Wharfie Chronicle 9 - Final - Saturday 14th August
Oh dear, it's come around all too quick, our final day, but at least the late flight makes it feel better in one respect. There are no Villa deliveries of breakfast this morning, we all have to attend the buffet set out on the deck of the restaurant overlooking the rice padis. On my way past reception , I smile , and use every ounce of my intriguing personality, good looks, suaveness and dexterity to I ask if I can have a late checkout, and they will let me know as soon as possible. We don't need to be at the airport until 9pm , and hope we can stay on as long as possible
At breakfast we enter a conversation with a nice couple who have just arrived from Sydney, they are Bali virgins , and have booked the Sanyas Suites via a 'mystery deal' on Wotif. I find out that he is a long suffering Newcastle United fan and his wife is into Real Estate , and, actually went for an interview at Mrs W's Head Office in Crow's Nest... we comment on how small the world can be at times, enjoy our brekkie, and I return quickly to our Villa to retrieve, and pass to them, a list of restaurants very kindly sent to me by a fellow forumite ( James Jeffrey), this was a Bible of invaluable proportions regarding local eateries and I hope they found the same too. Thanks JJ
Finishing my breakfast with Earl Grey, I walk past reception and head back to our Villa, I am stopped in my tracks by reception lady, who not only seems to be engaged by the waft of my Hermes aftershave, but also wants to inform me that I can have the requested late checkout, although this does mean us moving to a different Villa and a payment of $97USD (half day normal rate). I thought this was more than fair, and happily signed the docket to be later converted into Rupiah. We are told that the 'new' Villa will be ready at midday. We take the time between finishing breakfast and midday to pack and ready ourselves for our 'move'. Whilst inside the room, fumbling around suitcases, hand luggage, boxes etc...our conversation went something like this .....'that's far too big to fit in there'....'perhaps you should sit on it'.... 'push it harder, it will go in, no problem'....'I don't remember it being that big last time I looked'....'be careful, it might break or snap off'...I can only imagine what the two members of staff were thinking as they politely waited outside. These guys then very kindly helped and escorted us to our half a day retreat.
Re-location complete, we decide to go out and have a nice long walk, a cool drink, and discuss what things we enjoyed and things we must do in March on our next visit. JL Pettitenget is a hive of activity; footpaths on both sides are disturbed by the pipe laying road works going on. We marvel at the local labourers swinging their pick axes and spades , in bare feet, and no fluoro vests etc. We mentally pin all the restaurants we still haven't been to in readiness for next time, and wonder how many more developments will have been completed by next year. Good to see so much building going on, I even saw a crane around by the Legian hotel!
Earlier I had phoned Wayan, and asked him to come round and see us before we left, I hadn't seen him since Tuesday when we were at the Outrigger and would love to catch up before we depart. For lunch we decide to give the Bali Deli Café a whirl, this is on Jl Pettitenget on the right hand side as you walk towards Ku De Ta, La Lucciola etc ...what a find!!! This place did the best coffee I have ever had in Bali, some great fresh salads, great cakes, and I really enjoyed my roast chicken sandwich, Mrs W had some Dim Sum which she said was mega yummy and I had two cracking cappuccino's . Next visit, we will certainly be back here a few times, excellent value for money. The breads they sell are excellent too, so fresh and crusty.
Time is going quickly, and we return to our Villa. Within half an hour I get a text from Wayan to say he is on his way, and, as the crow flies, he lives less than two kilometres from where we are staying. To me, seeing Wayan again was just a big a highlight as surprising Mrs W with her new engagement ring and wedding bands.... The bell rings outside, and I fling open the doors to find Wayan, Dinda and Unga ...so good to see them again. I beckon them to step inside the heavy Villa doors, the two kids seem a bit shy, and I go to see what lollies I can find. Wayan sits down and tells me all the troubles he is having with the owner of the Villa we stayed at in Umalas in March. I feel really bad for him, he is a top guy, and being messed around so badly. He tells us how happy he is to see us again, and will spend more time with us next March, I give the kids a bit of cash which sees them jumping around as if they had won the lottery, some Aussie gold coins and a promise that I will buy them something nice next year.Wayan , forever humble , is very appreciative of our gesture and gives me a big hug and tells us how much he misses us. It's mutual, and I feel like he is a brother to me.
I feel so sad when the Villa reception calls us to say our transport is ready to the airport. We share one long lasting never-want-it-to-end hug, I pick the kids up and hug them and have their smiles indelibly printed in my mind. Mrs W gives them all hugs, and our driver appears and loads up the car with our bags, and all of those homewares! That's it, holiday almost over..Mrs W says it has to conclude so we can come back again..I feel a bit grumpy thinking I'll be back at work on Monday
I have never got to the airport so quickly, hardly seemed to have any traffic for Saturday night, save for a bit of a hold up by Carrefour, it was plain sailing all the way. We are unloaded, I grab a trolley and we put all our things through the scanner, I think for a moment that I should tell the security guys that it's not a crime to smile, or look just the slightest bit like they were enjoying what they were doing. Our itinerary is dismissively checked and we proceed to check in desk. Now then..what about all these homewares?... well.. two of the bigger pots I have somehow managed to get in my hand luggage, the dishes and tables runner have gone into Mrs W back pack, smaller items wedged and wrapped in clothes in our check-in luggage, and the big box that contains our new cushions is checked in as 'oversize' by smiley Miss Jetstar lady. I needn't have worried at all, it was a breeze. So nothing snapped off, and I managed to fit it in quite easily....(excited girls?)
