The things people endure for a cheap trip to Bali!
Take me, for instance. Last August, I snapped up Air Asia's free ticket offer, and booked return tickets to Bali, flying through KL. That in itself wasn't so bad, but at the time I was planning on spending a few days in Jakarta before continuing to Denpasar. I changed my mind but didn't change my tickets. My itinerary for June 16 was therefore Melbourne to KL to Jakarta to Denpasar, all on the one day.
I was in for a very long day. But at the end of it, I'd be in Bali, meeting Heather for the first time! And then our much-planned holiday would begin.
In preparation for a six-hour wait in KL, and five hours in Jakarta, I was equipped with three novels, one pen, one puzzle book, one notebook, a large plastic glass, a flask of Jim Beam from the Duty Free, and enough MYRs for lounge use in KL.
Air Asia's flight out of Melbourne left on time. No complaints about the staff or service. The food, however, was another matter. I'd pre-ordered a ‘western' meal. Big Bruce's BBQ chicken was the dish of the day. Oh dear, I thought, wishing like crazy I'd gone for the nasi lemak instead. I was served tasteless chicken slices splattered with bland brown sauce, accompanied by withered potato cubes and broccoli boiled to mush. Ick pah! The Kitkat and bottled water were delicious, however.
If you like to taste what you're eating, order AA's Asian food. It's actually quite good, whereas anything remotely western is to be avoided at all costs (this includes sandwiches of all varieties, as well as the smoked chicken focaccia, which is best eaten smothered with chilli sauce).
I should also mention that Air Asia is not generous with seat width. If you're as slim as a bluebell, you'll be very comfortable. If you're Rubenesque, you might find the seats a bit snug - especially if your seat has fixed arm rests. My ample rump coped well enough, but if my rear had been a few sizes bigger, comfort would have been seriously compromised. AA does have a section of XL seats at the front of the aircraft. No idea how much extra they cost, but they'd be the only option for larger people, I suspect.
The flight landed early in KL. Customs and immigration were a breeze. Even swine flu screening was speedy and painless. It was all so pleasant and organised. Once you've gone through formalities and grabbed your luggage, KL's Low Cost Carrier Terminal is not such a bad place to be. Plenty of things to look at outside, and places to eat and shop. I wandered around a bit, had breakfast at the nearby chocolate place, window-shopped a little, then headed for the Plaza Premium lounge.
Plaza Premium has two lounges at the airport. You can use the small one until you check in. Once you've gone through formalities, the larger one is downstairs near the cafes and duty free shops. It's not cheap (around AUD50 for five hours use), but it was the only option for me that day. They do beer, soft drinks and food. It was great to have somewhere quiet and comfortable to sit. I had a shower, surfed the net and snacked.
Oh, if you're going to use the lounge, check the current internet price before you go. The sneaky lad at the desk bunged on another 10 MYRs for himself, when I went to pay.
Without doubt, the lounge made the long wait in KL far more bearable.
The flight to Jakarta left on time, and a few hours later, I'd paid my VOA, waltzed through formalities, and was outside the airport, looking for Domestic Departures, which had disappeared since I was last there. Several confusing conversations later, I discovered that Soekarno-Hatta airport now had a new domestic terminal, accessible via a free shuttle bus.
Terminal 3 is something to behold! Clean, fresh and shiny new, it's all very space-age. Turquoise and silver; lots of glass and open space, mirror-finish white tiles on the floor. The eye is immediately drawn to imposing silver towers dotted around the terminal, which reminded me strongly of Daleks. I expected them to spring to life any moment, and begin firing at me. ‘Exterminate, exterminate'...
I'd already whittled away a few hours, so I now had only about three hours to wait until my flight to Denpasar left. Not too bad, eh? Luggage checked in, I lingered over a soto ayam and proceeded to the waiting area. There I learned that my flight was delayed. After another hour, we passengers discovered that the flight hadn't been delayed, it had been cancelled. We were now leaving on the last flight out, due to arrive in Bali after midnight. Nothing to be done but wait and wait... and wait some more.
Tired and grumpy travellers stretched out on seats, trying to catch a little lost sleep. One guy spent at least an hour, harassing the staff; I can only imagine it made him feel better, but it didn't do much for anyone else - and it certainly didn't get the flight to leave any earlier.
I was more concerned about contacting H, who was due to meet me at the airport in Bali. One of the Air Asia staff let me use his mobile, so the day was saved.
AA fed and watered us, and did their best to help everyone out... and eventually our flight left.
My suitcase was first off in Bali, and soon I was paying 75K for a short taxi ride to La Walon, to meet Heather. It was 1am. The whole trip had taken over 24 hours. I hadn't slept for 48 hours, and I was shattered. It had been one VERY long day.
But at least I'd arrived safely, and I was now officially on holiday!
Coming soon: Meeting a BTF pen pal; Ebay deals: Tamu Seseh and Seminyak Suites; the Big Birthday Blowout; foot kaput, Ubud on crutches etc.