I flew to Bali with Jetstar from Sydney in March for $88. For the first time, the Jetstar ground staff did not ask to see a ticket out of Indonesia, even though I was not flying out of Indonesia with Jetstar.
I only took a cabin bag which weighed 9.7 kg. The Jetstar ground staff let the bag through, as I had purchased the ticket in October. Nowadays, Jetstar only allows a maximum of 7 kg for cabin luggage.
The flight left 10 minutes late and arrived 33 minutes early. The plane was the new Boeing Dreamliner and I managed to secure a window seat without paying extra. This new plane had sufficient leg room and seat width for me. I am 178 cm tall and weigh 96 kg. The earphones plug into the back of the headrest in front of you. There is also a USB socket next to the earphone jack. The windows of this plane darken gradually, but there is a button underneath the window to lighten them.
The plane landed at 8.27 pm. I paid $A50 for the VOA. After waiting in the Imigrasi queue for 20 minutes, I escaped the airport terminal.
After walking to the airport gates, I caught a metered taxi to Gang Poppies 2 in Kuta for Rp 42,000.
I found a room at Taman Sari Cottages in Gang Poppies 2 for Rp 230,000 per night. In Kuta, I normally had dinner at the Skygarden for Rp 57,500 for a western food buffet and free beer from 5 to 6 pm. Between 9 to 11pm, there were free cocktails.
In Kuta, I bought a jet style motorcycle helmet for Rp 175,000 from the MiniMart covered with their logo, a cube radio/MP3 Player for Rp 70,000 and a clip MP3 Player for Rp 40,000. The cube radio/MP3 Player and the clip MP3 Player will keep me amused in my WA donga. I also bought a CDMA HP (an analogue mobile phone) for Rp 200,000. This enabled me to use an old CDMA Sim which still had Rp70,000 credit, Only SmartFren and Flexi offer a CDMA service in Bali.
I also bought a Perama Shuttle Bus ticket to Padang Bai for Rp 65,000 with a discount, including a four night break in Ubud. In Ubud, I found a homestay for Rp 100,000 a night. For Rp 300,000, I bought a "Sunrise on Mount Batur Trek". The Bemo picked me up at 2.30 am. I conked out halfway up the volcano and rejoined my group on their way down. It was a pleasant experience sitting by myself in the dark watching the lake below fill with mist and then rise, so I was in the middle of a cloud. Then the cloud rose past me until it was overhead. I blame all that free beer and cocktails that I had consumed in Kuta for stopping me from climbing all the way up the volcano. The Bemo returned to Ubud at 10.44 am. I had dinner at Warung Laba Laba in Jalan Hanoman and used their free WiFi.
Wearing my new Rp 175,000 MiniMart helmet, I rode around the Ubud region. Firstly, to the south to Lodtunduh. Secondly, to Kintamani. Except for a light shower at Kintamani, there was no rain.
Next, I caught the Perama Shuttle Bus to Padang Bai. I stayed at the Parta Inn for Rp 100,000 per night. I also ate at the Zen Inn.
From Padang Bai, I caught the public ferry to Lembar, Lombok for Rp 45,000. On the ferry, I met a Rumanian Gypsy Lady who sketched me. She stared at me as if she wanted to control my mind, however my mind as usual remained blank. She claimed that I had an interesting face and that I must be an artist of some sort. When the ferry berthed, she paired off with an impressionable young German man with a more malleable mind than mine. I explained Gypsies to an old Balinese man in Indonesian, giving as an example the lyrics from the Rolling Stones song "Love Potion No 9".
For Rp 45,000 in total, I caught four bemos to Senggigi. I found the Elen Hotel again. For Rp 150,000 a night, I had WiFi, air conditioning and breakfast. After two nights, I caught a bemo to Bangsal for Rp25,000. Ignoring all the infamous Bangsal touts, I bought a ferry ride to Gili Trawangan for Rp 15,000.
