Indonesia > Arrival in Denpasar

After dinner, the cabin lights are dimmed. I inflate my little pillow and rest my head against the sidewall. I doze off occasionally, but don’t really fall asleep. Still, I get the impression that the twelve-hour flight goes by fairly quickly. When there are three hours left in the flight, I start watching Kasper van der Laan’s comedy show. It’s nice to listen to it with my eyes closed. When the second meal is served, I wake up with a start. I’ve missed part of the video. I rewind the show about forty-five minutes and listen to the part I missed. I also meet a few fellow travelers around me on the plane. The travel group consists of twelve people. Until now, I hadn’t spotted any fellow travelers. Someone I asked earlier at Schiphol was continuing on to Vietnam. Around half past four, local time in Singapore, the plane begins its descent. I am continuing on the same plane to Bali. However, all passengers have to get off and then check in again shortly after. This gives me the chance to go to the toilet. That turns out to be more complicated than expected. The toilet is outside the waiting area. When I want to return to the waiting area, my boarding pass is checked very carefully, and my carry-on and shoes have to go through the scanner. It’s no improvement. Shortly after, I get back on board and take the same seat as on the first flight. The plane has been cleaned in the meantime. The pillows and blankets have been collected. The seat of the boy from the Philippines is now taken by a German traveler. She has been in Sri Lanka for a few weeks and is now heading to Lombok for a diving course. It’s already dusk when we take off. Soon, it’s completely dark outside. Just after eight o’clock, we land at Denpasar airport in Bali. I had already arranged my visa and Customs Declaration in advance. Because of this, I can walk straight through to the customs gates. My passport is scanned. I assume they also check my visa right away here. At the baggage claim, it takes a while for the luggage to arrive. With my suitcase, I walk to the arrivals hall. Here I withdraw some Indonesian money from an ATM. With two and a half million rupiah, I’m a millionaire in one go. And all for 145 euros. I put a stack of 100,000 rupiah bills in my wallet. The 100,000 rupiah note is the largest denomination, although it’s worth only about six euros. In the arrivals hall, I meet Anton. Anton is a local tour guide, born on Flores. As a child, he had polio, which left his left leg paralyzed.

Indonesia - Freshly caught fish is served on terraces on the beach

He taught himself to walk using a stick. While guiding us to the bus, he laughs and tells us we can call him ‘the Stickman.’ We’re traveling with a group of twelve people. Perfect for a small group. At first glance, it seems like a nice mix. I do my best to remember as many names as possible. Due to the long flight, I notice I’m not quite sharp anymore. One traveler has already been in Bali for a few days. I meet him at the hotel. Anton says we will stay two nights in Bali. The original plan was to fly on to Flores tomorrow morning. Previous trips showed this was too tiring a schedule. This way, we can take it easy tomorrow. With a few fellow travelers, I have a Bintang beer in the lobby and then go to sleep. Because no other traveler booked the same room assignment, I have a room to myself. That’s nice.