Return from vacation - Denpasar to Chennai - 26 December 2017

Breakfast in The Artini Resort was a combination of continental and asian. I normally take the selection of fruits and a couple of eggs with croissants. This day I chose the sticky rice and it's accompaniments. It was not easy to have rice that early. The fresh juices were another treat.  The restaurant has water running almost around it. And the place is so green, particularly with the rain. Orchids are everywhere. The tropical plants have huge leaves and a very healthy shade of green.

Yudha was there before time and by the time I had completed  the checkout process he had already made friends with a few visitors from the US and struck a deal to drive them around for the next day! Amazing man this Yudha is, with families in America, Australia and Indonesia, yet single now. He had worked in Australia for 15 years and owns property there. An excellent conversationalist and extremely fun loving Yudha is an outstanding guide for those visiting Bali. I had found him fortuitously with Danu, who had taken me around on 23rd, taking ill. Yudha took me on a short tour of Denpasar town, pointing out landmarks as we passed them, before we reached the airport. Transit through the city was painfully slow. In between, Danu called up and apologized for not being with me the past couple  of days. He said that he had too much to drink an shad fallen ill. He kept addressing  me as 'brother'. He said that he would be there when I visited Bali next time. I was indeed touched.

The check-in was smooth and immigration smoother. After looking around the duty free shops to spend the small change I had left on me I took rest in the premium lounge awaiting the time to board. In the couple of hours I spent in the lounge I had another meal, so that I could avoid the in flight meal.

The flight to Kuala Lumpur was operated by Malindo Air and hence, even though the baggage was booked through to Chennai, I had only the boarding pass for the Denpasar Kuala Lumpur leg. I was supposed to get that at the transit desk in Kuala Lumpur. I slept through the entire duration of the flight and the landing thud woke me up. The transit desk gave me the onward boarding pass and I had to take an intra terminal train to the set of gates from where the Chennai flight, operated by Batik Air, would take off from. I spent over three hours in the premium lounge eating and reading!

The holiday had indeed been a god-given one. A fantastic time to unwind, meet new people and experience new places. Added to this the trip was cheap, with lower than normal hotel rates and trouble free sightseeing. To me, Bali will ever remain the land of the smiling people.