Ok..so finally getting around to posting my JBR a week late, have been floating around in a Bali fugue and any spare time has been consumed with gettng my daily Bali fix via this forum (thanks)and searching for flights and accom. for a return trip in January!!Need to take my husband and sons over as I'm thinkin' they'll love it too.Haven't taken much convincing 'cos the Main Man loves what he's calling my Bali glow and "definitely wants some of what she's been having"!
Anyhoo with slight trepidation (fear of flames!)I begin my report.
Arrive Adelaide Airport - Friday 9/10 7am. wracked with nausea and in tears,ridiculous and feeble couldn't explain it!I'd been excited for weeeeks then 2:17am bam woke up and steadily began to fall apart.At least the traffic cop who pulled us over for speeding on the way to the airport took mercy on my pasty face heaving out the window and waved us on forgoing the $300 fine. Amazing how all excited chatter grinds to a halt in an airport terminal toilet when someone begins to retch, hmmm not off to a good start,hopefully only direction was up from there (maybe that's what was bothering me!).Began to feel better after meeting up with our company of travellers,(had been invited as a companion for my cuz'Kerry who in turn had been invited by her brother's family 'The Dunnycan's'(4)(harps back to childhood)for his son Ben's 21st birthday trip and their friends,a family of 4"The Campbells".Got some wonderful booze and perfume bargains duty free pre-purchased for my return and I was pretty much feeling as good as new.Ahhhhh bargains.Though it was at this point I realised 'my visa card safety net'was void as I had brought the out of date card. Thankfully the cash passport plan worked well in Bali though the first atm I used spat it out as if it was a 'Prada Lounge pastry' but just across the street I found joy..phew!
Denpasar Airport 12.30pm. - 1.5hr queue but bearable due to holiday adrenaline high.Mine and Kerry's queue moved faster than Co.'s and we ran the gauntlet of porters and money changers to stand and wait at the entrance for 'bout 45min's. But ahhhh that wonderful Bali smell I can remember better than anything from my only other 2 wk visit 12yr's prior - all just outside the door.
'The Campbells' arrived first and met their driver. But alas the Dunny's got done - nobody thought to pre-warn them and they hadn't done their research...just the look on their faces as they approached us down the corridor and the laughing joyous porters behind them told the story....it took them days to recover, their resolve and trust quite shaken. Bit of a rude Bali Hello. Kerry and I met our E.R Tours dudes Norman and Putu and had the pleasure of being some of the first to ride in his brand new van!!...nice plastic wrapped sun-visors,shame he got shafted on the seats,they were pretty stained!But the van was comfortable and cool. Norman is great and we had a good laugh with him on the way to LBH (returning in Jan.)we were shown to our nice,clean Superior room which was soon to be dubbed "The Magic Fridge".We all met back at the hotel's bar where we encountered the stony-faced barman Kerry and I dubbed 'laughing boy' and who inspired us to coin the phrase "as slow as a Balinese Barman".I can take full credit for finally putting a smile on his dial when one night attempting to grasp my cocktail (some Comet concoction reminiscent of Kero)ended up all over me thanks to the oil of Olay slick I'd just applied...FUUUUUNNNNEEE he wasn't just laughing the man was guffawwwing! So glad I could bring some joy to his life...kero comet indeed..took meself off to Sheppy's for a frozen Marg!!8/10
As I'm prone to do I've yet again got carried away and this report has ended up sounding like an adolescents diary entry.I apologise for all the talk of me me me and the little info re:Bali
Now to 'scape the serpent's tongue,
So goodnight unto you all