[The following post is from the archives of my In Search Of Incredible blog, originally published on 30 September 2017]

 

Day 4: 28 April 2017, Friday

It’s our last day in Bali and we spent the morning doing water sports activities at Tanjung Benoa in the southern part of the island. From our villa, we drove for about an hour and reached the Bali Dolphin Dive & Water Sports centre at about 9am. The water activities were not included in our package with Pak Eddie so we had to fork out on our own.

The company offered several activities such as Diving, Sea Walking, Snorkelling, Wakeboarding, Jet Skiing and more. The staff told us to ignore the prices printed on the menu because those were actually higher than the actual prices. You can negotiate with them, depending on how many activities you choose. In the end, we were only keen on three activities – Adventure Parasailing, Flying Fish and Tubing Ride, and paid a total of Rp 900,000 (S$95.75) per person. We asked the staff what was the difference between Adventure Parasailing and the normal Parasailing, but he didn’t explain much, so I still don’t know what’s the difference between the two. We chose the former because it sounded more adventurous…more bang for your buck, right?

Business was good and it was already quite crowded even at that hour. We hopped onto a speedboat and it brought us out to sea, where we transferred to another bigger boat with some other tourists. The first activity we did was Adventure Parasailing. Only up to two people can go at one time, so we took turns. As I was the odd one out, I went last.

Maybe it was because I was alone so it was lighter and I could parasail higher than the other two couples. Even then, it didn’t feel very high and it wasn’t as thrilling as I thought it would be. I vaguely recall having parasailed before in Phuket about ten years back, but obviously, it didn’t create a big impression on me. I was airborne for maybe about five minutes, before I was reeled back in to the boat.

The second activity was Tubing, and all five of us could fit into the Tube at the same time as there were five slots. It was basically a huge inflatable rubber float being dragged at high speed by a speed boat. We were told that this was the most exciting and thrilling activity among them all, so we were pumped up for it. We even told the speed boat driver to drive extra fast and make it as thrilling as possible.

As we gathered speed, we held on to the hand grips tightly, for fear of being tossed into the sea. What followed next was perhaps the bumpiest ride I have ever taken in my life. As we sped across the choppy waters, we swerved and bounced up and down with every wave that we hit. It wasn’t exactly thrilling, just very fast and furious. The best way I can describe the ride is that it was bumpy. I think it lasted for between five and ten minutes, but I wouldn’t have wanted it to go on any longer anyway.

The last activity was Flying Fish. Again, only two people could go at a time, so we were separated once more. The “Fish” was an inflatable rubber float with two full-body slots, where you lay flat upon it, facing the sky. A speed boat would then drag the Fish at high speed, and you would rise above the water surface momentarily and “fly” into the sky. Having done the previous two, the Flying Fish felt positively tame.

As you lay flat on the Fish, you were looking at the sky the whole time. Even when the Fish was airborne for a few seconds, it could be tilted at an angle of 45 degrees but you would still be looking at the sky. So throughout the whole ride, I did not even realise that I was flying above the water surface because the sensation and the view felt the same. When we slowed down and eventually came to a stop, my first thought was, “Is that it?” I was still wondering when we were going to start flying!

Yeah, so I would say the water activities were a bit of a letdown. Among the three, I found parasailing the most fun. At least I was suspended in the air for a sustained period of time and I could enjoy the nice panoramic view of the surrounding area. The Tubing and Flying Fish rides were just bumpy and not that enjoyable. If you’re looking for thrills, I would say white water rafting is more thrilling. I also think that the activities were overpriced. Imagine paying “full price” for them, the prices as stated on the menu. What a rip-off it would have been. Once is enough and I’ll probably never try them again.

At 11:10am, we hurriedly departed Tanjung Benoa because we had to check out of our villa at noon time. We only arrived at 12:12pm but managed to extend check-out by an hour, giving us time for a quick dip in the villa pool (the only time we took a dip!), wash up and do our final packing. At 1pm, we checked out of the villa. As our Jetstar flight back to Singapore was scheduled to depart only at 10:15pm, we still had the whole afternoon available to hang around in Bali.

