We are having a grand time in Bali. Everything is cheap but we sweat a lot!
Last week we planned a trip to another island called Flores (a 1 hour flight from Bali) where we get on a boat and go to Komodo National Park to see the Komodo Dragons. Very exciting.
8:00 am we arrive at airport
9:00 am we arrive at our gate for a 10:00 am departure
10:15 am we are told that our flight has been delayed to 11:00 am
11:00 am we are told that our flight has been delayed to 2:00 pm
At noon we are given a box lunch with 5 bites of rice, 4 bites of chicken, a urine-sample-size-cup of water, and a gelatinous rose.
1:30 pm our flight is cancelled
We are told the airline will put us up in a hotel and our flight will go tomorrow at 9:00 am
(Why was the flight cancelled? "Because the pilot has an ear ache." THE pilot.)
2:00 pm all the weary travelers from the flight to Labuanbajo are directed back to the check in desk outside airport security and are asked to wait for the luggage.
3:00 pm we are told the airline is, "Looking for the luggage."
5:00 pm we arrive at our evening's accommodation, luggage in hand, in a variety of taxis, to await our room key
5:30 pm. As we walk down the dark hall, a fellow passenger was holding up his lighter to the doors to try to see the number and find the correct room. He was kind enough to enlighten the numbers 310 on our door.
ROOM 310
Our cell had a cement floor, white cement walls, a plastic outdoor chair (that had seen better days), a bare light bulb in the ceiling and no windows. Unfortunately this was the good part.
You know how when you turn on a light and sometimes cockroaches go scattering? When we turned on the bathroom light, the resident cockroaches didn't scatter. They introduced themselves and told us we better stay in the main cell. The "bathroom" had a tall tank for water (some hybrid between a sink and a tub), 1/2 a toilet bowl, and a ladle. Plus of course the 2 cockroaches.
For all of you who have been hating us out of jealousy, clearly all things are a mix.
When we go back into the hall, some passengers are fleeing. We decided to tough it out and joined an Ausie and a Brit in a grand backpacker tradition: go get beer goggles thick enough to tolerate our accommodation. (Unfortunately this backfired as it increased the need for the useless bathroom facility.)
We survived.
The next morning our 9am flight left at 10:00 am and we arrived with relative ease. We were picked up by our hotel (love that) and brought to a lovely resort where we were, coincidentally, checked into another Room 310!
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Very nice description of the pleasantries. Don't you have to love bugs who are proud enough to stake their territory and stick with it. Roaches would be great to have on your side but they don't seem to do sides - just roaches. Years ago I flew into Phnom Penh Cambodia and the airport was literally on fire. Had just been attacked and planes were burning on the runway. A couple days later to get out, I show up for my flight and found out it would be late because the plane needed some work. A look out the window and I see a tail-dragging C-130 with both engine covers off. One engine has pieces all over the ground and there's a tractor with a manure scoop on it raised up to the one engine. Two guys in shorts that look like underwear are squatted up there looking at the engine and arguing about something. Later that day, on the flight back to Saigon, I had my first really bad episode of heart arrhythmia and what in later years I found out was a genuine humdinger panic attack. I treated it with booze, sleep, and over-the-counter valium. Successfully. Buck up. The Academy Awards are tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteAlso occurs to me: How was the toilet paper at this hotel????
ReplyDeleteWow! Yep, not an ounce of jealousy here! You can add that one to your list of great traveling stories :)
ReplyDeleteJoan