Things I learned and Did in Bali over Christmas, 2023

 Well--I arrived home after nearly 24 hours of traveling, this morning at 5 a.m.  It was foggy and rainy and cold at Incheon Airport--which was COMPLETELY opposite of what I had left in Bali.  It took me five more hours to get back to my cozy apartment, for reasons, I will discuss later.   The vacation was okay, but it definitely was NOWHERE near my favorite one, ever.  

I planned well, in advance, I thought.  I bought a ticket on the airport shuttle for 3:30 pm on Saturday, which would get me to the airport a full four hours in advance.  I planned to stop at a convenience store to get more cash out, but the one I stopped at didn't have ATM and by the time I got to the bus stop, I didn't mwant to risk missing it by crossing the big city street and walking to the bank nearby.  So, I decided to wait to use an ATM at the airport. Lesson # 1--go the bank in advance and get all the cash you want beforehand!  I happen to have one of those 'under your shirt safety/storage' necklaces where I can store all my cash/id cards/passport, etc. out of sight and just keep $20 bucks in my pants pocket. I will DEFINITELY do it this way next time. 

The wait in line at the airport was semi-long, but I think I only waited a total of about 45 minutes.   I was so happy when she didn't make me check my baggage--which I knew was overweight and was planning to check--cos that would have cost me $25!   After I checked in, I was planning to get some cash, go through security, and leisurely eat something at the airport. I'd been so busy cleaning and packing that, at that point in the day (around 6:45 pm.) I'd only eaten a hard boiled egg, drank a doctor pepper, and eaten half of a plate of sausage and stir fried vegetables.  I was busy and justified it cos I wanted the apartment clean and the laundry done and I knew I'd have time to eat at the airport. I mean... I was going to be there 4 hours early!

Alas--the initial aspect of my 'Comedy of Errors, Vacation Style' was about to begin!  I stood at the ATM and put my card in.  It didn't go in, so I pushed it once and then again.   Finally, the machine took it, but...did NOT begin the process of working.  Here is lesson # 2 that I learned on my vacation.  If the ATM doesn't take it, immediately take it out and go to a different machine.  The machine never gave my card back.  I started panicking.    A nice Korean airport worker (who could speak English) stopped to help me and called the number on the machine.  They said it would take an hour to get to the machine, which would have been okay cos it was only 7:05 and my flight didn't leave until 9:15.    But let's be real, y'all, yeah?  It didn't take and hour.  About 8:15, I got in line at the security area which was very, very long.  I was hoping things would go well, but I was starting to be afraid that I wouldn't even make my flight.  Thankfully, one of the policemen who has stopped by several times during my hour and 10 minute wait for someone to come rescue my card.  He motioned for me to follow him and very leisurely walked me over to another section of airport and placed me at the end of a very short line for 'priority boarding'  which made me security experience only about 15 minutes long.   I was so thankful!  Finally, through with that part, I took a tram from our section of the airport to the International Departures section and I made it to my gate with the $150 and 10 minutes to spare.  

I got a water at the Aunt Annies and my phone rang! It was the credit card rescue guys! They had my card! I was so happy, except that my plane has just started boarding and I wouild have had to take the tram all the way back to the main terminal, go outside of security to meet them by  'The middle bathrooms' to pick it up.  There was no way I would have made it.  Strangely enough, it turned out that we sat at the gate for about 30 plus minutes after boarding, so I MIGHT have actually been able to make that journey and get back to the gate in the alotted time, but they likely would not have let me on board the plane.  So, I left....without any means of support except the $150 in my pocket.  Now, Bali is VERY cheap, but I soon learned that  $150 won't cover 7 days of food and the $47 Instant Visa at the Bali airport.  I had looked it up and thought the Visa was only $25 USD.  Nope.   

So, thankfully, I have an alert and thoughtful friend who offered to send me some moolah via Western Union.  It only cost $8!  Yay!  Upon receipt of my 4 million 88 thousand and 44 Indonesian Rupiah, I felt more secure.  It made me feel a ton better and safer in a place one quarter of the world away from my home.  Lesson # 3 was this:  Overestimate what you think you'll need.  Things always come up.  I spent the whole first day Thinking I was okay and then spent every evening counting and recounting to make sure I didn't overspend.  You'd be surprised, even though they're cheap, how easily things add up and how many things you'll need to pay for that you didn't think about or expect!  I didn't think about it 'til maybe Wednesday or Thursday, but I'd have to pay for meals AND water in the AIRPORT for the last 24 hours of my journey home.  That always cost twice as much as everything else.  Next lesson?  Next time, I'll make sure i have at least $100 in my pocket (and/or a non-machine eaten ATM Card) in my pocket before I start the journey home.  Also, ask your hotel if they have a shuttle to the airport, how much it'll cost and PAY IT IN advance, so that concern is off your list.

