SOUTH ASIA BLOG October 2nd, 2024 - KUALA LUMPUR to BALI

 

10/2/24– Up around 4am for our early flight to Bali, Indonesia. Somehow, we survived our first location without our bodies falling apart and now it’s time for some relaxation. First things first- an hour GRAB ride to the airport.

Our ride picks us up shortly after 6am and of course he is coughing quite a bit. He does have a mask on but so far we’ve encountered many people around us hacking repeatedly, whether on the plane or other drivers. Makes me wonder if a strain of COVID or something else is becoming prevalent again.

There’s a line for baggage drop, which takes about twenty minutes, and off we go into the wild, blue security… wait, how’d we get through without having to take our electronics out of our bag and phones from our pockets? We soon find the answer as the full security check is at our gate. We’ve encountered this before at other airports and boggles my mind that they would allow this as you can’t buy drinks at the airport and take them onto the plane. At least I’m able to exchange my left over Malaysian cash for Indonesian.

The flight is with Batik Air, which is Malaysia’s budget airline. No frills by any means, even for an international flight. Not even the screens on the back of the seats are on. Our only entertainment is a couple seated behind me arguing back and forth for the first hour. Food and drinks are offered for a charge and not even water is provided. It’s at this time I remember the announcement of Business class being available to switch to for a fee and I’m about all in at this point. However, the plane ride is very smooth and we get to Bali in one piece. That should actually be their slogan, "We may suck, but we'll get you there."

Immigration is not our friend here. First, we have to fill out a health card electronically and the weblink on my phone keeps crashing. There are some computers set up that we have to wait for which allows us to get into the next phase of this process. Then we stand in line with everyone else for about five minutes before realizing it’s the VISA line and we already have ours done beforehand.

We skip through customs and are met once again with another weblink on articles to declare. I input the information on their computer but before I could copy the QR code, it restarts. Frustratingly, I have to put in the information again before we’re let through. And after all of this, our luggage is still not in baggage claim for our flight. I think twenty minutes goes by before we retrieve both bags, making us late for our scheduled private shuttle pickup. Luckily, they allow time as they know their airport is probably crap on timing, so no worries there.

The shuttle ride takes forty-five minutes or so to get to The Grand Hotel Nusa Dua. By the way, the roads here are insane with moped riders slipping through pockets and vehicles sliding around the lanes like they’re not even painted. I would absolutely hate to have a rental car here.

At the hotel, we check into our room and find it somewhat dated but interesting all-the-same. We love the pool access from our balcony and plan a dip soon, but we haven’t eaten since early this morning and ready to stuff our faces. We decide to hit up our hotel restaurant and notice their prices are very reasonable, considering.

Feeling quite full with our minds clear, we dive into our pool and enjoy a nice relaxing evening as the sun comes down. Already this has been an adventure and we are only a few days into it. Going to be very interesting to see what the next few days brings in Bali and hoping the weather holds up as it has so far.