I arranged a minibus to take the seven of us from Newcastle to Mascot because of the costs associated with parking two cars there and the inconveniences. Also I did not like the idea of leaving my HSV unattended for so long. The local shuttles from Newie are a bit expensive but I am fortunate to have gotten to know a small time operator who is local and generous who took us directly to the International Terminal.
We flew Jetstar on the evening flight direct to Denpasar. The flight was thirty minutes late leaving Sydney but with strong tail winds that time was made up during the flight. I did not pre-order meals because I don't think they are worth the cost, instead we had a feed pre-flight. I did order comfort packs thinking they would be good for the overnight return flight but what seems to be the process is that if you order them with return tickets you get them on both flights (at double the cost). No matter, I now have quite a few Jetstar blankets that will be very handy. I would suggest that they fix that option but I'm glad that I went ahead with it. I'm also glad I didn't order the meals. The flight was uneventful, very smooth, the service was very good and friendly.
Arrival at Denpasar was very busy, long queues but I have always experienced this situation. I had already drilled my kids into being patient. I payed VOA in $Au expecting the change in Rp to pay for a taxi but got the change in $Au- odd I thought, oh well off to the money changers before we exit the joint. The Immigration guys never seem happy or welcoming, do they. It must be a thankless job for them I suppose. Having three strapping young males in our party I decided that they could carry our larger luggage items. We had quite a number of bags. I travel quite lightly myself but the girls need all their stuff so they tell me! With a large party to shepherd I was concerned about us and luggage becoming separated in the ensuing melee so I advised the kids to politely decline the porters while I kept doing head counts and tried to supervise the chaos. The first thing my eldest son did was to hand his bag over to a porter because he thought the uniform meant that he was official security and he should do the right thing! Then I said to the son ok now you have to expect to tip him. My son opened his wallet fumbling about and the porter reached in to indicate that he wanted the ten dollar bill. Thas when Mrs. Spudzilla intervened and ended the transaction firmly. Lesson 1 to the boy. We got to customs and the officials were very practical and helpful in getting us through expediently. I got the feeling that being in a large family group gave us some sort of legitimacy and priority, very nice.
Then to the money changers and out to the taxi rank. It's always a fantastic scene on exiting the building when the heat (even late that night), sounds, smells and the sight of hordes of people all hit you at once. I enjoyed watching the expressions on my kids faces at that point. Got two cabs to the Toucan- oops sorry I couldn't resist, to Petitenget for Rp70k each. This is where it got a bit tricky, the cabs were in different parts of the carpark and so we all got split up and separated as did our luggage. There was a fair amount of haste involved and the kids cab took off long before ours because of trouble fitting a large bag into the boot of our cab. I thought geez here we go, not in the country five minutes and we had already lost our kids with no direct way to communicate with them. Our driver asked several times where our hotel was and I responded that I had never been there before and I had hoped the he would know how to find it. More importantly I hoped that our kids driver would know how to find it. The ride along the bypass road was spectacular and exhilarating, a high-speed slalom of changing lanes and snaking other traffic. I was the only one in the car wasn't terrorised by this. I felt sure that we would catch the kids car and overtake them so I kept an eye out for them....in vain. As we got close to Geneva the driver started asking me directions. I was glad that I had checked the hotel out on wikimapia and I was able to guide him eventually finding the place. I was even more pleased to see the kids already there waiting for us, phew! According to them their driver thought he was Ayrton Senna reincarnated!
On previous trips I had gotten to know a guy from Ubud who has taken care of much of our transport around the island. I had emailed him and tried to call him but I was unable to raise any response. It was a shame because we've had a lotta fun times with Made and I was looking forward to catching up with him but it wasn't to be. So we discussed our transport needs with a guy who hangs out in front of Bali Ayu, Johnny Be Good. He arranged for us to get to Lovina a couple of days later for Rp400k, seven of us and our luggage crammed into a van with very little room in the rear seats but I had plenty of space up front with the driver, exactly how it should be. What was even funnier was that they hadn't discovered the air-con switch in the back until long into the trip while I had been basking in comfort lol! It took about three and a half hours to get to Lovina and the driver was very mindful of taking it easy down the windy bits on the north side for fear of pre-empting car sickness.
Once in Lovina we only needed a driver to take us to Helen's Learning Centre. I have used a guy there before. His son has driven us and he is a rally nice person, nothing is a problem but occasionally his father drives us. He's a bit of a scammer IMO but when it was explained to him the purpose of our visit to the school it seemed to prick his conscience a little and he never tried to scam us. Mind you he kept warning me that various others might try to have a lend of us and not to trust people lol. I'm happy to keep using him though because he has a large family to support and his kids are nice folk.
Travelling to Ubud via Kintimani we engaged Johnny Be Good's services once again. We had a pleasant run, enjoyed the scenery and got dropped at Tjampuhan, cost Rp400k.. This hotel provides regular shuttle services into Ubud and we were also able to get them to drop us at slightly out of the way places too, very easy. I know it's not far to get into town or back but the stairs at the hotel gave me all the exercise I needed.
JBG was unable to come to the party to get us back to Seminyak so we asked the hotel staff to arrange it for us. Two vehicles almost brand new were provided for Rp120k each and it was the most comfortable ride I think I have ever had whilst in Bali. This kinda appropriate because I had planned for us to enjoy our last couple of days in slightly more comfortable accommodation. I figured it was a nice way for us to finish off our holiday.
Our return flight home was late leaving. I had toyed with the idea of using one of the lounges at the airport but we ended up in a coffee shop that was comfortable enough and we probably spent less. Check-in went smoothly, again the 'large family' factor aided us I believe. The wait in departure was punctuated by trips to the smoking room. Aren't they funny little places, after all the freedom to smoke just about anywhere in Bali. In fact the room got so smoky I had to leave it, but it was a fun place to talk to everyone else in there and have a few laughs! That late at night after a great holiday lets your mind and your tongue get a bit loose and random.
Flight to Melbourne was uneventful, I think we all caught a couple of hours of ZZZZZs to shorten the trip. I was very surprised at how smooth our transition through customs was at Tullamarine. Beacause our flight was late Jeststar had already booked us onto the next connection to Sydney. Check-in at the domestic was very easy too. The flight to Sydney was pleasant enough and no probs after landing. Our bus driver met us outside the terminal and it was just so convenient and a luxury being able to jump in to the bus and get chauffeured back home to Newie. I have always driven myself home even after overnight flights but having indirect flights and kids driving made the difference on this occasion. It was one of the best decisions I made about this trip.
Well that covers the transport aspects of the trip. More to come later.