A 75 hour trek finally got us to Bali... with a sour taste in our mouths. What was supposed to be an exhaustively long layover in Malaysia turned into a delay of 4 days. You see as Indonesia opened up to tourists, airlines canceled and rescheduled ALL of their flights into the country. Unfortunately this happened during our 15 hour flight from Berlin to Singapore so when we landed there with a short plane switch, we found out that we would be trapped in Kuala Lumpur.
Normally with a long layover, we would make the most of where we were. We have actually enjoyed some layovers that gave us the opportunity to explore a place we might not have otherwise seen. BUT when it is covid times and there are strict country mandates for visas and paperwork, leaving the terminal is impossible. Airports do have "Transit Hotels", but far more clever travelers had already booked those. KLM airline would do nothing to help us. I am opening telling you what assholes they are. Could they have helped us get on a flight with another airline going back to Singapore that would then be able to take us to Bali even that same day? Yes. Could they have helped us when we were in Singapore skip the journey to Kuala Lumpur in the first place? Yes. Instead, we had to beg the people at security and Singapore Airlines to help us figure it out. Newly purchased tickets, 24 hours of sleepless, uncomfortable, closed down airport time later, we flew back to Singapore. Shout out to Singapore Airlines who had the sweetest people trying to help us, rescuing our baggage from oblivion and genuinely caring about us being stranded. This help included all new paperwork, paperwork I'd been working months on for the original journey. Covid tests had to be renewed, hotel arrangements showing new dates had to be booked, travel insurance with new dates, all of it registered and signed off on by the proper authorities. I really wanted to cry alongside my overly tired, sensory overloaded, sweet daughter.
Another overnight, this time in the Las Vegas of airports, Singapore, we finally arrived in Bali. There was relief that we had made it there, but unease at what would go wrong next. When we saw our bags dump out of the shoot, there was a moment of joy. The navigating of customs, especially for travelers that haven't slept much in 3 1/2 days, was straight up insane. But we managed, got through it, had the help of a guard contact the hotel for a ride that hadn't shown up and off we went through the weirdest little beach city ever to our quarantine hotel. Wait, hadn't I said Bali had opened up lifting restrictions?!? Yep, but we still had a mandatory 3 days as rules officially shifted. In fact I couldn't get us a flight unless I booked 5 days! At that point we really didn't care. We would have slept for 5 days if they wanted us to. Luckily the results of the airport covid test came back in the morning and we were allowed to use the resort in what is called a "bubble quarantine".
A great night's sleep in an actual bed does wonders for your attitude. We walked out into the lush gardens of the hotel and meandered the picture perfect pathways to a lagoon shaped large pool. The staff all stopped, wide eyed, and thanked us for coming to Bali. Cheers erupted around every corner as they praised us for being the first tourists! It was surreal. It was just what we needed, wrapped in the warmth of a perfectly warm pool, seated at the swim up bar, our frayed nerves began to settle. We even discovered there were local wines! Tentatively we ordered and to our dismay, they were great! Of course a hotel that hasn't seen a tourist in 2 years had some glitches, but each of the staff were glowing with glee to help. "You want more wine?!? I will go to the store! What kind do you want?", everyone was so eager to please we felt guilty asking for anything should they not have it and need to go out in search for our slightest want. The food was amazing, the pool was amazing, the wine was amazing and the world seemed to be saying the trouble was over. Welcome to Bali indeed.
The rest of our stay at the Bali Dynasty Resort was a blur, maybe it was the jet lag (14 hours ahead of home), maybe it was the scorching sunburn, or maybe it was the nights at the onsite Irish Pub that had a live band playing just for us, but Bali seemed to whisper a haze over our eyes. It felt as if everything was a dream. There are exquisite, ornate gates and carvings that mingle with modern hotel decor and lounges propped up just so for the most Instagramable pose. Every dish is astounding to the foodie's sensibilities and there is a kindness of the people that is rarely ever seen. It is also Asia and with that brings the vastly different culture, driving on the opposite side of the road and a crowded feeling that is difficult to absorb for westerners; it leads to disorientation and near collisions with traffic constantly.
Another negative covid test (our 6th in only a few days) deemed us ready to be released to the Island! Kuta Beach is ... maybe suffering from the 2 years lack of tourism. Many places are shut down, boarded up and left in disrepair. We quickly learned that the plentiful offers for a $6 massage, were for one of THOSE massages. I put my husband in a timeout immediately. LOL! That wasn't necessary, but we did decide the refuge of our resort was all the exploration we needed into this area.
After our resort stay, we moved to the highly recommended Sanur Beach. Not knowing what we were doing we selected a charming looking little place and found ourselves in a less desirable area than we intended. It might be worth taking an aside here to explain our traveling needs at this time. When we were young we traveled on a dime and only really required that the room have its own bathroom. Now, older and with a bit more money in our pocket, we look to handle some of our quirky family needs. I have RA and need certain levels comfort should I have a flare up and need to spend my day in the room. Our daughter is traveling with us and is a teenager so we need a certain amount of space and an extra bed which usually means a bigger room in foreign countries. All this combined to have the first place be ideal for most travelers, but lacking for our needs. That being said, there was an amazing Japanese stand very close by that had a local following and phenomenal food. One night as we looked for dinner a local man who was dining there invited us to sit down, helped us order and welcomed us to Bali. It was an incredible experience. The staff at this little hotel were some of the sweetest people we had met and it was difficult to leave. On the other hand, our new hotel was jaw droppingly gorgeous, in the fun part of town with shops and restaurants and a clean beach steps from the front door. At 44 years old, having an autoimmune disease, a child with sensory processing disorder and a cranky husband if his girls aren't happy, really equals needing a nice place. And with the Bali prices being ridiculously inexpensive, you can live like a King on very little. So we moved into a large, modern, artistic room with a balcony view of the volcano in the distance and an epic rooftop pool.
I will leave you there, hating me a little as you battle lame weather and going to work blues. Diving, wine tasting and the lowdown on Balinese food to come!
*Make sure to follow my Instagram @winefirstsomm for photos of our travels!
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