Home again and already homesick! However my homesickness began with my first step onto the virgin aircraft as we discovered that the 3 of us had been split up. Both Bec & i had window seats behind each other and Kate had an aisle seat 2 seats back. I spoke to the steward about it as we were boarding and she promised to look into it after everyone had sat down. It was obvious she had either forgotten or had no intentions of following it up when nothing more was done about it and then we were well and truly airborne. So as soon as the seat belt sign was off, i raced to the toilet (2 for the entire economy class!) via the kitchen where i was told that as i had been the 139 passenger to check in out of 200 it wasn't surprising! What absolute crap. He then finished with saying that i would have to organise a seat change myself if i wanted to sit next to Bec. At that point i was so furious and upset with their lack of care that i sooo wished i had the guts to stand at the front of the plane and take them up on their suggestion by using a loud teacher voice to ask if anyone would mind swapping seats with me so I can sit with my unwell daughter and also include an explanation of why i am doing it instead of one of the useless stewards. But instead i returned to my seat and fumed.
Then it was meal time. Seated towards the back of the flight we were all told that just about everything had sold out Cheese and cracker packets like kids take to school were 2 for $5!
But the worst thing about this flight was the total lack of entertainment available. No screens and no earphones. Absolutely nothing. How ridiculous for a daytime flight!
It was certainly cattle class for those of us in economy.
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Heading Home To Australia
We are on the flight home after a lovely relaxing morning. A much better option than the horrible midnight flight we have always done in the past.
I woke up early this morning at 5:30 & my first thought was that i will have to get used to this next week! Decided that it was too early and slept for another hour. We all then got dressed and walked down to the Kuta Pasar Pagi - Kuta Morning Markets. Not far from our hotel, only 10 mins, and lovely being out and about so early while the traffic is reasonably quiet. The pasar was in full swing with most people buying their goods in large quantities which made me guess that it was hotel staff doing most of the shopping and only a few shopping for their families. Probably the family shopping had been completed much earlier so it could be done before work. I found a couple of places which only sold bananas and took some more photos. I found pisang tanduk (horn bananas), pisang hijau (green bananas) and pisang raja ( king bananas).
We then headed back to the hotel for our last breakfast in Bali. I would've loved a swim but once again, the water was way too cold. Instead I paid my hotel bill which included the $50.00 phone bill to my credit union to unfreeze my card. Expensive phone call but well worth it.
Our hotel included free airport transfer which was great. Back again to Ngurah Rai Airport which is undergoing major renovations. Hopefully it all will be finished by late next year! Massive multi story carparks being built just like in Adelaide! After the beautiful new international airport in Lombok, Ngurah Rai is looking very shabby.
Goodbye Indonesia. Looking forward to being back real soon.
Sampai Jumpa...
I woke up early this morning at 5:30 & my first thought was that i will have to get used to this next week! Decided that it was too early and slept for another hour. We all then got dressed and walked down to the Kuta Pasar Pagi - Kuta Morning Markets. Not far from our hotel, only 10 mins, and lovely being out and about so early while the traffic is reasonably quiet. The pasar was in full swing with most people buying their goods in large quantities which made me guess that it was hotel staff doing most of the shopping and only a few shopping for their families. Probably the family shopping had been completed much earlier so it could be done before work. I found a couple of places which only sold bananas and took some more photos. I found pisang tanduk (horn bananas), pisang hijau (green bananas) and pisang raja ( king bananas).
We then headed back to the hotel for our last breakfast in Bali. I would've loved a swim but once again, the water was way too cold. Instead I paid my hotel bill which included the $50.00 phone bill to my credit union to unfreeze my card. Expensive phone call but well worth it.
Our hotel included free airport transfer which was great. Back again to Ngurah Rai Airport which is undergoing major renovations. Hopefully it all will be finished by late next year! Massive multi story carparks being built just like in Adelaide! After the beautiful new international airport in Lombok, Ngurah Rai is looking very shabby.
Goodbye Indonesia. Looking forward to being back real soon.
Sampai Jumpa...
Friday, 20 July 2012
Friday, last day in Bali @ Cozy
Have spent the morning shopping. Started at Discovery Mall which is a newer version of Galleria with all the same shops although more expensive.
Now we are relaxing at Cozy; about to treat ourselves to a facial and creme bath.
We began at 3pm and finished at 6:30! Three and a half hours of pure relaxing. Can highly recommend Cozy2 on Jln Sunset.
Now we are relaxing at Cozy; about to treat ourselves to a facial and creme bath.
We began at 3pm and finished at 6:30! Three and a half hours of pure relaxing. Can highly recommend Cozy2 on Jln Sunset.
