Bali. Hi.

We have arrived in Bali at last!

Given our already discombobulated state, our 2+ hour flight from Helsinki to Amsterdam, and our 12+ hour red eye to Singapore (in coach!) were not nearly as hideous as expected.

On the HEL-AMS leg, Jeff snagged an exit row and I got horizontal and slept a bit, with a whole row of their Europe select seats to myself. In Amsterdam, we didn't have a long connection time, just long enough to pop in at the KLM lounge and for Jeff to set a record for how many little siropwaffelen cookies he could eat without feeling sick. I think 6 was the magic number. We asked the lounge agent how full our flight was, and discovered that there were a few empty rows to be had, but that they had been blocked off for weight distribution. We already had good bulk seats with leg room, but an empty row is something else. So we both squatted for a few minutes in the rows we knew were empty. But then they made an announcement about weight distribution and staying in your original seat for takeoff, so we did. It turned out that the head flight attendant (batting for our team) made a point of personally saying hello to Skyteam Platinum members and had been looking forJeff, who was still squatting in the secret, empty row. Once the flight was airborne, people descended on those empty rows like vultures. I don't think anyone ended up with a whole row to themselves. Jeff did end up switching his bulkhead aisle for a window, and gave his original seat near me to some Dutch underwear model type, who ignored me completely, and over whom the aforementioned flight attendant kept fawning. I didn't mind. I had miles of legroom, and both Jeff and I managed to muster a decent amount of sleep.

Here are a few snaps from the Silver Kris lounge in Singapore, where we showered, and noshed.



This lounge was a little darker, and had a more clubby feeling than some of the previous lounges, but it was huge and had some really nice food.



The danger of these lounges is that all of their little diversions, like internet access, showers, food, self service booze, magazines, and comfy chairs can easily make you lose track of time, and then you look at the monitor and find that your gate is about to close...


After a brisk hike to the gate, and the unceremonious dump of my unopened can of Schweppes bitter lemon (chosen in Seamus' honor) by the security guy, we boarded our flight.


And ran into some familiar friends.

Yes, from Singapore to Bali, we were back in business class, this time on Singapore Air, whose service is considered legendary in the airline industry.



To be honest, our flight attendant was perfectly polite and put together, but there was something kind of robotic and frosty about her demeanor.


Still, she poured a mean drink. After our pre-flight champagne, we had something called a Skyhigh.


And then a Rumba.


For this flight, we had pre-ordered a meal with Singapore Air's "book the cook" service, which sounds like someone might be pan sauteing something right at our seats, but in actuality is about a half dozen entrees that you can special order, in lieu of what they are offering on the flight.

I went with a sea bass.


Jeff got lamb chops. It wasn't quite as swank as Lufthansa first, but no complaints.


So the plan for Bali is loose, but we will likely stay in a few different places. We are currently at Le Meridien Nirwana, which is out in the boonies, and that's just fine, because tomorrow we will do NOTHING. And by that, i mean lay by the pool, read trashy magazines, and take in the fresh Indonesian air. Thursday and Friday, we are thinking about maybe driving up to the North Coast, but we purposely didn't reserve rooms anywhere or rent a car, just in case we need more NOTHING. There seem to be plenty of rooms here, and this was another steal using Starwood points. We've prepaid for our last two nights at the Sofitel in Seminyak for the weekend, which is closer to civilization and nightlife.

I was worried I was going to suffer major room envy when i saw Jeff's enormous suite to which they upgraded him. But I've traveled enough with Jeff over the years to accept these scenarios when they happen and whenever possible, to make them somehow work for me. When I got to my room, though, i was pleasantly surprised. Not exactly the maid's quarters. Here are a few snaps of my room.







I may need a wide angle lens to capture Jeff's.

I woke up to 4 a.m. Bali time to the sound of pouring rain. It lasted for about 5 minutes. Then i dozed off again. The same thing happened at about 5:30a as well. Yep, we are definitely in the tropics.