The journey begins...✈️🌏🇮🇩

It's 9:28 am on September 14th, 2022 - Freya and Erik reach Gate C41 at Berlin Airport. When does the plane depart..? 9:30 am!

Planned? No.

Rushed? Definitely.

But let's go back to the beginning: After a nice evening at the Friedrich Stadtpalast, where we saw the ARISE Grand Show, we headed back to the easyHotel. With a plan for the next day, the alarm was set for 5:30 am and we finally went to sleep for the last time in Germany, knowing that the next night in the plane would be tough. With our heavily packed backpacks, we shouldn't have relied on Google Maps and had to watch the S-Bahn leave as we arrived. Unfortunately, the next one came 20 minutes later. Not a big deal, since we had planned for some buffer time. The only problem was that the flight didn't leave at 9:50 am (that was the arrival time in Bali), but at 9:30 am. The long queues at check-in and security weren't much help. At check-in, we met a rather nervous young man who was going to Melbourne via Singapore and joined us in seeking help. One helps where one can. In this case, it was helping each other wait...

Directly to the readers: Please pack your liquids in small plastic bags when going through security. You never know who's about to miss their flight. 😉

Completely exhausted and sweaty, we sat in the plane. To the great dismay of Freya, our water bottles were not refilled.
Small-Big consolation: There was an empty seat next to us. That's at least a €50 upgrade on a 13-hour flight and allows for new seating positions. During the flight, we ate cheese sandwiches, which we had prepared with ingredients from Rewe the night before, in good German fashion.

12 hours later - Singapore

You don't sleep much, and certainly not well, on such long flights. That was no different for us, so we arrived in Singapore feeling quite exhausted. Since our pilot was magically 1 hour faster than expected, we had enough time to explore the airport and still arrive at the new gate on time. The airport is really nice and our 3-hour layover flew by. Boarding the second plane was more relaxed and we set course for Bali.

2 hours later - Bali

WE MADE IT! At this point, it probably doesn't need to be emphasized that we were exhausted. But also happy that everything went smoothly without major complications. We went through the typical immigration counters at the airport and took a taxi to our hotel: Ari Putri

We immediately liked the hotel, especially the beautifully designed pool area. The reception was very friendly, and after our belongings were taken to the room, we went directly in search of something to eat. On the way, we met a lady who was also staying at our hotel, and she recommended a restaurant that serves typical Indonesian dishes (Little Mars). Perfect for getting settled. The food was delicious, the portions were good, and the prices were unbeatably cheap. 2 main dishes and 2 beers for less than 10 euros. Strengthened, we explored the area. At the beach, we stopped at a bar with a sea view and had iced coffee (they even had oat milk). While we were sitting there, we noticed a cute dog, whom Freya named Eisbär (polar bear) and whom Erik later found out was a Jindo. In general, there are many street dogs here. We strolled along the beach promenade and through the streets. The exotic plants especially fascinated us: banana trees, coconuts on palm trees, and colorful flowers - it immediately gives a holiday feeling. The many small offerings placed in front of almost every house and shop were noticeable. We spent the evening at the pool in the hotel restaurant, where freshly squeezed juice was served. Very tired, we managed to stay awake until 8:30 pm with a lot of effort. That was necessary to fight off the jet lag, as Bali is 6 hours ahead of German time.