Leaving Tom and Jo's flat (which they
had kindly allowed us to use while they were gallivanting up in
Edinburgh) and coming out on to the Essex Road to catch a 38 bus, it
could have been any other trip up to see the bro's. But clutching
various important documents and dragging our suitcase behind us, we
were definitely not going to watch the Arsenal! Instead we were going
to pick up the rucksacks we had prepared before the wedding and head
off into the big wide world to have adventures!
After swapping stuff between various
bags, boxes and saying many farewells, we shouldered the bags
containing our lives for the next 12 months and begun the first leg
of our journey – getting to Heathrow where we were meeting parents
for more bon voyages, which meant sitting on the Northern line for
over an hour. Checking in took a bit longer then usual as we decided
to make the first use of the gifts our incredibly generous family and
friends had given us, and splurged on an upgrade from our Economy
seats to the next class up. We met Becky's mum and dad, my mum and
Carol in the bar for a last round of farewells and the obligatory
jokes about not having forgetting anything! All too soon though our
flights appeared on the board and we made our way through security to
Departures.
Boarding the plane we were pleased to
see that the upgrade had been money well spent – much larger seats,
plenty of legroom for me and priority food service made the following
12 hours pass in much more comfort than either of us had ever
experienced on a long-haul flight! Good food, nice wine and some good
films on the entertainment system (the Avengers!) made for a nice
evening before the lights were dimmed and we tried to get some sleep.
Sooner than I expected we were
descending into Singapore to change – we had a few hours to kill so
wandered around the various duty-free shops, picking up some rum and
vodka (Indonesia has punitive rates of import duty on spirits and
wine so this was obligatory!) After a cigarette in the outdoor
terrace (soooo humid!) it was time to check in for the next flight
direct to Denpasar in Bali. After getting as far as the plane door we
were dismayed to have the pilot come out and instruct everyone to
return to the terminal as there was a fault with the plane – we
were only delayed for about 45 minutes, but nerves had kicked in and
we wondered if the driver meant to meet us at Denpasar would still be
there on our late arrival.
Thankfully he was, and in no time at
all we were in an air-conditioned car and on the road for a 3 hour
drive right through the centre of Bali and on to the north coast.
After passing through the built up areas (neon lights, Circle Ks,
and seemingly-suicidal motorbike drivers!) we hit the mountain roads
and began to climb. In the dark it was difficult to see much out of
the windows, but we got a sense of winding roads, hairpin corners and
sharp drop-offs on one side. Eventually the climb changed to a
descent and we were soon back on the coast and pulling into Spa
Village Tembok, our home for the next seven nights.
As we pulled up we wondered if anyone
would still be up at this time to check us in. We needn't have – as
we stepped out of the car our bags were removed from us and we were
ushered to a comfy chair, given a drink and two beautiful Balinese
ladies removed our shoes, washed our feet and got to work on our neck
and shoulders with a relaxing massage. Once over, a member of staff
showed us to our room, where we were delighted to find that the chef
had thoughtfully left us a plate of chicken sandwiches. Once these
were devoured on our little balcony we investigated the room, finding
plenty of space, lovely little notes from the staff and a ensuite
bathroom where someone had prepared a bath for us filled with little
pink flowers. After a quick wash to remove the travel grime we
crashed out on the giant bed strewen with soft pillows and fell fast
asleep.
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