Plan was for wife and me to pop up for a few days R&R (rest & relaxation, not r**ting & rioting - too old for that now!). Anyway, plan came unstuck when youngest free loader (15yo daughter) decided to tag along followed closely by middle free loader (19yo son) together with his girlfriend. We managed to pack son & girlfriend off to another hotel while daughter bunked in with us - which pretty much ended hope of achieving any of the "R"'s.
Three of us travelled on AA from Perth. Flight was fine, did not partake in the gourmet delights offered on the way as had eaten earlier and its only a bit over 3 hours. Flight left an hour late and we were worried about the state of the arrivals queues when we got to Bali. Our concern increases when we parked some distance from the terminal and boarded a bus, especially as we started driving past planes that had obviously just arrived and were disgorging passengers!!! OMG, will we spend our first night sleeping in an immigration queue?? Should I be looking for a "facilitator" to ease us through the chaos?? Well the bonus came when the bus dropped us at doors that opened directly into the area where the VOA and immigration desks are - and, BONUS, our drive across the tarmac saw us arrive just before the hoards could descend the stairs - we were at the head of the queue for a change!!! Woo hoo!!! took about 40 minutes to get out (mostly due to the sloth like work habits of the immigration officials - I mean, seriously, why does it take sooooo long to print out a sticker and plaster onto a passport page?).
Son and GF arrived on later Virgin flight and took over twice the the time to clear the airport - I declined their kind offer to catch up for drinks (translation - "dad, we want to drink but are too cheap to pay for our own"), deciding instead to find a local spot for a night cap.
Accommodation wise, we stayed in Bali Bamboo Apartment at Jayakarta. Was a little concerned given some recent apartment reviews but found it to be very good. It is on 1st floor, very clean and well appointed. Bed was comfy and location at front of resort was not an issue for us. Son and GF stayed at Dewi Sri which looks good after its renovations. They are currently renovating groups of 4 rooms at a time so further improvements are likely. Interestingly, the crowd at Dewi Sri seemed much quieter than when we last visited in January.
More to follow!