Winter 2019 - 2. The Flight to Bali

2.  The Flight to Bali.

We knew we were in for a long flight, but then reading about it and experiencing it are 2 different things. Phew, it was a long flight. First we flew from Toronto to Los Angeles (5 hours), we had a lay-over in LAX for about 8 ½ hours, then the leg from LAX to Brisbane, Australia, a whopping 15-hour flight, then again a 3-hour lay-over (plus a 1 ¾ hour delay), another 6 hour flight from Brisbane to Denpasar, Bali and finally a 2 ½ hour car ride to Ubud, the city that was so highly recommended as a MUST visit place. 

On Our Way With Qantas

Phew! It is hard on the body, those time zone changes, those stop-over destinations, the airport securities, the hassle, the uncertainty if something goes askew is mind-boggling. Somewhere on this trip we lost a day. We left on the 14^th of January and arrived on the 16^th of January. 

No airport is a breeze nowadays; Toronto is huge, with very long corridors and very stretched out gate locations. LAX is almost ridiculous, so intense that I find it difficult to keep cool and collected. Brisbane on the other hand is so ‘relaxed’ that I felt forgotten at the gate, I had to ask if we were in the right spot and then there is Denpasar. I have been to India, so I am not that shocked when it comes to Asian Airports and a bit of mayhem, and sure enough, Denpasar was Asian, but not too bad. 

The only trouble I had was finding our pickup driver when we stepped out of the terminal. There were literally close to hundred people with all kinds of signs looking for their passengers. We had arranged a pick up from the hotel, to make sure we got to the right place. While in theory this sounds smart and the right thing to do, it was impossible to find our driver or our car. Now, what to do? I gave them my email address, just in case, but… you need the Wi-Fi password to log on to check your email. This step was useless; there was no way to get a Sim card while just stepping into the country. Luckily, I saw an information desk and asked them to use their public announcement system to let the waiting driver know that we were waiting at the information booth.

It took about 2 minutes and, believe it or not, our driver showed up with a smile. In all the hectic noise, in all the commotion he heard the announcement and we were off for our 2 ½  hour ride to the hotel. I thought the fare for this taxi would be astronomical; imagine the fare for a 2 to 3 hour taxi ride in NYC?  We were charged US$ 25 in Ubud when we arrived.  For this long taxi trip, sent by the hotel, we rode in a nice, clean, air conditioned car. All done with a smile and the driver of the taxi even spoke English very well, too.

Uma Sari Cottages

We were off to a great start in Bali. Somehow things work here. Our room was ready when we arrived.

A bit beaten up by the flights, the time changes and the travel we just rested that day, we have weeks to get used to Ubud, to Bali… We’ll be here for 3 weeks…. The weather is 24 C, (about 78 F) no rain (so far), friendly faces and all is well. We slept 12 ½ hours the first night.

Winter 2019 - 1. Why This Part of the World?

1. Why This Part of the World?

I do not like to shovel snow. And Canada gets lots of snow in the winter. The easiest way to not shovel snow is to not be in Canada when it snows. 

Snow Storm Before We Got Away in 2017

That said, when I moved to Canada, we agreed to spend the Northern Winters not in Canada but in the Southern Hemisphere or at least in places that are sunnier, warmer than Canada, as spring-like as possible. I don’t HAVE to be in Canada. Yet, I don’t want to go to places that have 40+ C, either. Finding the right country or region is always a bit of challenge.

Carol and I have a discussion almost every year as to where do we go this winter.

As you can tell by previous blogs, we have been around the world, been in many, many places, some are obscure, some are very popular. Sometimes we spend months on end in one place and sometimes we keep on moving.

Balinese Dancers

So for the early part of 2019 we, again, had to pick a destination for our winter holiday.

A few things happened that made us decide to be multi-country this year. 

Firstly, while in Germany in 2018, for Stephan Knopf’s wedding, we heard that we just ‘MUST’ visit Bali, Indonesia. It was a consensus from a few people at this wedding that Bali is a MUST see place.

Then, in the mail or on the computer a trip was announced to ride New Zealand. This Motorcycle Trip would be led by Fred Rau, the former Senior Editor of Motorcycle Consumer News (MCN). MCN is a well known monthly American magazine for enthusiasts of motorcycling. A NZ Trip is what Carol has always wanted to do. It seemed a good omen for riding in New Zealand.

New Zealand Maori

That leaves Australia, especially Tasmania and the Western part of this continent. Those places are not as common to visit. Sure, many people visit Australia but not the most Western Parts, the Outback and also Tasmania. Visiting those areas in Australia needed some planning, some searching, and some out-of-the-box thinking.

We have the time, we have the means, and so we just bit the bullet and went for a long trip this year. 

Road Sign on the Nullarbor Plain

And here are some of my insights into what I leaned in the 82 days we traveled this part of the world.

Read on, you might learn something.