Bali Holiday

So I have still been a bit slack with blogging, but Bel has left a message and I am back on it again. My excuse ...... a holiday to Bali.
On Saturday 9th August Pam, Bradley and I headed to Bali for 6 nights. We all flew staff travel, which means we were on standby. At check-in we were told the flight was overbooked and basically good luck to getting on it. However within 5 mins we were all checked in, and in business class too. After a delay, including 2 families that had failed to get seats booked together ie. children separated from parents (why don't people think of this), which led to Pam going to sit in economy, we were off. Brad and I enjoyed the comforts, which included a few vodkas and diet cokes, whilst Pam was fine, saying she could fly anytime in business, whilst this was my last staff travel trip before Bob comes to Australia.
We got a cab to the Hard Rock Hotel and managed to secure a room. Brad stayed in the room to have a bath, whilst Pam and I went to the bar. The first 2 drinks of Bintang went down well, but the night took an ugly turn after that. One shooter and about 4 skulled cocktails later we were officially smashed. I don't even remember going back to the room. Lets just say that it was the first time that I have chucked from alcohol for over 5 years.
I passed on brekky that morning as I was sooooo ill, whilst Pam did the good mother and had brekky with Brad, and then ventured for some shopping. We checked out at lunchtime, but spent the day by the hotel pool, until I was well enough to get in a car for the trip to Candi Dasa. I get car sick at the best of times,and a hang over, plus an almost 2 hour drive Bali style just about did me in (felt like passing out when we finally got to the hotel).
That Sunday night, we just checked in, settled, had dinner at the hotel (Shangrila Beach Hotel), strictly NO alcohol, and went to bed relatively early. The next morning after brekky, Pam and I headed out to check out the shops. There is a strip, probably as long as Hay St mall, but not as many shops as Candi Dasa. We were a bit hassled for taxis/transport, but politely declined. Bought some water and basic essentials.
Things seem like a bit of a blur, but we ended up chatting to a lot of people at the hotel, mostly Aussies and Poms. The kids all played together, and the adults all enjoyed happy hour from 4 to 6 every afternoon. My drink of choice became a Gin Fizz - who would have thought. I still struggled with drinking after our first night, never got smashed again.
Pam and I ate out for lunch and dinner everyday, whilst Brad never ventured from the hotel. I found that a bit disappointing that he did not get to experience Bali itself. He ordered hotel food day and night, well Pam ordered it mostly as Brad wouldn't. No comment about that! I thoroughly enjoyed all of the local food and only deviated to Western food at breakfast each morning - yummy bacon butties!
Ken (hotel entertainment) organised a boat trip to White Sand Beach for a lunch. I suffer from seasickness, so was driven there in a soft top VW. The lunch was fantastic - smoked(bbq) local fish called mahee mahee (not spelt right) with salads. Pam and Brad snorkelled from the boat, but there were stingers, so I was glad I didn't experience that. For the trip back a boat race was organised - first prize a weeks accommodation. I went back in the car disappointed I would miss out. Well, there were protests as people jumped the start, no one followed the rules, so Ken ruled that the car won the boat race, as I followed my instructions, so I won the boat race. Funny eh - a car wins a boat race. Further protests were ignored.
The photo above is from a Palace Water Garden. Pam and I hired a driver "Tony" to show us around locally. It was just sooooo beautiful and photos do no justice (go to facebook for the photos). Tony turned out to be a saviour as I had battled with UTI from Sunday and had been unable to get antibiotics (to match some spares I had). He took us to a local chemist (aportek) and the staff got a doctor to come and see me and match up the drugs. Till that point I had been extremely stressed.
Before too long it was time to leave. I had managed to suncream up enough to barely get any colour, whilst Brad had spent 2 days inside due to his sunburn. Silly boy refused suncream and a shirt and kept re-burning. Argh! Even on Friday when we returned to Kuta and the offer was there to go to Waterbom, he refused. Bad idea as he got dragged around the shops and sooked and moaned the whole time, apart from the dvd shop. Remind me not to have boys!!!
We bought some Tshirts, sarongs, dvds and Oil of Olay products (which arte dirt cheap in Asia), and tried to drink as much as the remaining 1ltr bottle of vodka we had brought with us. We failed (Pam did better than me) as the stomach was still struggling from the Hard Rock night. I might add that I still have not had a drink since I returned.
We were standby again, on and overbooked flight, but managed to score 3 business class seats again. The pane was delayed again and we left Bali at about 2am. Luckily the flight made up time (3 hours home) and we landed at 5am. The flight was not so crash hot. There was a medical emergency (they even called on passengers to identify themselves if they were doctors etc), and none of us could stomach 1 alcoholic drink... not even wine with dinner. When we landed wee were told not to get up when the seatbelt sign came off. An ambulance met us at the terminal and medical staff, customs and quarantine staff got on the plane instead. Very scary to see quarantine. A poor lady was wheelchaired off the plane. I know that she had passed out not long into the flight (eavesdropping) and that she had thrown up most of the flight (more eavesdropping at a different time). As soon as she was off the plane the usual scramble happened to get the overhead luggage and get off the plane. Row 2 really helped our cause and I am proud to say that I was the first person to get in the duty free shop and the first person to be served.
We did the mad dash to customs, which was interesting to say the least. The woman looked at Pam and stamped a passport, then did Brad, but when she came to me she was holding Pam's passport (hers has a sticker on it). I said to her that was Pam's passport not mine. She checked again and the funny thing was I am a blonde in my passport, but a brunette now, whilst Pam is red/brunette in her passport and blonde now. The lady found it funny and we said it was funnier as we are both born on the same day too - which the woman found even more bizarre.
We made it through and got our luggage, but the woman from customs appeared again and said she had marked our cards wrong in the mix up. Funny! We declared our wood and got to keep it all. Another mad dash for a taxi and finally home at about 6am. I had been awake for 23 hours and was asleep by half 6.
Fab holiday - can't wait to go again.