel function, which finished at 10. So we went down the beach. There had been a fair bit of beach chatter about terrorist threats and the beach being a target.
The rest of the time we walked and swam and sat and watched people.
Now for the rant. Sorry Folks
We saw quite a few kids/teens 12+ years old I guess (one told us he was starting High School in 2014) with Bintangs and Stollys being fed to them by mum and dad. I just don't think that is good parenting. Form your own opinion.
Rant over.
Enjoyed watching the 'Kuta Cowboys' in action and being there for two weeks gave us time to watch all the stages of the relationships unfold. One leaves and another arrives.
Flight back to Perth was with 'G'. We unfortunately got the row before the exit row and that meant that we could not recline our seats. This made the seats even more uncomfy when the people in front reclined their seats as the screen for the movies was about 8 inches from my nose.
Didn't seem to be a big wait to get through customs and immigration. I wasn't really paying attention by that stage.
A few days in Perth and then back to Brisbane. That means back to work. However the holiday countdown timer has been reset and I am now looking forward to the next adventure. Although I will be moving house in the interim to WA (not Perth).
Thanks for reading and I hope I didn't annoy or anger anyone.