Bali Bound!

Selfie with our plane in the background!

We want to visit one of the main islands on this side of the world and after some research we decided Bali is the one.  I originally pick Bora Bora, but it's actually easier to get there from the US than from Japan (at least using Delta & its partners).  Bali also won out because it's about a 7 hour flight from Tokyo (and a one hour time change) versus a 24 hour flight from the US (and a 12 hour time change).  Definitely an easier trip from here!

Usually it's Steve's name, not mine.
  It's finally my turn!

Through our hotel, we have arrangements for priority service when we arrived at Ngurah Rai (Denpasar International Airport).  Since the hotel reservations are in my name, I get my name on the sign.  Finally!  I've always wanted to be greeted at the airport like this.  It's the little things...

As part of the service, we go through immigration in the diplomat line, which is quite a bit shorter than the general line, because several planes arrive the same time as us.  There are lots of Caucasians, but I'm not sure which part of the world they're from.  I assume Australia, because Bali is only a few hours flight from there (it's like the southeast US visiting the Caribbean).  But from appearances and their voices, I think one of the planes originated from Russia.

On the way to pick up our checked baggage, we have to walk through a giant shop, full of alcohol, tobacco, and other typical duty free items. It makes me chuckle - it reminds me of the rides at Disney World, where you have to walk through the gift shop to exit the ride.

We still have to wait awhile for our bags, so no benefit to the service there. They do a security check (x-ray?) before they're released. Then they do something I think is smart - the first bags they send out are for people who have connections. We're in the next round of bags (and I can hear Steve thinking to himself the entire 30 minutes we wait, "This is why I don't check bags.") but we finally get ours and then head to Customs.  Two seconds after Steve says, "We better not be picked for the random second screening," we're sent to that line to have ALL our bags (not just the checked one) screened. It only takes a minute though, and then our escort brings us through the huge mass of people ("Transport?" we're constantly asked), cars, and roads to where our driver waits.

We're staying at the Viceroy Bali, in Ubud.  Since we were just at the beach a couple of months ago, we want a mountain vacation this time.  I didn't realize until after I made the reservations that Ubud was the location of Eat, Pray, Love.  Steve entertains himself trying to figure out the real life locations from the explanations of the book & movie on wikipedia.  He doesn't have much luck.

No problem - I can fit between the car and bus!

It's about 75 minutes to drive to our hotel.  At times, the roads are very similar to Beijing!  I'm glad neither of us are driving.  The mopeds typically go wherever they want or feel they can fit.  Amazingly, we don't see one accident the week we are there.  

Just a little bit of traffic.

How many road lanes are there?

I wish the kids had helmets!

Apparently there's a law requiring helmets, and most people are wearing them.  However, it's not unusual to see an adult wearing one, and a child not wearing one.  I'm sure it's a cost issue - kids grow fast - but it does upset me a bit.

It's also common to see women sitting side saddle on the moped.

When wearing a skirt it must be easier to sit this way!

The people on the bikes aren't the only interesting ones.  I'm excited to see women walking with baskets on their heads - very talented!

Look - no hands!

The intersections are fascinating, too.  Each one has a large statue (up to 20 feet high), which acts as a protector.  Maybe that's why they don't have a lot of accidents.  They're beautiful, and I wish I had more time to study them.  Actually, all the scenery is gorgeous - the buildings and walls are intricatly carved, and trees, bushes and flowers surround everything.

One of the 20-foot statues guarding the intersection.

Along the way we stop to exchange money. Steve laughs at the huge stack of bills we get. Indonesia's largest bill is 100,000 idr, which is about $8 usd. So you end up getting a lot of them!

We're greeted with leis at the hotel.  Nice touch!

At check in, Steve gets a bit of a surprise when he finds out it's our honeymoon. I originally tried to book our room for a trip in August. You have to email the hotel to check on availability - they don't have an online reservation system. They said they had one and I spent the next 24 hours making plane reservations and other arrangements before emailing back to say we'd take the room. They apologized, but said it was gone. Aargh! 

Luckily, I'm able to cancel the plane tickets and look into going in October. They have availability and because of the earlier snafu, they give us the honeymoon package - champagne and a cake on arrival, a heart of roses, a candlelight dinner at the hotel restaurant and a couples spa treatment.  I think they do a good job making it up to us!

Surprise, Steve!

Pretty

Balé - my new favorite spot!

The hotel room is beautiful and we can't wait to try out our private pool.  I plan to spend a lot of time in the balé (Balinese gazebo) this week!

In case you want some sun...there's lounge chairs, too.

After all the long day of travel we decide we're too tired to go back into town. I want to get a good night's sleep, because we have a big day (for me!) tomorrow.