My Country Dream: On Transit

Kuta (Bali), August 13th midnite - 14th 2010

We touched down on Ngurah Rai Inernational Airport in Bali on August 13th midnite. We searched from the international terminal up to the domestic terminal to find a cafe or restaurant that opens 24 hours, because our next flight to Mataram will be the next morning at 8:00 AM. The only restaurant available was Mac Donalds. But the place was hot and didn't look comfortable at all. So Frank suggested to take a taxi to Kuta. He said that there's a Starbucks that opens 24 hours.

It turned out that the domestic terminal was already asleep. We couldn't get a taxi there. So we walked back to the international terminal. We ordered for a taxi at the taxi booth and soon got into the taxi. Suddenly while we were riding along Kuta Beach, I spotted this: "Mini Mart, Free WiFi". Wow! Free WiFi sounds interesting. That will keep us busy while passing the night.

What a perfect place to wait for next flight to Mataram. It's not crowded, has comfortable table and chairs, a bench to lay down, and plenty of snacks inside to see us through till morning shines.

The internet connection turned out to be terribly slow, so I when back to IM2.

I slept with my head on the table. Frank slept on the bench. He offered me to sleep there, but I thought that sleeping while sitting and head on a table will be much more comfortable than laying a thin body on a hard bench.

A couple hours to morning, it rained. Frank moved to the chair and continued to sleep. The umbrella above us was wide enough and kept us from getting wet. Frank called this "Mini Hotel".

We took a taxi back to Ngurah Rai Airport.

Good morning, Bali!

Although it's just the domestic terminal, I think Ngurah Rai Airport should dress up a bit. They should realize that Bali can be considered as the international entrance gate to Indonesia. Some people still even think that Indonesia is inside Bali. I was shocked the first time I came to Ngurah Rai Airport. I couldn't believe I was actually in Bali. Later on I read many complains from foreigners about this airport in the internet.

And... if you arrive at the airport too early for check in, you can be sure not to get a place to sit during peak hours/seasons. I once had to sit on my bag while waiting for the check-in-counter to open. How about these tourists? Welcome to my country, guys ;-)

You know what, in English, "garuda" means "eagle" and "merpati" means "pigeon". After flying with Garuda from Jakarta, flying with this propeller plane of Merpati to Mataram, I really felt like moving from an eagle's back to a pigeon's back.