Sydney to Denpasar (Legian)

An early morning start on a warm, humid, sticky Sydney morning. We slept with the air con on in our bedroom last night which was definitely the right thing to do to get some sleep. Even when we woke up I proceeded to lock all the doors and windows and put the aircon on in the living area. As usual we had everything down to a T, and me checking off all the last minute things to do on my myriad of lists. Andy would understand this critical (and very satisfying) component of travel.

An uber to Sutherland station and then a very quick train to Wolli Creek which also wasn’t very crowded. It was a very pretty sunrise with clouds on the horizon so golds, pinks and silvers. I’m sure it’s going to be a very hot day in Sydney.

Changed at Wolli Creek where I refused to get into the second lift with old pongo. Some old fart with his mangy wife going to the airport. He stunk. Whether it was his body or filthy jeans I don’t know but he absolutely stank.

The plan was to meet Jackie and Steve at the business class Sky Lounge but they were actually on the same train as us so we ran into them on the platform which was a bit of fun. Jackie was wearing a multi-coloured top with lovely sparkly beading – very business class.

Check-in, customs and screening was all very quick. When I did the online check-in the other day I looked up our seat numbers and we had already been allocated seats in row 21 which, on the seating plan were the bassinet seats!!!!! Of course these have plenty of leg room and no dickheads to recline their seats back onto you. However, I wasn’t ready to praise the plane-gods yet. But at check-in I checked tickets – yep, still row 21, and thankfully yes, we maintained our seats. YAAAY. The flight is also less than half full so that’s good too. Plus the seat next to me is vacant so I can lift up the arm rest and share it with the lady on the end.

Jackie and Steve kindly sponsored us to go into the Sky Lounge with them so we partook of free food and drinks for an hour before departure which was very comfortable and cheap to boot!!! I had two sparkling wines and a plate of bacon and scrambled eggs, although there was a good assortment of breakfast stuff: coffee, pastries, fruits, alcohol and even Asian soup (yum I shoulda had that).

Of course Jackie and Steve got priority boarding so were nicely seatedin business class with a glass of fizz when we came through. I did explain to Steve, while looking at my boarding pass and his seat allocation: Excuse me sir, but I think you’re in my seat? Gotta laugh 😊

Just impatiently waiting now for the drinks cart…..

So lunch arrived and it was very tasty. Mick’s gluten free meal was thoughtful and didn’t look like it had been banged together from dregs (think: congee). I had a barley salad with beans and carrots and a chicken nasi goreng. It came with cake which I had a mouthful of which was nice but I didn’t need to eat it. Shovelled down three white wines with lunch and while doing my crossword so I’d better slow down now (crossword getting messier as I progress down the page). Food and service was very nice. Oh! And we got water and kept getting water unlike Singapore Airlines premium economy.

The flight is deliciously quiet so I have been noticing a lot of the click-shush-fizz sound of many cans of Bintang beer being opened around the cabin. Luckily, wine is the silent achiever #winning. 😊 But people are behaving themselves.

The rest of the flight was very comfortable and the cabin crew very friendly and attentive. We were very, very quick through customs because we had all our documentation pre-done from the internet and were able to go to the over 60s lane. But then we had a 30 minute or so wait for our bags.

Then Wombat the driver was there, looking a little bit older but still the same smile bless him. We got him to stop off at the Bintang Supermarket which was looking pretty new after a fire they had there after covid. We picked up cask wine, soft drinks to go with our duty free, nuts, chippies and limes.

Then to the villas which although still lovely are looking a little bit ‘tropically challenged’. So a little bit more moldy, some bits a bit used, the wardrobes smelling a bit funky, the baskets in the bathroom definitely need to be replaced!!! (Edit: sitting here now the next morning writing my penguins, it really is very beautiful here in the villa 😊). Anyway the pool was warm and the company was good.

We walked down to the beach to suss out the sunset. Very sadly the beach was pretty dirty, filthy actually. And the sleepy little beach cafes with a few scattered beanbags and rickety stools of the past have now been replaced with mile after mile of hundreds of beanbags, loud bands and too many tourists. Defs a bit yuk.

Most of the restaurants along the beach cater for tourists so multi-cuisine menus. But they all have an Indonesian selection so I had Balinese laksa which was really a very fragrant, lemongrass and curry flavoured broth, deliciously yellow with turmeric and a hint of coconut milk with chicken, carrots, beans, cauliflower, broccoli and choko. The restaurant came complete with two fat rats in the fountain. So, so bloody hot even my eyelids were sweating. Got back to the villas and jumped in the pool. Drinking again.Read more