Thursday, 19 July 2012
Surf Shop Outlets, Jln Sunset, Bali
Following 2 teenagers along Jln Sunset as they search for bargains!
Remembering when this was a dirt road with the most impressive potholes that truly tested the suspension in all my rental cars!
Remembering when this was a dirt road with the most impressive potholes that truly tested the suspension in all my rental cars!
Wednesday, 18 July 2012
Tuban, Bali: Financial Advice For Travellers
We checked out of the Hotel Ohana yesterday straight after breakfast. We'd chosen a new hotel from Agoda that we liked the look of and had 50% off so we made a booking.
We drove to the Quest Hotel which isn't far, still in Tuban. However they didn't have our booking and i still hadn't received the booking confirmation email, so we headed out to Simpang Siu to shop while waiting.
I can't believe the change at Galleria. So much more upmarket now and full of western and very rich Indonesian tourists. Prices too have risen but the variety is better. Found an amazing shop which sold everything and reminded me of Big W, but with much more class! As usual, Graemedia shone and i had a ball going through the books available there for Indonesian students. Found a couple of really great books on the bargain table and ran into the Mann's! Great minds etc.
At 2pm, we met up at Starbucks for its free wifi where i discovered an email saying my paypal payment for the hotel booking had been declined.
Herein lies the information i wish to warn all potential overseas travelers about: notify your bank before you travel overseas! My credit card was frozen after my 3rd ATM withdrawal and this has been incredibly frustrating. I acknowledge the security aspect but wish i'd known about it before i travelled. Luckily i am traveling in a large group and also that i put a bit of money on my travelers cash card before leaving Aust and that i can still transfer money into it via internet banking. However there is a 1-4 day clearance time! My first payment took 4 days, my 2nd took 1 day and the 3rd 2 days! I transferred some money in yesterday and have my fingers crossed it goes through today as i have only $19 left and have to pay car rental today and a hotel bill to pay on Saturday.
2 hours later.....
I bit the bullet and rang my credit union in Australia and after about half an hour on hold, verified my identity and then was put straight through to ASC who unblocked my card instantly. My visit to a nearby ATM reintroduced me to the lovely sound of money being counted inside and then being delivered through the slot. How sweet the sound!
We drove to the Quest Hotel which isn't far, still in Tuban. However they didn't have our booking and i still hadn't received the booking confirmation email, so we headed out to Simpang Siu to shop while waiting.
I can't believe the change at Galleria. So much more upmarket now and full of western and very rich Indonesian tourists. Prices too have risen but the variety is better. Found an amazing shop which sold everything and reminded me of Big W, but with much more class! As usual, Graemedia shone and i had a ball going through the books available there for Indonesian students. Found a couple of really great books on the bargain table and ran into the Mann's! Great minds etc.
At 2pm, we met up at Starbucks for its free wifi where i discovered an email saying my paypal payment for the hotel booking had been declined.
Herein lies the information i wish to warn all potential overseas travelers about: notify your bank before you travel overseas! My credit card was frozen after my 3rd ATM withdrawal and this has been incredibly frustrating. I acknowledge the security aspect but wish i'd known about it before i travelled. Luckily i am traveling in a large group and also that i put a bit of money on my travelers cash card before leaving Aust and that i can still transfer money into it via internet banking. However there is a 1-4 day clearance time! My first payment took 4 days, my 2nd took 1 day and the 3rd 2 days! I transferred some money in yesterday and have my fingers crossed it goes through today as i have only $19 left and have to pay car rental today and a hotel bill to pay on Saturday.
2 hours later.....
I bit the bullet and rang my credit union in Australia and after about half an hour on hold, verified my identity and then was put straight through to ASC who unblocked my card instantly. My visit to a nearby ATM reintroduced me to the lovely sound of money being counted inside and then being delivered through the slot. How sweet the sound!
Tuesday, 17 July 2012
Back in Bali
On the flight home to Bali last night, bec & i decided that driving out to Negara at night in the rain was a really dumb idea, so using the iPad as a gps, we headed to Tuban to find a hotel that had a hot bath. The first hotel we found is the Hotel Ohana in Kuta and the girls ran in while i stayed in the car. They were doubly delighted to not only discover a bath in the bathroom but also that the room was only Rp600,000 - $60.
Hotel Ohana is a very new hotel with mainly Indonesian guests and only a few bule and the provided breakfast is nasi goreng, mie goreng and watermelon. There seem to be only 8 rooms and luckily we have one of the bottom rooms as it is now pouring and has been most of the night. The floor everywhere is wet and slippery and the roof in the kitchen is leaking. I am sitting in the breakfast area overlooking the pool which would only get about an hour of sun which explains why it is soooo cold! The breakfast area is an open area adjoining a kitchen. Two of the 4 tables here are unusable with the rain but luckily there is also a lovely upstairs area overlooking the pool where people can also eat.