After wading ashore on Gili Trawangan, I stayed at the Wangi Pandan Homestay for Rp 125,000 a night, including breakfast. Next day, I took a five hour snorkelling tour which cost Rp 100,000 around the three Gilis. I saw two leatherback turtles swimming underwater, coral and a shipwreck. That night, I ate at Tir na Nog, where the cocktail "Love Potion No 9" was offered free to ladies just for that night. The Gypsy influence must have spread to Tir na Nog!
On the following day, I climbed the hill and tried to find a Japanese bunker. It had been buried by the locals and I could not find it again.
I had lunch at Black Penny on the beach and checked my e-mails.
Next day, I caught the public ferry to Bangsal for Rp 15,000 and walked a kilometre to Pemenang.
For Rp 45,000 in total, I caught three bemos to Lembar from Pemenang. On one bemo, I met a Sasak man. He was happy as he had just exchanged $A in Mataram at Rp 9,865 for $A1. He told me that he had bought the $A from Australian cruise ship passengers at Rp 9,000 for $A1. He told me that previously, he had been a Preman or gangster, then he had worked for Perama. Now he worked as a freelance tour guide.
The public ferry cost Rp 45,000 and took four hours to reach Padang Bai. I was the only foreigner on the public ferry. The usual bemos that take foreign tourists to Kuta were not waiting for this particular ferry, so I spent the night in Padang Bai.
Next day, I caught the Perama Shuttle Bus back to Kuta for Rp 65,000 after a discount. The bus went directly to Kuta as none of the passengers wanted to go to Ubud. The bus did not stop in Sanur, as there was a PDI Kejuangan Congress taking place in Sanur with the Indonesian President attending, so the roads were blocked off.
I moved back to the Taman Sari Cottages in Gang Poppies 2 for Rp 230,000 per night. As it was now shoulder season, the free cocktails at Sky Garden were now limited to one hour from 9 pm to 10 pm. On 19 April 2015, the Sky Garden closed the very popular VIP Travellers Bar and the one hour free flow was only available in the Sky Dome.
Competition from the Sky Garden and high rents appears to have forced the closure of Mbargo, the Macaroni Club and the Mothership in the Kuta night club Strip. Old favourites such as the Bounty, Apache and Surfer Bar soldier on.
I did a little shopping in Kuta. I bought 1,000 stickers for Rp 950,000 from Indographics. I also had my jeans taken up for Rp 40,000 and bought a custom made dinner suit for Rp 600,000 from Janoko, opposite Taman Sari Cottages. The rain stayed away.
On 16 April, the Indonesian government banned the sale of alcohol by mini marts and warungs. In Kuta, alcohol disappeared from mini marts. Beer finally reappeared to Bali mini marts after a four day break.
Finally, I flew to Melbourne with Air Asia Indonesia X for Rp 890,000. This price included 20 kg of checked in luggage, a meal and a small bottle of water. The AA ground staff and software need to be improved. When I boarded the plane, I found an Asian man sitting in my seat. I showed him my boarding pass and he showed me that he also had a boarding pass for the same seat! I waved to the flight attendant and she came over and told me to wait. After five minutes, she returned with a passenger list and sent the Asian man to another seat. The Asian showed me his boarding pass again and it had my name on it! My name does not resemble an Asian name at all.
Air Asia Indonesia X sells cans of Heineken and Bintang beer for Rp 80,000. Carlsberg costs Rp 90,000 a can. Black tea costs Rp 25,000, though only coffee whitener is available if you want milk. They accept rupiah including coins.
There is no entertainment available on a Air Asia Indonesia X Airbus A330 plane. Seat width and legroom are also tight. As the flight was only one third full, many passengers were able sleep, spread out over three seats. Overall, I prefer to fly with a Jetstar Boeing Dreamliner, rather than a Asia Indonesia X Airbus A330.
The Air Asia Indonesia X plane left on time and arrived punctually in Melbourne.