I'd do anything to spend time with my kids. Even go to Bali.

[n7of9]

...I need to worry about....whether the water is safe to drink!

Spoiler alert - it's not, and that includes ice, brushing your teeth, and eating anything that may have been washed in water and remains uncooked - lettuce, tomatoes, unpeeled fruit.

 

[Human]

Spoiler alert - it's not, and that includes ice, brushing your teeth, and eating anything that may have been washed in water and remains uncooked - lettuce, tomatoes, unpeeled fruit.

I get the feeling that I'm about to go on a steep learning curve!

 

[Pushka]

I get the feeling that I'm about to go on a steep learning curve!

Stick to well cooked food and you'll be fine. Fruits you have to peel (outside the resort). In the hotel you'll be fine Keep your mouth shut in shower and there's always plenty of bottled water. You'll be fine.

 

[Human]

Once again, the day has begun promisingly. And as I write this from SYD, our flight to Bali is still on.

We started with a light-ish breakfast in the Hilton dining room -- it was crowded, but the quality of the buffet was pretty good. I particularly appreciated not having to pay extra for barista coffee. Apart from that I resisted the temptation to have a hot breakfast.


Then it was back to the airport. Virgin had given me a second $50 Cabcharge voucher on Monday, supposedly to be used when returning to the airport. Shame it expired yesterday. I'm not looking forward to trying to get reimbursements out of them...

I will spare you more photos of the Virgin Lounge in OOL.

Our flight to Sydney was happily uneventful. I haven't been able to secure seats in Row 3 for our flights today, but exit row seats are pretty good consolation. Not being able to recline during our 6-hour Bali flight might be a little tough, but that's a price I'm willing to pay if we can get there!



We are on the same 737-8, VH-8IF "Maroochydore Beach", for both our flights today.

Once we landed in SYD it was a straightforward walk to the T1 transfer bus stop, a short wait for the bus and a breeze through Security and Passport Control. Even better: there was no wait at the TRS office.

We made our way to the American Express Centurion Lounge. I'd never used this Lounge before (SYD is not my home airport). It's about half full, but not the most peaceful of spaces. There are lots of children (it is school holidays, after all), and it seems that everyone sitting around us is insisting on making loud video calls without headphones.



However, the food isn't bad, and I'm indulging in one of my favourite alcoholic beverages (please don't judge me!): a lemon, lime & bitters with a shot of gin!



All told, this is most definitely not my favourite international lounge in the world. In fact it's not even my favourite lounge in SYD. But given that Virgin doesn't provide international lounge access anymore, we're all just happy to be here and waiting for a flight that hasn't, as yet, been cancelled!

 

[Human]

About 3 hours into the flight and I’m temporarily giving this TR a new name: I’d do anything to spend time with my kids. Even fly 6 hours in 737 Economy Class.

Yes, first-world problems and all that. And yes, at least it’s not an overnight flight. And yes, the extra legroom seats do make a significant difference. And most of all, I’m unspeakably grateful that we’re finally on our way to Bali (on a flight with functional internet!). But I won’t pretend: It’ll be a relief to finally disembark!

The flight is totally full, which is expected given the cancellation of all flights on Monday (one of the staff in the VA lounge earlier told us that some people whose flights were cancelled on Monday were being offered re-bookings on Friday!).

My inflight meal, purchased for $4 from Woolworths on the Gold Coast earlier today:


For my inflight entertainment, I’m currently alternating between continuing the Classic 100 Countdown on ABC Listen (currently up to number 80, Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for Violin & Piano), and episodes of British Taskmaster…


If I do watch anything while flying, more often than not I’ll choose something that makes me laugh, and most of the time it’s some variety of British light entertainment. It’s funny, clever, a great distraction, not too long, and it doesn’t require much brainpower to follow along. And nobody does it better than the British!

As I write this we’re flying over Queensland, about to cross the NT border, and the queue to use the toilets is already back to about row 23. We’re due to land in three and a half hours.

Keeping our eyes on the prize!

 

[zig]

About 3 hours into the flight and I’m temporarily giving this TR a new name: I’d do anything to spend time with my kids. Even fly 6 hours in 737 Economy Class.