On we go, through another small queue( this airport is full of them), pay our 150,000 rp departure tax , and I head straight to the Ralph Lauren shop and treat myself to three Polo tops in Red , Yellow and Black... plain colours seem to do justice to my physique. I always find that stripey ones make me look a bit podgy, not that I am, of course...well ok.. a little. I also buy some lollies for my gorgeously drop dead beautiful step daughter and Mrs W has a quick look at some Clarins cosmetics, but doesn't purchase. I wonder if I should buy some Nivea for Men, this would compliment nicely my array of beauty products. It's still over an hour until we board so we decide to waste half of this, and 100,000 rp , on one of the worst meals I have ever had in my life. A chicken burger, which was a ropey piece of cardboard on a soggy roll with daggy salad, accompanied by 9 French fries..yes..so bad, you could actually count them. The only good thing was the bottle of soda water I had to quench my thirst, the rest of it I wouldn't have given to one of the street dogs. Utterly appalling and made hospital foods seem like gourmet dining.
Final call for JQ Nol-Delapan-Dua comes over the tannoy, we line up, and we are located in the Fire Exit row again with a bit of extra leg room. We are sitting on the port side,( I've come across all nautical), of the plane... in seats A and C ...no one in the middle, and I note, as the doors close, there is no-one at all in the row on the other (starboard side)... athletically, with the grace of a baby Gazelle, I glide from seat C into seat F , and stay there for take off. Woo-hoo... both Mrs W and I have 3 seats to ourselves, and we may be able to grab an hour or two sleep on the way to Darwin. I contort myself into some strange positions , ( I thought I had tried them all girls), and manage to wedge my head under the aisle armrest, lie on my left hand side, and wedge my bum up against the middle seat. Worked quite well, and I must have slept half the time I was on this flight. The only thing that perturbed me was the possibility of being scalped every time the hosties wheeled the trolley past.
This leg of the journey is completely devoid of anything interesting, and ends with a perfect touchdown by Mr Pilot. Off we go to get our bags... I pick up my pre-ordered duty free and head to immigration. The nice customs lady comments that I have ticked no boxes on my landing card, and asks am I sure I have nothing to declare. Cheekily I tell her I can't tick anything unless you add smart, sophisticated and sexy to the list of options. She laughs and says..'Oh, by the way, Happy Birthday':.. I applaud her for spotting this and tell her that I'd even forgotten myself and that I had stopped counting now that I had got to twenty eight, ( a year or two ago)
We re-check in for BrizVegas, and go through security check again and upstairs ready for our final leg of the trip. Once upstairs I hurriedly open up my laptop and log on to find out the first Premier League scores of the new season. I jump up and punch the air like a frenzied ape on speed when I see Wolves 2 Stoke 1 .. Mrs W tells me to stop being such a wally, and to calm down. I spend the next couple of hours seeking out and reading as many match reports as I can, I even find some online footage of the game. This wait always seems like an eternity, in the dead of night, waiting for 6.10am to click around so we can get on the plane. I decide to go get some fruit toast and a couple of coffees, I offer the waitress a 20,000 rp note and tell the grumpy woman that's all it cost me in Bali ! Not impressed, arms akimbo, she waits for me to tender a $50 note...welcome back to Australia eh!
Eventually, we boarded, and after a lengthy stoppage, (because Security came on board and threw someone off that was intoxicated, retrieved their bags etc), we were on our way. This time, the plane was full, (apart from the drunk) , and I had the dreaded Sniff-a-lot sit by Mrs W and myself. I have a real problem with people wiping their nose on their fingers, sniffing like a blocked toilet, and fidgeting... thank you for putting him next to me. This time, by the side of us, we had Mr Loud Yank and his wife Mrs Even Louder (with horrible drawl) Yank who thought it fun to press the Flightie buzzer for the most stupid of things. First he asked for Panadol, and was given Panamax, and he kicked up a real fuss over this...then he asked for a pillow, ( I was hoping so bad he was going to use this to smother his infuriating wife)..Then he asked what the time was, and then he wanted a drink of water (this was all before we had even started taxi-ing to the runway)..... Jeeze he was doing my head in... in front of me was Mr Supercool , complete with hoodie, jeans round his knees, Ipad, and sunglasses.... Then we had Mr Ants-in-his-Pants who must have had some obsessive compulsive disorder regarding the overhead lockers... up, down, up, down, up down,....bloody hell ....sit still man!!!
I hate flying sometimes, especially when you have to put up with all of these annoying people!! But, we have to do it; it's too far to walk!!
So back in Brisbane at 10.30am, it‘s a chilly 18deg, the sun is shining, and we have a bagful of memories, nice photos and tales to show and tell. We get a taxi back home from the airport, and we are there in less than 15mins.... 'That will be $31 please sir'
Yeah... welcome back to Brisbane!!!
So that's it folks, all done and dusted, and , from the bottom of my heart I thank you for all of your lovely comments both on here and on FB, can't wait to do it all again in March! To all of you going to this most wonderful of destinations, I hope you have a very happy and safe holiday and a short arrival queue at immigration...until the next time....Selamat Tinggal
Love from Wharfie xxx