For lunch, we wanted to try one of Bali’s famous dishes, the crispy duck, so we requested for Pak Eddie to recommend a place for us to go. He gladly obliged and brought us to a restaurant called Warung d’Sawah, which served a mixture of Chinese, Indonesian and Balinese food. The crispy duck was indeed very crispy. As it was fried until the skin was light and crunchy, it wasn’t oily at all. It was nice but it wasn’t very filling as there was not much meat on the duck. Still, it’s worth trying the dish if you’re in Bali. I can’t think of any other place in the world that sells crispy duck.

After lunch, naturally comes dessert. We had been eyeing a place called The Fat Turtle for days and this was our last chance to go. Strangely enough, it was located just across the road from our villa but we simply never had the time to go as our programme was so packed during the past few days. So off we went to The Fat Turtle for some yummy desserts. When we arrived at 2:35pm, it was mostly empty so we had seats and didn’t have to wait too long for our food to arrive. Apparently, it can get quite crowded during breakfast and the main meal times, so it’s best to go during off-peak hours.

The café was nicely decorated with cute images of turtles on the walls and on the sofa seat covers, though the turtles didn’t appear very fat to me at all (are there even any fat turtles?). We ordered a few different items to share, including the famous red velvet pancakes, banana bread French toast and banana Nutella croissant. They were all equally good and I can’t say which was my favourite. We also ordered a few drinks, and the total bill came up to Rp 279,000 (S$30), which was reasonable. It was a nice place to chill and enjoy a coffee, provided you’re not there when it’s crowded, as you may have to make way for other customers.

With our tummies amply filled, it was time to walk it off so we went to the area around Seminyak Square for some shopping. Seminyak Square is perhaps the only shopping centre in Bali. It isn’t very big, but it has a collection of stores and restaurants within the same building. However, we didn’t spend much time there and walked around the rows of shops nearby at the two adjoining streets of Jalan Kayu Aya instead, which were much more interesting. Here, you can find boutique stores selling surfwear and clothes by local designers, as well as souvenir shops and eateries. At one end of Jalan Kayu Aya, there is moderate-sized flea market with many stalls selling clothes, souvenirs and other knick knacks. It’s worth a visit if you have half an hour to spare.

At 5:05pm, we departed Seminyak Square, heading towards the airport. Before that, we went to a restaurant called Asam Garam for dinner. Due to the bad traffic, we only arrived at 6:50pm. The thing about travelling in Bali is that the distance between the two destinations may be quite short (in this instance, only about 14km) but the roads are narrow and traffic is heavy, so it will often take much longer to get there. Do factor that in, especially if you’re heading to the airport to catch your flight.

Asam Garam restaurant is located in the Balquisse Heritage Hotel at Jalan Raya Uluwatu, Jimbaran 80361. We found out about it because it is owned by the same folks as The Bistrot, the super chic café that we visited on our second night. The Balquisse is a luxury heritage hotel and its premises were very beautiful and classy. The restaurant stands alone in a building amid the posh and serene surroundings. It has a very relaxed and chill vibe, perfect for unwinding after a long day at the beach. When we arrived, there were no other diners so we had the place to ourselves.

As it was our last meal in Bali, we decided to continue with our theme of ‘Bali All The Way’ and splurged on it. The menu consisted of traditional Indonesian and Balinese dishes and we ordered many dishes to try. They all came in small servings anyway. For those that we really liked, we ordered a second serving. The satay was really good, as were the fish otah and coconut prawn. The total bill came up to Rp 1,130,000 (S$120), or about S$24 per person. For the ambience and quality of the food, I would say it was a fair price.

While we were on our way to Asam Garam earlier, we had checked our Jetstar flight status and learned that it was going to be delayed to 11:20pm. So we took our time to have our dinner, and left the restaurant only at 8:10pm. Due to the heavy traffic again, the short 6km drive to the airport took an hour. When we checked in at the airport, we were informed that the flight was being delayed again, and would depart only at 12:40am. That didn’t bode well. True enough, the flight was delayed for a third time, to 1:20am. We were beginning to get worried now.

