 Back from Bali, Chapter 2
Continuing on from the saga of preparing my time in Bali…..
After bailing out of the trip my friend went to ground which was probably a very good move under the circumstances as it gave me time to cool off. As I have said I wanted to fly Business Class but was unsure about Garuda (do you need to ask?). There aren’t too many choices these days and with Jetstar you need to book directly with them or you pay an extra booking fee. Although not a huge amount they didn’t offer the all inclusive deal – meals already provided and personal choice, mostly available. Just to divert for a moment, if you’ve ever travelled on a late flight with Jetstar you will know that they run out of many meals, so if you’re hungry and need to be fed it’s a matter of eating what’s available (translates to left over because it was the least popular choice) . Anyway, my travel agent assured me that Garuda use different pilots for international flights than for domestic flights “if that makes you feel any better” which it did, so Garuda got the gig. No having to purchase meals, entertainment or any other stuff on top of the cost of the ticket. A Business Class airfare was approx. $1800 return (after the $300 odd add-ons of airport charges and taxes were added to the reasonable sounding $1500, a little bit deceiving however it’s what I needed this trip and if I had to pay for it, well I had to pay for it).
The journey was comfortable and pleasant with the company of my lovely travel partner – a lady about my age with whom I chatted on and off during the flight. The attention of the cabin crew was excellent, food was very nice and all went smoothly. I finished the flight with a little nap before we landed. Visa on arrival was paid, luggage collected and I recruited a very attentive porter who stuck to me like glue and helped me with great efficiency, worth every Rp. in my opinion.
Included in my luggage were: my special food…I can’t have wheat among a thousand other things….most annoying to say the least but I won’t bore you with that story…..so I bring my own Rye bread with me, wheat free biscuits and a few other things like Lavazza coffee (just because I love it and I don’t have to shop for food as soon as I arrive). Also taking up a decent space was some jewellery that my friend, a long term resident of Bali, had brought to Australia the year before to sell. I was bringing back the leftovers so she could reinvent them. The very polite young man at the luggage check asked me about these items, I explained about the food and then the jewellery. He told me that usually you cannot bring undeclared items for resale into Bali (as in commercial goods, if I’m explaining this correctly) but under the circumstances he would let me through without paying any import duty. He was extremely polite, extremely kind and respectful, supremely sensible, no improper suggestions as have been a ‘normal’ part of these sorts of processes in the past. No irritating power trip here. I could have hugged him, being as tired as I was (have I mentioned this before?) it would have really tested me. So, my porter took the initiative and helped with lifting bags, closing them up again, putting them on the trolley and guiding me through. He waited while I changed money, help me find my transport person, waited until my bags were loaded on the mini bus and generally protected me and my luggage until I was safely ensconced on the bus to my hotel. I think I paid him 50.000rp which he most certainly earned and deserved. For all those who bat off the porters as though they’re annoying insects, I’m afraid I don’t get it. I find it the most wonderful service and well worth a reasonable remuneration erring on the side of generous. The way I see it, I’m on holidays and for the cost of 2 cups of coffee I have one or two people to look after me and my luggage and be my personal assistants for a moment so that I can glide around like the Queen. I say Enjoy! Seize the moment! Wallow in it! And demonstrate your appreciation with kindness, respect and a fair monetary reward. I just can’t bang on about this enough. Spoil me, pamper me, treat me like I’m special because in a couple of weeks I’ll be putting out the rubbish, picking up the barker’s eggs (work it out) in the back garden and the park and lugging the shopping into the car and unpacking it when I get home.
There is a new and rather sweet little routine at the airport when you arrive. This is something that has been introduced since my previous visit. The ‘welcoming committee’ present you with a garland/lae of frangipani which they drape around your neck…. A sweet, cheesy kind of touch which I will be ready for next time…..I promise to accept the gesture graciously and not take off running until they give up. As always almost nobody wastes an opportunity to do extra business and the guide from the tour company was no exception. I had a rather confusing conversation with him about my ‘program’, about ringing him for some reason that I just couldn’t understand but was vaguely along the lines of something I needed to do. It was connected also somehow with my husband’s arrival two weeks ahead. Never did get around to calling, never did quite work out what it was about and no disaster eventuated so I guess it was basically about nothing.
On arrival at the Jayakarta Hotel I was taken to the reception area and my luggage unloaded. When my turn came I was told that the reception area for the Suites/Apartments was at the front of the hotel, near the entrance and I needed to go back there to check in. My luggage was loaded onto a trolley and we trudged back to the other reception area. I was starting to fade fast and it was all becoming a huge effort. Anyway, check in forms were completed, welcome drink consumed and keys handed over. To my surprise I was then taken off away from this building, through the parking area, across the wide, two lane, mini freeway, drive way and over to another block on the opposite side. Up to the 1st or 2nd floor and so to my room in the Club Bali(?) building. I opened the door to my apartment and had a bit of a look around. The porter then arrived with my luggage and told me I was in the wrong apartment. He was quite concerned and then more so when I told him that my key had unlocked this door. In my weary state and dim corridor I had misread the room number and had opened the adjoining door to mine. 6’s and 8’s can look the same when you’re tired and not wearing your reading glasses. Anyway, I was deposited in my apartment. On first appearance it seemed ok but then I started to notice things….the water just was empty and had dirty dribbles down it, the refrigerator (mini bar) was empty and dirty and my miniscule balcony faced the hotel next door. Within spitting distance I was looking at a group of young men who were working on the building carrying out renovations it seemed. Call me fussy, but I was not happy when I put all this together and realised I wouldn’t be able to have my bedroom curtains open unless I wanted to do a show for the workmen or even sit on my balcony privately. Plus I was miffed at the lack of servicing of the apartment. I went down stairs to speak with reception who told me that they were Club Bali (or some similar name) and they couldn’t help me. I had to go back through the parking area, across the driveway, through the other car park to the other reception desk where I had checked in which was for the Jayakarta Apartments. EeeeEEEEEGrrrrrrrrr
Ok, so swallowing my weariness, my irritation and knowing that I needed to keep a tight grip on my increasingly fragile emotional state I crossed the great expanse of car park, driveway, car park ‘talking’ to myself on the way….”keep calm, be firm but polite, DO NOT LOSE IT, stay centred, deep breaths, stay calm, work out what you’re going to say CALMLY, POLITELY, DO NOT LOSE IT etc. My fear was that I would get there and forget all the negotiating and coping strategies that I had just talked myself through and it would come out as “excuse me, I am in room Blah blah AND IT IS AWFUL, IT IS DIRTY BLAH BLAH NOT HAPPY BLAH BLAH I WILL NOT STAY BLAH BLAH BLAH. However with all that remained in me I managed to make my comment, voice my dissatisfaction and I think the clincher was that I said I felt isolated and unsafe, which was partly true. Well, I must say I got the response that I wanted with apologies and an instant offer of being moved to another room in this block. After checking a room on the 3rd floor which was bigger, brighter and CLEANER they helped me move my things and I settled in. Now I really felt that I had arrived and was ready to embrace the Bali experience once again.
Chapter 3 The Jayakarta and Legian area to follow
Catherine
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09-30-2008, 03:51 AM
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