It's been more than 10 years since we last went to Bali. Thanks to a very generous gift from a friend, we are making the trip again.
This time, everything will be different. We are flying with an airline we have never used before (Qatar Airways), connecting through a country we've never been to, into a new airport, and staying in new accommodations. The bungalows where we usually stay have been rented out to long-term tenants, but our Bali family has built a beautiful new hotel, so we will still be able to stay with them.
Our flight leaves Dulles at 9:05 p.m., so after a few hours at work I headed home, threw all my stuff in the suitcase, loaded the car and by about 3:15 we were on the road.
Qatar staff were very friendly, and our check-in was uneventful. I must say that I feel like the security clearance process has gotten easier since the last time we flew. The first leg of our trip was 12 hours and 12 minutes. The flight wasn't full, so we were able to spread out a bit and at least try to get some sleep. In-flight meals were not bad, although breakfast came with what looked and tasted like a cup of sour cream with jam. That got left on the tray.
Even though Qatar is an Islamic country, wines, beers, and liqours were all available on the flight. I was most excited that they had soda water available (seltzer to us) and I drank about 8 cans of it on the first flight. You can see from the picture that these were tiny cans, but at least I drank more than I would have if this wasn't available.
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| Tiny soda can (deodorant for size) |
We had a very short connection time in Doha, so we paid for the meet and assist service. We had expected that this would involve someone meeting us at the plane, putting us on a golf cart or something similar, and zooming us to our next gate. What really happened was that we were met at the plane, helped onto the shuttle bus, and then led through the airport on foot at a very fast pace. I feel like the only advantage to this was that our guide was able to contact the gate to tell them we were on the way. We did also get priority boarding and seats closer to the front of the plane, but it was difficult for Ibu to keep up the pace.
After rushing to get to the gate, we discovered that there was a delay in boarding the next flight. Some mechanical issue had to be repaired.
After some time, we all got on the plane and got settled in. We taxied out and were waiting our turn to take off, when the captain made the announcement that he was not happy with the way the controls were behaving, so we would not be taking this plane anywhere.
Taxi back, gather the bags, disembark. Our 5:30 flight was now rescheduled to depart at 10:30. We were sent to the airport food court for complimentary dinner. There were lots of options - pizza, pasta, sandwiches, Asian, Burger King, KFC - but the process had not been fully explained. I got in line to get some delicious looking Korean chicken and was told that I needed to find out how much the airline was providing for our meal. OK, no problem. Find a staff person, get the boarding pass scanned - we each got 50 Qatari Riyal - a little less than $14. So guess where we ate? KFC.
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| Qatari KFC |
My chicken sandwich meal was only 45 QAR, so I had to bring it up to 50 by purchasing ketchup (1 QAR per packet) and Garlic Buttermilk Mayo (3 QAR).
When we were finally able to reboard the plane, we were both exhausted. I don't sleep well when flying, even when there is room to spread out, so at this point we had basically been up for about 33 hours.
During this flight, my body decided it had had enough. My feet and ankles swelled so bad I almost couldn't flex my feet. My ankle bones disappeared and we looked like those people in the Kroger commercials.
8+ hours later and about 5 hours later than expected, we finally landed in Denpasar. I was still wearing March-in-Virginia clothes - fleecy top and jeans. I didn't pack anything to change into, because, well, it's been 10 years, and I guess I forgot how oppressive the heat can be when you first get here. Definitely won't do that again.
It was so good to see Made's smiling face in the crowd of drivers waiting outside that airport!