Yes, first-world problems and all that. And yes, at least it’s not an overnight flight. And yes, the extra legroom seats do make a significant difference. And most of all, I’m unspeakably grateful that we’re finally on our way to Bali (on a flight with functional internet!). But I won’t pretend: It’ll be a relief to finally disembark!

The flight is totally full, which is expected given the cancellation of all flights on Monday (one of the staff in the VA lounge earlier told us that some people whose flights were cancelled on Monday were being offered re-bookings on Friday!).

My inflight meal, purchased for $4 from Woolworths on the Gold Coast earlier today:
View attachment 456589

For my inflight entertainment, I’m currently alternating between continuing the Classic 100 Countdown on ABC Listen (currently up to number 80, Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for Violin & Piano), and episodes of British Taskmaster…
View attachment 456591

If I do watch anything while flying, more often than not I’ll choose something that makes me laugh, and most of the time it’s some variety of British light entertainment. It’s funny, clever, a great distraction, not too long, and it doesn’t require much brainpower to follow along. And nobody does it better than the British!

As I write this we’re flying over Queensland, about to cross the NT border, and the queue to use the toilets is already back to about row 23. We’re due to land in three and a half hours.

Keeping our eyes on the prize!

Great to read that you are on your way.
Love the inflight catering

 

[VPS]

About 3 hours into the flight and I’m temporarily giving this TR a new name: I’d do anything to spend time with my kids. Even fly 6 hours in 737 Economy Class.

Yes, first-world problems and all that. And yes, at least it’s not an overnight flight. And yes, the extra legroom seats do make a significant difference. And most of all, I’m unspeakably grateful that we’re finally on our way to Bali (on a flight with functional internet!). But I won’t pretend: It’ll be a relief to finally disembark!

The flight is totally full, which is expected given the cancellation of all flights on Monday (one of the staff in the VA lounge earlier told us that some people whose flights were cancelled on Monday were being offered re-bookings on Friday!).

My inflight meal, purchased for $4 from Woolworths on the Gold Coast earlier today:
View attachment 456589

For my inflight entertainment, I’m currently alternating between continuing the Classic 100 Countdown on ABC Listen (currently up to number 80, Clara Schumann’s Three Romances for Violin & Piano), and episodes of British Taskmaster…
View attachment 456591

If I do watch anything while flying, more often than not I’ll choose something that makes me laugh, and most of the time it’s some variety of British light entertainment. It’s funny, clever, a great distraction, not too long, and it doesn’t require much brainpower to follow along. And nobody does it better than the British!

As I write this we’re flying over Queensland, about to cross the NT border, and the queue to use the toilets is already back to about row 23. We’re due to land in three and a half hours.

Keeping our eyes on the prize!

British humour is the best. Greg Davies was on in Belfast when I was there and I had to tell my big boss who was taking me out for dinner that if I could get a ticket to Greg Davies then dinner was off. No ticket sadly so free dinner

 

[drron]

We got tickets to Dawn french in Glasgow. a few years ago. Unfortunately she cancelled about 3 weeks out.

And @Human your lunch and IFE look far better than anything VA would offer in Y.

 

[Human]

We made it to Bali!

Our flight, VA65, ended up being a 7-hour marathon – 7 hours and 8 minutes from gate to gate. We ended up disembarking after 11pm Bali time (1am according to our body clocks).

One interesting note was that the inflight internet on our 737-8 lasted all the way until DPS – I was expecting it to not work once we left Australia.

After disembarking we found ourselves in a very large Arrivals hall. To the left was an absolute ocean of people who were queueing for a Visa on Arrival, and we were very grateful that we already had our Visas and we could go straight to the Smart Gates and Passport Control. We had to be just a little bit assertive to stop people cutting in, in front of us, but we were through in about 10 minutes. Then it was over to the carousels to collect our luggage. The signs announced that our luggage would be on Carousel 6 and it actually turned up on Carousel 5 (why does this happen so often at so many airports?), but at least Virgin’s app gave me notifications that the luggage was on Carousel 5, so we could split up and wait at both carousels and collect the luggage when it arrived.

In lots of areas at DPS there are signs saying that photography isn’t permitted. This is the baggage collection area and hopefully I wasn’t breaking any laws by taking this photo!



