En Route to Bali

March 10, 2012 - The day after our Taman Mini adventure, we were all set to leave for Bali! We had breakfast in the apartment and prepared for the airport.

Bluebird Taxi - trustworthy

Sure enough, we paid only around 180,000 IDR for the metered cab going to the Jakarta domestic airport. Tip: Friends recommend taking only Bluebird cabs when moving around Jakarta , since they are known to be the most honest and trustworthy cabbies, and there is also high probability that the driver will speak English.

Belinda swiping for check-in !

We picked Air Asia for our Jakarta - Bali flight (130 USD, booked and bought in Manila). Air Asia encourages online check-in to minimize airport lines. You can check-in through email and get your boarding pass, or through smartphone and get a bar code for scanning. We thought their self check in consoles were pretty cool, you scan the smartphone bar code there and it prints out your boarding pass. However , it was weird that they don't honor e-copy of the boarding pass :oP which I had on my iPad , so I had to manually check in. Good thing the policy was pretty new that they didn't charge me the 30,000 IDR for that! Be ready also with 150,000 IDR airport tax.

Al Capone (left) was soo good

We were also advised to drop by J.Co for awesome donuts (we learned later that they were about to open in Megamall in Manila, too bad I don't go there! :-) Al Capone rocked. 


Our flight was delayed for almost 3 hours that day. It was also really confusing in the waiting area, since it was just one huge room with one gate where all the different flights were being called. The formal announcements were scarce and barely audible... and we only knew that flights were being called when a ground steward starts going around the room calling for lost passengers. If we weren't impatient Filipinas, we wouldn't have known that our flight was delayed because they didn't announce! They tried to feed the people food but it didn't look too good so we passed (besides, we were full of J.Co already!)

The flight from Jakarta to Bali took around 1 hour and 15 minutes.Air Asia also had fun games like Cebu Pacific.

Whereas Jakarta's time is an hour behind the Phils' - it was good to be back to own timezone in Bali! It was hot and humid , and Bel and I were pretty nervous because we didn't make arrangements for pick-up! We couldn't locate a Bluebird taxi - so we asked the security guard -- and he led us to this man who brought us to a bet up Avanza-like vehicle. OMG, the plot for the movie "Taken" floated through my mind! We got to our hotel okay , but I think the 180,000 IDR he charged us was wayy too much vs. the distance traveled.

When I was imagining Bali, I was thinking of a rural, relaxing type of place with very few infrastructure. I was surprised about how developed it was , with wide roads, box like buildings and disappointing, Jakarta-like traffic. It was bustling with activity!

Our scheduled first stop was Kuta, the beach area! On the way to our hotel, you can really feel that the area was pulsing with energy and fun. It was evening so we couldn't see the beach -- but the collection of bars and shops twinkled invitingly that evening.. we were itching to go out !


We dropped our stuff off in a charming hotel called "Dekuta Hotel" a few meters off the main road. After a few moments of again "making a mess and reassessing luggage" , we were off to explore!