Briathrail // Albert 2MNG

While I was in Melbourne, I did fill up the necessary things for me as a tourist going to Indonesia, namely:

• “All Indonesia” arrival card – it all ends as a QR code you can present if demanded by the immigration officer, and
• IDR 150,000 tourist tax – paid in the “Love Bali” web portal. Number may look big but this is just a few cents shy of 11 Singapore dollars.

As I am from an ASEAN country, I did not need a visa to enter – citizens of ASEAN member states can travel visa-free to all 10 ASEAN countries. So I kind of expected to have a more expedient line experience at the Bali airport.

Also, I had to preface this part with the fact that I tried to get this leg of the trip cancelled. Last June 17, the Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki volcano near Bali erupted with a large ash cloud, that led to multiple airports in the region vicinity to be either closed or have experienced flight cancellations/delays. My worry was that my flights involving Bali on this day, June 27, might be impacted – so immediately on the 17th I tried to cancel both flights and just stay in Melbourne a bit longer, but unfortunately I could not get it cancelled, perhaps Trip.com got overwhelmed with cancellation requests as well. So I just crossed my fingers and hoped the ash cloud disappears in 10 days, and flight delays won’t be a problem. It was a gamble.

My flight from Melbourne to Bali wasn’t too shabby. I don’t go much on afternoon flights headed for the evening, as I prefer early morning to afternoon arrivals. But what can I do, this flight option on Trip.com was way, way cheaper than the next best flight to Bali I could find on the app. Buy cheap, get what you pay for. I get it. I spent the 4 hours of flight time alternating between finally completing Trials of Mana on my Switch 1 and napping. No meals on this one – I had my meal in Melbourne already.

When I landed on Bali at 8pm, I immediately felt I was back in a Southeast Asian country. The airport may be airconditioned but the temp feel is way different compared to Australia’s. Arrival route/pathway was decently lit, and the walk towards the immigration arrival area was definitely clean. NAIA T3 had nothing on this one. Nice panels and windows on the walls, good wooden tiles on the floor with some white accent blocks, working travelators, made the long walk a bit more tolerable. I still hate the long-ass walk from the plane to the counters, but it is what it is in most airports, I understand the limitations.

The main area had some high ceilings, impressive figure panels on the top wall parts, and these large pillars on the main area covered in these slightly opaque wood box paneling with these designs and distinct weaved patterns. As expected, there was a long queue in the immigration area, so I just meekly queued. Thankfully I did all the tourist prerequisites ahead of time, so I wasn’t worried that much.

However… last May, I also booked two airport rides using Trip.com for Bali – both for pick-up and drop-off. From research, I did not trust Bali’s public transport nor its taxis, so I opted to pay extra for maximum secure transport to and from the airport. No ripping off, no under-the-table tipping, one payment with no fuss. The driver is also under a particular company partnered with Trip, called “Bali Fast Track”. For the pick-up, I paid SGD 7.05 and for the drop-off I paid SGD 7.20. Very cheap for the security it affords a first-time traveler like me.

So for that, I had someone message me on WhatsApp that their car is on the carpark already – that’s the driver for the airport pick-up I booked. He was there at 8.16pm, and the app stated that I had until 9.46pm as waiting time. I was on the queue at 8.30pm, so I had an hour or so to get to my driver outside. Thankfully the immigration queue wasn’t sagged with stupid tourists not filling up the prerequisites. By 9pm, I was out of the queue, and went for my baggage at the carousel. And by 9.15pm, I was out of the airport and looked for my driver. I messaged him that I was waiting at a particular exit wearing a black cap and a blue t-shirt. He spotted me quick, and we walked towards the carpark where his vehicle was parked. I remembered it was a white Daihatsu – I’m sure it’s the Sirion model.

We arrived at the hotel pretty quickly – the driver kept asking if we should follow the Google map app, or if he can freestyle based on judgment, and as I was curious, I let him use his judgment. He went through certain streets instead, and we beat the traffic out of the airport and right into more quicker ways. The next time I saw traffic, we were at the street in between the beach and the Beachwalk shopping center. And my hotel is embedded in that shopping center, so he went in the driveway for the hotel and into the entrance. Driver was super courteous and kind, so I left a tip.

The hotel check-in process for Aloft Bali Kuta was straightforward – I just handed my passport for verification, and minutes later I was given the card for my room. I got a room at the fifth floor, and as I requested, away from the elevator/lift. This was a very deliberate request, as years before I had a room directly beside the elevator, and the noises – dings and boisterous people – led me to always request rooms away from the elevator. The room itself was nice and comfortable. The toilet and shower were near the door, the bed is facing a wide window and there was a big-ass flatscreen TV at the wall. The aircon was superb as well – not too cold, but not lacking either. Just right at 21 degrees Celsius. Bed was great – and in my opinion, softer than any of the beds I had in Australia. I felt my body just sink in this hotel’s bed. But first things first, personal things. Drinks and water. The hotel provided water, but I marked it for my morning mouthwash. I went down out of the hotel to a nearby Alfamart past the Sheraton (I saw it on the way earlier) and bought four 1.5L water bottles, two cans of Americano canned coffees and three cans of Coke Zero. Man… definitely Asian temp again. After a few days in the Australian winter chill, I was back in the warm embrace of a tropical climate.

I took a shower right after returning, and settled for a comfortable night. But I was hungry, and I settled for something to eat. Well, I opted to use Grab – I ordered some food from a restaurant within 3km of the hotel (I didn’t want to wait too long). Some sticks of satay chicken, and a spicy nasi campur dish with chicken, vegetables and some fried tofu.

Oh yeah, before I went up, I asked the hotel staff at the check-in counter if I could opt into the buffet breakfast by paying up on the spot, and they affirmed that the buffet restaurant allows for on-the-spot card payment on the mornings. Great.

I slept well for that day. The bed was so soft, all my exhaustion from the airport stuff just wafted away and I went to sleep rather quickly, with the reassuring anticipation of a Balinese hotel’s breakfast buffet.

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