Blog Me Bali

So it was time to say goodbye and farewell to Australia. I'd managed to stay there 8 hours short of my visa expiry date. Personally, I was rather in awe of that feat. It was a great experience and I'd quickly just like to thank everyone for making my life there a pleasant one... apart from Gerry Mullane. Most of you who were in touch with me in the last 2 or 3 months will have heard the name mumbled from my tightly angered lips. Were it not for him, Virgin would probably have taken me on and kept me there for a while longer. As it happens, I believe it's probably turned out for the best. My grandmother enjoys blaming fate for these sort of things and although I vehemently disagree with her theories, I think that in certain cases, she's got a point :-) For one, were it not for the way things turned out, I wouldn't be writing this blog from an internet cafe in a beautiful place called Padang Padang, on the southern most tip of Bali in Indonesia right now. I did, however, have to leave my lovely Joy. The girl I've been with for the last 6 months has been a real bright light in my life. Her plane left at 9 a.m. from Sydney International Airport, so we both caught a taxi at quarter to seven and headed out there. Our goodbye was surprisingly curt. Earlier, we both couldn't help but notice that we though it felt like any other day. I think I put that down to how comfortable we were together. I miss her now but I think we'll be together again. So off she went. I saw her off at the departure gate and she cried. My eyes welled a little and she was happy enough with that. I then proceeded to amble around like some kind of zombie, answering last minute text and calls from friends and annoying people by being at the free internet posts playing chess. Quick tip for Sydney International Airport: Get an internet cafe! Revolutionary, I know. I then went to get a little sleep in the upstairs lounge. I set my alarm for 2.30 p.m. and shoved my phone down my shirt. The vibrations, belled from them, were enough to awaken me. I lumbered up, rubbed my eyes and made my way to the already large JetStar Check-In cue. After thirty minutes of being kicked in the back by an annoying 2 year old, blonde Kiwi rascal, I popped up to the counter, all giddy-like, only to find out I wasn't allowed to go to Bali without a ticket leaving the place. I panicked! I asked myself how I could have been so stupid as to overlook the rules and regulations of visiting Indonesia, but then quickly dismissed that thought by answering to the tune of the fact I was that stupid. Typical. I had about one hour to buy a flight out of Indonesia. But unfortunately, customs weren't very clear about how long I'd be able to stay there. I rushed over to one of the computers only to find them all taken. I even got behind one of the people but one of the others got off. Unfortunately, a middle aged, ragged looking old hag hopped onto one before I could grab my stuff and circle round to it. I tried to argue the point that I was there first and rather desperate, but she basically told me to go stuff it because hers was an emergency too. If only I'd not played all that chess whilst others were desperately waiting, maybe? Hmmm... Good ol Karma. Eventually I got onto one, only to find a flight and then fail by seeing my credit card declined. Great. So I rushed to the local Jetstar desk and informed them that I'd found a flight out and I wanted to buy it but had to pay cash. They went onto the site, found the flight and I ran off to cash-point to grab the dough. When I got back, they were having problems getting the ticket and I had to wait, anxiously, until there were no more people left in the check-in cue. Some problems with the website apparently. Still, I was there and they guaranteed that they'd get me onto the flight. Finally, when it came through, I checked in all my luggage and ran for the plane. I made it with 7 minutes to spare. Most of the people were already on board. It was emotional seeing off Sydney for the last time but once we were airborne, I only had Bali on my mind. I'd got a flight for 2 months time and now I was being told that I'd definitely only be able to get 30 days on my visa. Stay tuned for some interesting haggling time, trying to get an extension from the Indonesian government... or from the local travel agencies. I finally arrived in Bali after sitting for 5 hours, next to a guy who worked in the horse saddling business. Now there's something I never thought would happened. As it turned out, he'd been to Bali on business for 8 years now and also had some interesting points about health, places to visit and prostitution to discuss, so it wasn't all boredom. My arrival was a little annoying though. Not only did customs point blank refuse to give me the extension on my visa, but I also got hussled by a couple of "porters" there. They picked up my stuff, carried it through to customs where some burly looking chap asked me if I'd packed any alcohol, cigarettes, drugs or "videos" in my luggage. My heart was racing, flashing back to the Death Penalty signs for bring drugs into the country, that were plastered all over the place. In my haste, I fortunately answered all the question correctly, but when the two guys who were carrying my luggage corned me and asked me for 50'000 rupiah each as a "tip", I just gave it to them, fearing they might make my life a little harder by denouncing something suspicious to customs or something. I then realized that I'd got scammed. Nice. They charged me £5 to carry my bags for 10 meters... and I was so huffed in it all that I payed for it. That was a night's accommodation out the window. Outside was another story. The night time heat and roadside chaos was strangling. Non-stop hassling by guys asking if I needed a taxi and attempting to spark up conversation to find out where I was going. I had to haggle like mad with 3 different taxi drivers before I got a trustworthy one that promised to use his meter. I was nervous as anything, in the pitch black of night fall, somewhere in South Indonesia, what was to say this guy wasn't going to pull over into some field and take all I had... or worse. As it turned out, he was a really nice guy and I just felt bad for having distrusted him. When I got to my place, the Padang Padang Inn, Waeyen was waiting for me at the gate, bleary eyed, but with a smile that made my shoulders drop. He took me to my room and I collapsed on my bed for a fully deserved nights sleep. I could have slept through a cyclone, which is interesting because apparently there's one just off the coast, but missing us by a few hundred kilometers. I need day two.