Bali 2013 - The Adventure Begins

Well, here we go again.  All packed up with clothing, dishes, toothbrushes, toys, school supplies and gifts to give to our Bali friends and family.  Oh, yes, and clothes, toothbrushes, toiletries, and every electronic gadget and camera we thought we might need for ourselves.  The plan was to have Groome pick us up and take us to the airport, but when I called on Tuesday to confirm our pick-up time for the next morning, I was told they didn't have any drivers.  When my friend Robin said "Didn't you get a confirmation number?", of course I felt like a complete idiot.  Why did I not ask for that?  I usually would.  Oh, well, looks like we're driving to Dulles!

The drive wasn't that bad, and my car easily carried us and all our baggage, and in the end we're saving lots of money.  I'm just dreading the drive home after 20 hours in flight.

Our usual flight pattern with Singapore Air takes us from Richmond to JFK to Frankfurt to Singapore to Bali, with the longest leg being about 11 hours, and the total trip lasting about 30 to 32 hours.  This time we are flying

Korean Air from Dulles to Seoul to Bali, with a total trip time of about 20 hours.  That's the up side.  The down side is that we arrive in Bali at about 12:30 a.m. and depart around 1:00 a.m.  Still, it wasn't a bad flight.  I just wish I could sleep better on the planes.  Maybe one day I'll be able to pay that first-class fare and get a bed for the trip.

I am accustomed to the menus provided by Singapore Air - each meal is set out in detail with descriptions of the entree choices.  Korean Air just brings the cart down the aisle and asks "Chicken or beef?"  Even so, everything was pretty good.  The only thing that really didn't appeal to any of us was the cup of tofu that came with one meal.  There was the entree, a roll, and that big cup of tofu.  I tried it, but I've never been a fan of the stuff, so one small spoon for me and one for Macaela was all we ate.  I was thrilled when shortly after meal service, the flight attendants came along with strawberry cheesecake ice cream.

Arrival in Bali and immigration clearance was easy enough.  It was surprising how many people there were arriving at that time.  Apparently there were at least two planes that arrived at about the same time.  None of our luggage had been marked with that dreaded chalk X that Bali is famous for, so customs clearance went smoothly as well.  I don't know if it was due to the time of day, or if the rules have changed, but we weren't accosted by even one porter.

The changes to the airport area and parking are shocking.  There is a new shopping area right outside the terminal where parking used to be, and there is a huge new terminal being built beside the old one.  I remember back in '95 when the plane landed and they wheeled up a set of stairs so we could disembark.  I know change is inevitable, and can be good, but I'm afraid that, as I read somewhere, "Bali is being loved to death."

**I've been asked to explain the chalk X - when baggage arrives in Bali, they use a piece of chalk to make an X on any bags they want you to open for inspection.  This can take some time, and sometimes they want explanations for things that are normal - like diapers for Jake on our first trip with the kids.  One time they wanted us to explain the clothes we brought with us.  When we told them they were gifts for friends (which they were), they told us we needed to get permission to bring that much for gifts, but they grudgingly let us keep them without having to pay.