Last night we went to a place set up like warung murah but is for locals and we discovered why it was called nasi pedas! For Rp14,000/$2, we had a plate of absolutely beautiful food but it was soooo pedas/spicy. We all struggled with it and thank goodness they sold water too. Would highly recommend this warung for the experience however i recommend you taste it before accepting sambal! Nasi pedas is on Jln raya kuta at the Tuban end.
I also bought martabak for the girls to try. It was just as yummy as i remember however i'd forgotten just how oily it is. I'd love to return to the kaki lima tonight and film the lovely Javanese man from Semarang making it. First he made a huge 40cm crepe which he fried till puffed up like a pappadam and then he put an omelet mixture in the very centre. Next he folded the crepe over the egg/ shallot mixture like an envelope to make a rectangle the size of my iPad. This was then fried until golden brown, then sliced into 8 pieces. It was absolutely delicious; especially the crunchy edge pieces.
Hotel Ohana is a very new hotel with mainly Indonesian guests and only a few bule and the provided breakfast is nasi goreng, mie goreng and watermelon. There seem to be only 8 rooms and luckily we have one of the bottom rooms as it is now pouring and has been most of the night. The floor everywhere is wet and slippery and the roof in the kitchen is leaking. I am sitting in the breakfast area overlooking the pool which would only get about an hour of sun which explains why it is soooo cold! The breakfast area is an open area adjoining a kitchen. Two of the 4 tables here are unusable with the rain but luckily there is also a lovely upstairs area overlooking the pool where people can also eat.
Last night we went to a place set up like warung murah but is for locals and we discovered why it was called nasi pedas! For Rp14,000/$2, we had a plate of absolutely beautiful food but it was soooo pedas/spicy. We all struggled with it and thank goodness they sold water too. Would highly recommend this warung for the experience however i recommend you taste it before accepting sambal! Nasi pedas is on Jln raya kuta at the Tuban end.
I also bought martabak for the girls to try. It was just as yummy as i remember however i'd forgotten just how oily it is. I'd love to return to the kaki lima tonight and film the lovely Javanese man from Semarang making it. First he made a huge 40cm crepe which he fried till puffed up like a pappadam and then he put an omelet mixture in the very centre. Next he folded the crepe over the egg/ shallot mixture like an envelope to make a rectangle the size of my iPad. This was then fried until golden brown, then sliced into 8 pieces. It was absolutely delicious; especially the crunchy edge pieces.
Tuesday, Nusa Alam School, Montong, Lombok
As we had time this morning, thinking that we didn't have to get to school by any particular time, we accepted the bemo offer to take us to Nusa Alam for Rp10,000 for all 3 of us! Two elderly women caught it soon after us and chatted to us the entire way. I loved the way the more chatty one of the 2 women constantly referred to herself as 'Bibi'(aunty). Made me wonder if she was unmarried.
The bemo took us right to Nusa Alam's door which is down a lane way off the main road! After signing in, in the visitors book, we headed straight to Febi's room where students were preparing to head out for a primary assembly. Fantastic that we were in time for it. I was able to do quite a bit of filming which i hope works out as each class was asked to stand so it gives a good picture of the number of students in each class.
After assembly was an English lesson which i missed because i was really keen to get some video footage of the baruga. Luckily Derek was there for a while and i was able to video him teaching physics in it with some senior students.
At recess i had fun in the yard filming students playing and filmed an alphabet game played by small groups. Students were amazed to hear that some Australian schools and universities provide iPad's for all students!
After recess, Febi gave us all her students so we had about 40 mins to do some filming. I did some kenalkans and had 3 students also work together to say subjects in Indonesian and then say which is their favorite subject. So much we wanted to do but still the students were so cooperative and helped us even though it was difficult in front of the camera. Looking forward to finishing the videos and then sharing them with Diane & Febi through the dropbox.
After this Sharon & i spent half an hour in the senior prep class (receptions in their 2nd six months) observing a letter land lesson. This class are now at school for a whole day so they were very tired and hungry during this lesson which finished at midday!
After a quick thank you to everyone at Nusa Alam who had in many ways made our time their sooo enjoyable, we caught a taxi back to the hotel where we finished packing and headed off to the airport via Sukarara, a traditional weaving village.