From there it was a walk to Customs and more assertive queuing. We walked past a huge number of people who hadn’t done their Customs Declaration and who were fiddling around in the chaos with their phones and scanning QR codes. For us, though, once we got to the front of our queue, the Customs agent scanned the QR code on our phone and waved us through. No-one looked at our Health Declarations or checked that we’d paid the Tourist Tax, but presumably those were both connected to our Passports.

Given the number of people who didn’t have a Visa and who hadn’t filled in their other declarations, we were grateful for the Smartraveller website that clearly spelled out everything we’d need. In particular, if we had waited until flying in to get our Visas, we may well still be waiting in the queue at the arrivals hall!

I’d arranged a private transfer with our accommodation. The driver sent me a WhatsApp message with instructions on where to meet him, and we ran the gauntlet of what seemed like hundreds of taxi and transfer services before we met our driver. He then took us to his van, loaded us up and we were on our way through the streets of Denpasar.

The post-midnight drive was certainly a revelation. Herds of motor-scooters were ducking and weaving around us as we drove. Many of the drivers and passengers weren’t wearing helmets, and more than once we saw a passenger holding on with one hand, and nonchalantly doing stuff on their phone with the other. The streets were narrow, the dogs were ubiquitous, the traffic was busy (if it was that busy after midnight, what’s it like during the day?) and the drive was slow.

Sorry for not taking more photos but it was dark and I was very weary after our long day!

We arrived at our accommodation just after 1am (3am AEST). Shower, bed, and, for all of us, a sleep that was not quite as deep, nor as long, as we would have liked!

 

[Pushka]

We made it to Bali!

Our flight, VA65, ended up being a 7-hour marathon – 7 hours and 8 minutes from gate to gate. We ended up disembarking after 11pm Bali time (1am according to our body clocks).

One interesting note was that the inflight internet on our 737-8 lasted all the way until DPS – I was expecting it to not work once we left Australia.

After disembarking we found ourselves in a very large Arrivals hall. To the left was an absolute ocean of people who were queueing for a Visa on Arrival, and we were very grateful that we already had our Visas and we could go straight to the Smart Gates and Passport Control. We had to be just a little bit assertive to stop people cutting in, in front of us, but we were through in about 10 minutes. Then it was over to the carousels to collect our luggage. The signs announced that our luggage would be on Carousel 6 and it actually turned up on Carousel 5 (why does this happen so often at so many airports?), but at least Virgin’s app gave me notifications that the luggage was on Carousel 5, so we could split up and wait at both carousels and collect the luggage when it arrived.

In lots of areas at DPS there are signs saying that photography isn’t permitted. This is the baggage collection area and hopefully I wasn’t breaking any laws by taking this photo!

View attachment 456759

From there it was a walk to Customs and more assertive queuing. We walked past a huge number of people who hadn’t done their Customs Declaration and who were fiddling around in the chaos with their phones and scanning QR codes. For us, though, once we got to the front of our queue, the Customs agent scanned the QR code on our phone and waved us through. No-one looked at our Health Declarations or checked that we’d paid the Tourist Tax, but presumably those were both connected to our Passports.

Given the number of people who didn’t have a Visa and who hadn’t filled in their other declarations, we were grateful for the Smartraveller website that clearly spelled out everything we’d need. In particular, if we had waited until flying in to get our Visas, we may well still be waiting in the queue at the arrivals hall!

I’d arranged a private transfer with our accommodation. The driver sent me a WhatsApp message with instructions on where to meet him, and we ran the gauntlet of what seemed like hundreds of taxi and transfer services before we met our driver. He then took us to his van, loaded us up and we were on our way through the streets of Denpasar.

The post-midnight drive was certainly a revelation. Herds of motor-scooters were ducking and weaving around us as we drove. Many of the drivers and passengers weren’t wearing helmets, and more than once we saw a passenger holding on with one hand, and nonchalantly doing stuff on their phone with the other. The streets were narrow, the dogs were ubiquitous, the traffic was busy (if it was that busy after midnight, what’s it like during the day?) and the drive was slow.

Sorry for not taking more photos but it was dark and I was very weary after our long day!

We arrived at our accommodation just after 1am (3am AEST). Shower, bed, and, for all of us, a sleep that was not quite as deep, nor as long, as we would have liked!

