Day 11 – Bali-Singapore
Whelp, it’s the last full day of vacation. June 30, Monday. At least I got to spend a better Monday.
I woke up pretty early, around 5.30am. Hotel check-out time was at 12pm (which was generous), so I have six hours. My flight from Bali to Singapore was in an Indonesia AirAsia at 1.45pm, so given my preference to be at the airport early, I booked a ride from the hotel to the airport by 10am. Ample time for breakfast.
So by 7am, I got dressed in casualwear and trooped down to the breakfast buffet of the hotel for my last big chow. I also planned this to help curb any airport craving later. And I hardly held back, I tried many of the foods that I did not get to sample for the past two days. I ate like a champ. Some noodles, some sausages, some spicy viands, waffles, lots of juice, and two platefuls of desserts. I tried a little of everything. I left full and very satisfied an hour afterwards.
For some harebrained reason, I still had three cans of beverages in the fridge. Two iced coffees and one Coke Zero. I drank the Coke Zero right away upon going back to my room, and drank the two coffees at 9am, right as I was leaving the room. I donned a light UA sports hoodie with a pair of jeans, just enough to keep me cool. Checkout was super quick, so by 10am I was out the door waiting for my pickup. Unlike the night time dropoff, the pickup heading to the airport was much faster. Not much traffic, driver had time to ask the standards (“where you from?”) and soon we were at the airport.
Departure area at the Bali airport was a world of difference from arrivals. Like, the open area space looked awesome – the ceiling had wavy metal supports, for one, that made it look something similar to a beach-like canopy. Air wasn’t hot either – good ventilation.
I followed the signs to the departures area – beyond the auto doors – to where the AirAsia check-in gate was, and of course it was the packed area. Lots of lines, lots of people. I must say, many airports try to make their check-in gate areas more ergonomic and less stressful. I’d say Seoul and Taipei have decent check-in gate areas.
After dropping off my bag at the check-in counter for AirAsia, going through the gates and security checks and whatnot, I exited and soon I was in the shopping areas. Basically I was in front of the “Bali Duty Free” dragon display. I had two hours to kill – I got out of the checks by 11.45am – so I spent it by going around and seeing what’s left for me to buy. As planned earlier, my big pig-out at the hotel breakfast buffet kept me sated so I did not have any appetite to eat at the airport. I mean, even if I had the appetite, almost all of the food stalls I’ve seen were packed. No seats left. I wasn’t in the mood for waiting anyway. The assigned gate for my AirAsia flight was far, so I walked towards the gate, hoping for a good bench to wait for my flight to open. The walk was pleasant too – lots of working travelators, lots of shops to windowshop, brightly-lit hallways, ample airconditioning. I spent the last of my Indonesian on-hand currency on a pack of strong mints and two bottles of water.
I spent an hour fiddling with my Switch, made sure every compatible game had been backed up online, and playing Katamari and some classics. Soon, flight gate was open, I got to my seat at the plane, and after three hours, I was back on Singapore by 5pm. Well, I am already a veteran of the arrival area at Changi, so I just went to a familiar routine – made a beeline to the arrival gates, had my scan (I didn’t need to get my passport out), and to the luggage carousel, then go through the green gate (aka the “Nothing to Declare”) and to the taxi/loading bay at the basement. But this time, I had a small pitstop before going home to Holland Village.
See, I preordered my Nintendo Switch 2 console at the TOG shop in Bugis months earlier, and the store notified me weeks earlier of the earliest pick-up time, which was the date when I was still in Melbourne. I asked if I could have it set aside until June 30, and they affirmed my unit was reserved. So I had to modify my usual Grab ride instructions to stop at the Bugis+ mall. Not easy considering I was with a heavy-ass backpack and a 25-kilo luggage. I got to the store and received my new Switch 2 console, which was the bundle deal with a physical copy of Mario Kart World in it. I also opted to buy a standard console carry-on case and a screen protector, had it applied, and soon I was out of the store with my spoils.
And with another taxi ride, I was back to my unit in Holland Village by 6pm. To wrap my vacation off, I went to a nearby yong tau foo stall for a bowl. Wonderful dinner. And the next day – back to work. Waiting for me was a new project with a short deadline. Perfect.
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