Be prepared (which y'all probably already are) to be hounded and manipulated and harassed by the people who work in the streets making their daily bread from tourists.  I understand they are trying to feed their children, but DUDE!!! these people are persistent.  Finally, I learned to say:  "I'm making gift buying decisions on _________ (insert name of last day here.)  I also learned to NEVER LEAVE THE HOTEL without my headphone and music on.  I could just smile and wave as I passed by them. I couldn't hear them, so Perhaps they were just giving me hearty greetings.   As much I wanted to help everyone (and a good deal of my extra money was spent in such a way) I need to learn to harden my heart, y'all!!!!!) 

For me, living in Bali for a week was also weird because it was SO HOT that I pretty much LOST my appetite. I mean, I recognized I was hungry, but after about four or five bites of any meal, I was uninterested in eating again.  I LITERALLY lost 8 pounds in Bali.   I wasted so much money on food that I didn't eat.  And the only cheap food was the greasy stuff that wasn't good cos it was so hot.  Things started tasting like sandpaper in my mouth within five minutes.  I ended up keeping my calories up partially through liquid sugar which kept me alive, I'm thinking.  I was pretty much always hungry, but could never eat much.  I don't remember it being like that in Texas (which can be pretty hot) but maybe it isn't as hot (or maybe the humidity.  

The other lesson from food was that I COULD enjoy light stuff like fruit, etc. but there was the danger of 'Bali Belly"   So the only stuff I could eat heartily  (and I discovered two days too late) was fruit which was likely washed with Bali water and made me spend half my day in the bathroom.  So, no fun walks around on the beach unless I waited at least an hour after every meal to see how my body was going to react to the food.  Sigh.   

I was also allery sick the whole time.  I think my room has mold, maybe? which is kind of reasonable for that area of the world.   So, I was sick from Bali Belly and stuck in the room that was making me cough and sneeze and have a stuffed up nose. and now that I'm back in Korea, the congestion is gone, but all those days dealing with allergies has given me an infection. I'm blowing my nose and irrigating, and I fear a shot in the bootie is in my near future. LOL   One thing about Korea, you can ALWAYS depend on a shot in the bootie when it comes to allergies!  I'm pretty sure I've had at least 4 since I've been here. LOL

Oh, another lesson about Bali for y'all, if you're thinking of going: Pretty much EVERY restaurant and EVERY service you receive at your hotel will come with a 10 % tax for paying out the workers and a 10% government tax, so anything you do will come with a large added cost.  So, keep that in mind.

The service prices are pretty great, though. I got an hour massage, a pedicure, and a manicure for $ 11.   I got a foot scrub, and hour massage, a green tea body scrub, and a 40 minute green tea body soak for (2 hours) $21.   If you brought enough money, you could have a massage every day.

Surfing lessons and snorkeling is cheap.  Most people charge about $13 for a hour lesson.  and Snorkeling (a 4-5 hour affair) is only $56!  Really great if you have the extra money (which next time I will.)  and/or you're not struggling with Bali Belly. 

I did afford to have an hour long surfing lesson which was fun, but OH SO tiring!  Also, I did a terrible job at surfing. I never once got up on the board.  IF i want to try it again, I'll have to work on my upper body strength and maybe do some yoga/stretching exercises on the regular.  Those surfing lesson really reminded me that I am 54 years old and things aren't necessarily going to be as easy as my mind thinks they'll be! LOL

I wrote everything up until here the day I came home from Bali and didn't publish it, so it became I draft which I didn't look at again until today, a full five months after I returned home.  I can't really remember many of the stories I thought I'd tell, so maybe I will stop here.  It was a semi-fun vacation, which I might try again, but it was objectively one of the worst vacations I've ever had.  None of the others were TERRIBLE, so this one was either, just the worst one I've had! LOL.  Anyway.  I'm looking forward to the next one which probably won't be for more than a year.    Talk to y'all later.