When 1:20am came and passed, we were still stuck in the waiting area and there was no sign that the flight would go on. Naturally, all the passengers got frustrated because there was no explanation from the ground staff regarding the reason for the delay and we were all kept in the dark. There were murmurs that there was a problem with the airplane’s engine and the engineers had been trying to fix it for the past few hours, but to no avail. While waiting for the official announcement, we discussed our plans should the flight really be cancelled – which is the next cheapest flight out, whether our travel insurance would cover the delay, what form of compensation Jetstar would offer, and so on.

Finally, at about 2am, the ground staff officially announced that the flight was cancelled, apparently due to engine issues. Everyone started to crowd around the staff but the announcement was quite soft and communication was poor. From what we made out, all passengers had to exit the departure hall and proceed to the Jetstar counter to make alternative arrangements. So we followed the staff out of the departure hall and joined the long queue at the Jetstar counter.

While waiting in line for our turn to be served, we heard from those who were first in line that they were being put up on the next available Jetstar flight out of Bali in the morning. However, there were limited slots on that flight so by the time it was our turn, that option was not presented to us. Instead, Jetstar offered to put us on the next available flight, which would depart Bali only two days later (Monday). In addition, they would provide two nights’ stay at Mercure Hotel and meals.

We considered their offer carefully but ultimately rejected it even though theoretically, we could have afforded to stay for another two nights because Monday was a public holiday. Our main consideration was that the other two couples wanted to go home as soon as possible to settle their kids, whom they had already “abandoned” for the past four days. Also, we were very tired by this time (it was around 3am and we had a long day prior to this) and nothing felt better than to take a good shower and sleep in our own beds.

We asked the staff if Jetstar would refund the cost of our cancelled flight if we didn’t take up their offer. The lady was non-committal at first and tried very hard to persuade us to take up their offer, but eventually she said that Jetstar would refund us the cost of the cancelled flight if we chose not to take up their offer. She took down our names and issued us a letter informing about the cancellation of the flight, and said that Jetstar would contact us in the next few days to arrange for the refund. However, from the way the exchange went, I had a feeling that the refund was not going to happen. Nevertheless, we were so tired from the experience that we just wanted to settle it quickly. There was still a long queue behind us.

By that time, we had sourced for the cheapest and earliest alternative flight out of Bali. It was an AirAsia flight departing at 7am, costing about S$250 per person. We quickly booked it before the other passengers booked the remaining seats. As part of the compensation, Jetstar also issued us an airport refreshment voucher valued at Rp 100,000 (S$10.60) each, so we used it to buy some food before our AirAsia flight.

Thankfully, we managed to depart on the AirAsia flight at 7am without any issues and arrived in Singapore at 9:30am. It had been a super exhausting ordeal and caused great inconvenience to all of us. After the trip, we submitted our travel insurance claims and got back about S$100 per person. Jetstar never contacted us after all, as expected, and we didn’t write in to chase for the refund because it was too much hassle, after the experience we had with them. So we lost about S$150 per person in the end, but considering the extra two days saved, it was possibly worth it.

It all depends on how you see it, whether we did the right thing or not. If you are free and don’t mind spending another two days in Bali, it would be good to take up Jetstar’s offer since hotel and meals are covered. Furthermore, by doing so, you can possibly claim the maximum amount of S$1,000 from the insurer because for every 6 consecutive hours of delay while overseas, you can claim S$100, with the amount being capped at S$1,000. However, there is an opportunity cost for time, so to some others, monetary compensation can never be an adequate replacement for the time lost during the extra two days.

Nevertheless, the bottom-line is – travel insurance is ESSENTIAL, even if it is just a short 4-day, 3-night trip like this one. I’m glad I persuaded AK to buy travel insurance for this trip because he usually doesn’t do so for short trips. Good lesson learnt. We may have lost some money overall but at least we got back some, which lessened the pain. And it’s good to know that travel insurance really works. Better to be safe than sorry!

In all, it had been an action-packed trip to Bali during those four days. We really did a lot – white water rafting, trekking up Mt Agung, water sports activities, feasting on good meals, it truly lived up to our slogan, Bali All The Way! Till the next time, then, but probably a more relaxing one, seeya Bali!