A cat and Crap in the Bali Airport

We had a 6AM flight. We called the front desk for a 330 wake-up call and arranged for our airport transport (via the hotel shuttle at 4).

We checked out at 4, but the shuttle was not ready until 410. However, it did not matter, because two other guests were also being shuttled and we had to wait for their checkout. What makes checkouts in Asian hotels longer than their American counterparts is the fact that a maid must inspect the room before you can leave.

We get to the airport at 430, and we are feeling pretty good. Security is a breeze. We then see the line for the Air Asia ticket checkin counter. Our heart drops. There were at least 150 people ahead of us, and only 3 people working the counter.

Ten minutes go by and we've barely moved. We are getting nervous because Air Asia requires that you be checked in 45 minutes before your flight, otherwise you are out luck (in that they won't put you on a standby flight). Moreover, there is only one daily flight from Bali to Kuala Lumpur, which means a missed flight would cause us to have to get a hotel again in Bali and repeat the ordeal next day.

Fortunately, an Air Asia employee calls out all KL bound passengers and moves us to the front of the line. We get our tickets, and proceed to customs. Unbeknownst to us, we need $17 each for an exit tax. We have zero Indonesian money. We paid an entry tax of $25 when we got here and did not think that a second tax would be levied on us. Wrong. Danae grabs the debit card and literally runs to the lobby, while I wait with the bags. Ten minutes later, she returns pissed. The only ATM is outside the airport, which means she would have to through security. She could not do it while she was down there the first time because I had her passport.

We go through customs. On the long walk to our gate we observe three crazy things, each more bizarre than the last. First, we see an employee resting and smoking a cigarette inside the airport (not a designated smoke area). Second, we see a stray cat wondering through the airport. Finally, we see crap smeared down the main walkway to the terminal gate. It smelled awful! Crazy. Bali was awesome, but its airport sucked.

Cat in the Airport

Crap

Crap

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