How We Got To Bali Indonesia

After three days of airplane travel we landed at Ngurah Rai International Airport in Denpasar, the only airport in Bali. We landed on the tarmac, and exited the plane next to the echoing roaring of others taking off. It was wild.  By bus we went into the airport and reached customs when suddenly we realized my passport and phone had been left behind in my plane seat!! What a way to enter a new country! We anxiously waited for at least 20 minutes while worker after worker assured us, in very broken english, that they would bring it back to us. It was pretty sketchy, but human kind prevailed and I did receive all of my things back without any problem. Welcome to Bali!

We marched in relieved to have finally reached our destination when we ran smack into the  immigration line which was no line at all,  but simply a collection of hundreds of people from the front of the airport to the back. I had read recently that Denpasar was taking on extreme amounts of traffic, and the airport being the only airport on the island of over 4 million people was having a hard time coping with the influx of travelers. I had no idea it was this bad. Fellow Australians who were used to frequenting  the island shared that they had never experienced this size of a jam before. Perhaps it was just our luck, but regardless be prepared.

We stood 3 in a half hours! until finally we were able to move on to tracking down our driver. We exited the doors to outside and were instantly among the hustling and bustling of thousands of scooters and tall jungle plants and palms. In line Bali was being cursed. Once outside the trek to get there was worth it. It was nothing like the quiet peaceful pictures we had seen.

By the time we had landed after our honeymoon we had been in 6 DIFFERENT Airports, and 3 countries.  Our plan at the beginning of the trip landed us an itinerary that all together would mean 8 flights by the time we reached the States again.

We said “I do” on Saturday in Marshall MI, and Sunday morning we made a break 3 hours west for Chicago where we would hit the skies for the next three days. Surviving on nothing but a giant hangover from our wedding of the century, with the wedding dress and marriage license thrown in the backseat, we parked the car in the lot at the airport and never looked back.  We were going to Bali, with not even as much as the tiniest expectation of what we would be diving into once we arrived on the small island in Indonesia, and It really didn’t matter. We were together and we were making our first out of the country voyage together as husband and wife. This was living.

Hopefully by now it is clear that we travel on a budget. Hence the insane flight plans. So mind you, if planning a trip to Bali, the itinerary probably won’t look like this, but hey! It makes for a great story.

We headed from Chicago to a stop in LA. Five hours in the air.  We were each newbies to LAX, and we were expecting a nice night in a nice, movie star like airport. HA! This airport made our list of most hated. All of the seats in the United terminal were plastic with unmovable arms, making it entirely inconvenient to rest, the floor was so filthy that you did NOT want to sit on it or truly be anywhere near it, and the food choices were lacking. It was a major disappointment, and we had 6 hours to burn till the next flight left at 11 that night.  The 18 hour flight from LAX to Changi Airport in Singapore loomed over our tired heads.

Travel Tip- Have the correct currency for every country that you stop in. The credit cards that are accepted differ everywhere, and even in the airports U.S. cash is not accepted.

We took off from the U.S. on a Sunday, arriving in Singapore on Tuesday. Our Seat buddy (a local of Singapore) deemed us official time travelers : ),   and also filled us in on the must try coffee native to Bali only. (Click here for the Famous Coffee Post)

Travel tip- We went through immigration at least 6 times on our trip. We also checked and re-checked our bags several times.  Even when just making a stop in Singapore or anywhere else, grab a customs form from the flight attendants and fill it out BEFORE the line. Even though you aren’t staying- you will have to go through immigration. 

The Changi airport is ranked the best airport in the world for many good reasons. It is like our Mall of America, except stunning. Basically its just plain nuts!  We were riding a high by the time we reached Singapore and decided breakfast could be a sampling of traditional Singapore delicacies.

We later learned our idea was flawed, and we recommend unless you have an iron stomach… steer clear of the traditional food upstairs.

Our last flight was on the infamous discount asian airline, so appropriately named, Air Asia. Check out their flights, they run significantly cheaper.

There were odd, random, adds plastered all over the inside of the cabin, and it seemed there was some kind of an announcement that was then repeated in another language every 5 minutes. It was a rough final four hours to the island, but it was cheap.

When it was all said and done Bali was beyond anything and everything we had ever dreamed off. Sure, the trek was unbelievably challenging, we lost a passport and a phone, then really lost the new phone in the pool the first day there, (still blaming it on the tripod), on the way back home we completely missed a flight, and we went through baggage claims and customs more than we bargained for, but by the time we landed back home we were already planning when to do it again.