On The Road Again

We stayed for two nights in our hotel in Seminyak, and it was really fun to be right on the beach. Our new system for dealing with street vendors worked out very well, and everyone was right when they said Seminyak had the best food and shopping. Unfortunately, Bali was going through a hot spell, so the days were over 90 degrees and Humid!! It was sooooo hot!!!!

We would try to run or surf before 7 or 8 in the morning, because the heat was already unbearable by then. I would drink tea for breakfast while sweat was pouring down my face. Luckily our hotel room had air condition, and we retreated there a lot, just to cool off!

Our last day in Seminyak we had the whole day to kill since our flight didn't leave until 11 pm. We received both a call at the front desk from our taxi driver, and a note under our door from the management reminding us of our appointment at 7:30 with (whatever his name was). We were like, "OMG he's stalking us!!!!!!" Taxi drivers love taking tourists to the airport also because many times they give the drivers all their extra cash. Anyways, we spent a nice day surfing, walking around the shops, and eating at beachside restaurants before meeting our lovely taxi driver at 7:30. We had to stop in Kuta to return the surfboards that we rented, and while we were walking down the street we saw a German guy that was in our bus on the way to Cambodia!! Sooooo random!! We chatted with him for a bit, and thought it was crazy that we met him the first day we were in asia, and ran into him our last day in Bali!

Anyways, we made it to the airport and I gave the taxi driver the rest of our cash ($5) of which he was profusely grateful and I hoped I never saw him again.

We got in line to go through customs, and oh! what do you know? Indonesia charges $15 a person to leave the country. Cash only. AAAHHHH!!!! We thought they charged $10 a person, and set that much aside, and had perfectly spent the rest of our cash - only to have to go back to the ATM and spend 10 dollars in fees to get 10 more dollars out. It was extremely frustrating.

Our first flight was from Bali to Darwin, and it was 3 hours long. We landed at 3 AM and had to hang out in the airport until 7 AM. The only cafe in our waiting area was ridiculously expensive, as in $6 for a slice of banana bread. So we decided to hold out. Well, our flight was delayed until 8 AM, and we were flying Jetstar, which is like the Ryanair of Asia. Basically zero amenities and tons of hidden fees. So we finally boarded, and it was a 4 hour flight, putting us in Sydney at 2 PM. They didn't give us any meal or snack, and only one cup of water. Jordi splurged on a $3 nescafe to hold him over. I was cold, so I asked for a blanket - oh, that will be 8 dollars. "What??!!" So instead I dug out my travel sleeping bag sheet thing and cocooned up in that, much to the amusement of the guy next to me.

Do you know I read somewhere that they are actually thinking of charging to use the restroom? (or was that Ryanair?) Anyways, the fact that they would even think that gives you the gist of how fabulous it is to fly with them, how taken care of you feel.

By the time we landed in Sydney, we were tired, freezing, thirsty, and starving. Thank you Jetstar. We gobbled up some expensive Subway and got a taxi to take us to Aaron and Melissa's house. It took us over half an hour to get there, so you would think they would be somewhat far from the airport. Imagine my surprise when I went on the porch and I could practically see the people in the little windows of the plane as it roared above me!! Apparently their house is only a few miles from the airport, downtown, beach - everywhere! But since there are NO freeways and horrible traffic, it just takes forever to get anywhere!!

Anyways, Jord and I cleaned up and rested for a bit until Aaron got home around 4. It was soooooo good to see him!! I hadn't seen him in over a year, which is the most I've ever not seen him! He directly took us to the beach where him and Jordi went surfing. When we came home, Melissa was home, and already cooking an incredible steak dinner. It was SO amazing to see her also, and we had a big happy reunion. It felt like normal, which feels great :)