Always amazes me the throngs of people not doing the eVisa prior but even more so the Customs declaration. We had so many people take up space in the customs queue who hadn't completed it. They showed a QR code - maybe the Visa one - then would argue with the official that they'd done the declaration. Which they hadn't. I think they appreciate those doing it in advance and simply wave them through.

Now, try that Radler Bintang. Very refreshing. Lemony. And cheap!

 

[Human]

Now, try that Radler Bintang. Very refreshing. Lemony. And cheap!

Will do -- sooner rather than later.

Thanks @Pushka ; it's great having you in our corner!

 

[Human]

We’re staying at the Echo Beach Villas and Apartments in Canggu. It’s a sprawling set of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments (the 1-and 2-bed apartment complexes each have their own shared pool), and 2- and 3-bedroom villas (each with its own private pool). We gave our daughter and son-in-law the option of sharing a 2-bedroom villa with us, but instead they opted to have their own 1-bedroom apartment (can’t imagine why ) so we have booked 2 of the 1-bedroom apartments. Some photos of the inside and outside:




The view out the bedroom window:
The view from the balcony and the pool downstairs:





There are six one-bedroom apartments in all, and we're occupying two of them. I'd much rather a small pool shared by a small number of people, than a large pool shared by a large number of people!

We’re paying about $1600 for the two apartments for six nights. I wasn’t entirely sure at the time of payment whether that’s a good price. Still not sure. But it’s a perfectly nice place to stay, with friendly and helpful staff, and only a 5-minute walk to the beach.

 

[Human]

After a fitful night’s sleep (I got just over 5 hours), breakfast was delivered to our rooms at 9am. In my half-awake state I forgot to photograph it before consumption, but it consisted of a thick pancake with maple syrup, granola with yoghurt, a fruit platter, juice, and a very strong but delicious coffee.

We then went exploring. As stated above it was a short walk to the beach.



Power lines. I assume these are live? We do not want to find out!



Approaching Canggu Beach.




The surf looked quite violent – I can see how people drown on the unpatrolled beaches in Bali, especially if they go swimming after they’ve had a few!

Some markets on the way home. We bought a couple of t-shirts.


More terrifying power cables!


After our short stroll we returned to our accommodation and had a quick dip in the pool; the water temperature was perfect.

 

[Human]

For lunch we returned to this place: La Brisa on Canggu Beach, which came highly recommended. It's a huge, sprawling (I think I'll be using that word a few times while we're here!) beach-house-cough-bar-cough-restaurant-cough-swimming-pool area.



The view from our table...


As per @Pushka 's instructions I immediately ordered a Radler Bintang, only to be told that they didn't have it! I will keep trying. Instead I had a Crystal Bintang to accompany a delicious slab of barramundi.


Dessert was sweet mango rice and a cappuccino.


The food was great and the atmosphere was fun, but we were a little disappointed by the lack of authentic Balinese/Indonesian food on the menu. The menu was almost entirely Western. I suppose it's no surprise that most tourists to Bali go for the cheap tropical holiday rather than the cultural experience. Nevertheless, our brief for dinner tonight is to find somewhere whose food is more authentically Indonesian, if not Balinese.

After lunch we returned to our rooms again for a much-needed siesta!

 

[Human]

Our son-in-law contacted a friend who'd been to Bali a few times and he also read some online reviews, resulting in him recommending that we have dinner here: The Warung Sika.




This was definitely a new experience for these middle-aged newbies! It was bustling and crowded -- a good sign -- and people queued up at the counter to have various exotic options placed on a large plate. I saw from the blackboard that nasi goreng was an option, so I immediately thought I'd go with that.

Got to the front of the queue ... confidently stated that I'd like a nasi goreng ... "sorry sir, we don't have that tonight. Would you like white, yellow or brown rice?".

Anyway, I ended up with this. Some of it was pork, some of it was chicken, some of it was spicy, some of it was egg, some of it was vegetable ... no idea, really. It was delicious, but I couldn't finish it. You will notice, however, the drink in the background -- I owe you one, @Pushka ! And the whole thing came to about $A8, including the drink.


We're doing a whole-day Nusa Penida tour tomorrow which involves being collected at 6:20am, and we still haven't quite caught up after our sleep-deprived night last night. Early to bed!

 

[markis10]

Maybe try Sukun Restaurant at Amnaya Resort Nusa Dua for good Bali fare