There we observed several women sitting on a small deck with looms on their laps, weaving original designs. It was well set up for tourists because not only could we watch them, but we were also encouraged to have a go. Kelsey and Kate both had a go. It gave us an opportunity to ask questions too. Apparently it takes a week to just set the loom up and then depending on the size of what is to be woven (sarong/tablecloth/wall hanging) it takes from 2-5 weeks to weave just one article. I bought some wall hangings: one for Elizabeth and one for myself. Feel like i paid way too much but i really liked them and interestingly enough at the next place i learned that the 2 i bought are made from pineapple leaf fibre!
As we still had quite a lot of time till we had to be at the airport, we asked the drivers to take us somewhere else to look at woven baskets. We were taken to a huge building which sold all sorts of things and out the back were several people doing batik. One girl was penciling a design onto material while another was using a cap to wax over designs with melted wax refilling her cap from a pot of hot wax heating on a kerosene stove down by her feet.
While there were many interesting photo opportunities we took advantage of, nobody bought anything here.
We got to the airport with heaps of time thankfully because Garuda had only processed one of the 2 bookings. Seems they are having a few issues with this part of their website. They claimed the booking timed out yet from our end it was all processed even to the point where Sharon received an email with booking numbers! Thankfully this happened at the brand new Lombok airport where we had a very lovely young guy, Wawan, who bent over backwards sorting it all out while simultaneously dealing with all the other problems that arose. He patiently and politely dealt with it with Sharon & i following him around asking questions! I was so impressed with his efficiency and courtesy. With about half an hour till boarding, the bags were loaded and finally boarding passes issued. What a relief. Unfortunately all remaining oleh-oleh were in the suitcases!
Thus ended our time in Lombok with Febi and the fantastic staff and students at Nusa Alam.
The bemo took us right to Nusa Alam's door which is down a lane way off the main road! After signing in, in the visitors book, we headed straight to Febi's room where students were preparing to head out for a primary assembly. Fantastic that we were in time for it. I was able to do quite a bit of filming which i hope works out as each class was asked to stand so it gives a good picture of the number of students in each class.
After assembly was an English lesson which i missed because i was really keen to get some video footage of the baruga. Luckily Derek was there for a while and i was able to video him teaching physics in it with some senior students.
At recess i had fun in the yard filming students playing and filmed an alphabet game played by small groups. Students were amazed to hear that some Australian schools and universities provide iPad's for all students!
After recess, Febi gave us all her students so we had about 40 mins to do some filming. I did some kenalkans and had 3 students also work together to say subjects in Indonesian and then say which is their favorite subject. So much we wanted to do but still the students were so cooperative and helped us even though it was difficult in front of the camera. Looking forward to finishing the videos and then sharing them with Diane & Febi through the dropbox.
After this Sharon & i spent half an hour in the senior prep class (receptions in their 2nd six months) observing a letter land lesson. This class are now at school for a whole day so they were very tired and hungry during this lesson which finished at midday!
After a quick thank you to everyone at Nusa Alam who had in many ways made our time their sooo enjoyable, we caught a taxi back to the hotel where we finished packing and headed off to the airport via Sukarara, a traditional weaving village.
There we observed several women sitting on a small deck with looms on their laps, weaving original designs. It was well set up for tourists because not only could we watch them, but we were also encouraged to have a go. Kelsey and Kate both had a go. It gave us an opportunity to ask questions too. Apparently it takes a week to just set the loom up and then depending on the size of what is to be woven (sarong/tablecloth/wall hanging) it takes from 2-5 weeks to weave just one article. I bought some wall hangings: one for Elizabeth and one for myself. Feel like i paid way too much but i really liked them and interestingly enough at the next place i learned that the 2 i bought are made from pineapple leaf fibre!
As we still had quite a lot of time till we had to be at the airport, we asked the drivers to take us somewhere else to look at woven baskets. We were taken to a huge building which sold all sorts of things and out the back were several people doing batik. One girl was penciling a design onto material while another was using a cap to wax over designs with melted wax refilling her cap from a pot of hot wax heating on a kerosene stove down by her feet.
While there were many interesting photo opportunities we took advantage of, nobody bought anything here.
We got to the airport with heaps of time thankfully because Garuda had only processed one of the 2 bookings. Seems they are having a few issues with this part of their website. They claimed the booking timed out yet from our end it was all processed even to the point where Sharon received an email with booking numbers! Thankfully this happened at the brand new Lombok airport where we had a very lovely young guy, Wawan, who bent over backwards sorting it all out while simultaneously dealing with all the other problems that arose. He patiently and politely dealt with it with Sharon & i following him around asking questions! I was so impressed with his efficiency and courtesy. With about half an hour till boarding, the bags were loaded and finally boarding passes issued. What a relief. Unfortunately all remaining oleh-oleh were in the suitcases!
Thus ended our time in Lombok with Febi and the fantastic staff and students at Nusa Alam.
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