Bali Airport

I have been to Bali Airport (Ngurah Rai International Airport) many times. Never through International but domestic and since 2007 it has change completely and is still doing so and for the better.

I have just come back from a holiday in Bali with the family and here are some photos of the Airport.

 

There are 6 gates to leave from. Gate 1 is Garuda, 4 is Air Asia, 5 and 6 Lion. The other gates I don't know. 

Getting to departures you can have the taxi or car drop you outside and its a short walk into the terminal. The Major Airlines have their own set of counters, Air Asia being 37-43 or something similar and there are plenty of ATMs around. Then you need to go upstairs and through the security checks, taking off belts and watches and anything metal before going through into the lounge area. Unlike the old terminal this one is now light and bright with many modern shops and big seating area restaurants. There are several coffee shops, 2 or 3 WH Smiths and other places to shop for highly expensive last minute gifts.

It is now a bigger terminal and I would say apart from the lack of seats considering the size and the AC fighting against the heat of the sun through amount of glass it is rather a nice place to fly from. Its far nicer than it used to be anyway. 

Bali

Having just returned from another holiday on the island of Bali, I am ready for another holiday on another island in Indonesia. Whilst its not the last time I will return, there is a need to go and explore elsewhere. However it was fun while it lasted and it lasted a little bit longer than expected thanks to the Volcano Mount Raung which erupted and closed Bali Airport for a while.

This was the second time we have taken Jeremy on a plane and he went to Bali last year and being 1 was a handful on the plane. This time being 2 he was a little more sedate but, still a handful however he was more settled. We went to Bali because my wifes sister was attending a wedding and so we thought it would be fun that we joined and had a family holiday what with the Mother in law as well going, so all in all there were 6 of us.

We took a Golden Bird taxi to the Airport which was cheaper than 2 taxis and worked out at 50,000 rupiah each and now Jeremy can recognise different things we were treated to 'look car, taxi, bus, crane, plane etc' all the way to the airport.  We flew Air Asia and so we had already Wed Checked in which left us to dump the luggage with them and go and eat.

Flying with Air Asia is nice in Jakarta because you go from Terminal 3 which is never very crowded and its new and spacious which meant Jeremy could run about, and he did. They also had a Nursery Room in the departure lounge which was helpful. Air Asia was on time and the flight was not full. We took the bus to the Plane which made Jeremy even more happy because it was his first bus trip anywhere.






















Jeremy was well behaved taking off and enjoyed playing with a toy and also watching offline videos on my tab through the flight. The flight itself was as normal pretty routine. We did however see a smoking volcano which later proved to be the one causing all the disruption.

Our Hotel was the Holiday Inn Resort in Tuban, Kuta. Tuban is next to the Airport and far enough away from Kuta to be pleasant and near enough to Kuta to be able to walk to the shops. The Holiday Inn was lovely. The rooms whist not so big had a sea view and it was quiet and the AC worked far too well. There was enough space for Jeremy to play and a balcony to sit on and get bitten by Mosquitoes.

The resort had 2 swimming pools, large gardens to wander around in, bars and  a small coffee shop. The small store sold cheap beer which helped hugely.

The best thing about the place was the breakfast which was probably the best I have had in Bali. The range and amount of food was far too much, but when you saw the size of the Australians staying there you could see why there was so much food. The hotel was also next to the one in which we were married and so we went back to look at the grounds and the place we said our vows. Its still the same and still beautiful.

If you walked from the gardens to the beach you could see the airport and it was a 15 minute walk to Discovery Mall and a 15 minute walk to Lippo Mall Kuta, so again useful when you needed to shop for nappies and things for Jeremy.

Jeremy has developed a fear of sand. Wed discovered this in Nusa Dua when went to a great beach. He refused to walk on it and would not allow anyone holding him to put him down or go near the sea. And considering we planned to visit beaches and go swimming we had to change all our plans, so we went to Bali bird Park instead.

We had hired a car and driver for the day, the same one we used last year and will probably continue to use and for 500k for 12 hours, it was very useful.  The bird park was a way from the Hotel, probably no more than an hour but it felt longer. I never went in the park because I refused to pay 400k for me when everyone else who was Indonesian paid 120k. I don't mind dual pricing but that was extreme. So I waited while everyone went around and chatted to the driver.

Once back in Kuta and eaten, I took Jeremy for a long walk to the Discovery Mall from Kuta Beach Walk while everyone else went shopping. It was fun for Jeremy because along the way we saw dogs, some monkeys, horses, turtles and birds and he enjoyed that.

On Saturday there was an announcement that the Airport was closed due to Mount Ruang erupting and so it was not safe to fly. This stopped all flights in and out of the island and has had a huge impact on tourist numbers as  well as the amount of Australians unable to travel home due to no flights.   Yovita and her sister went to the airport to find out what was happening on the Sunday as was told to check in as normal and go from there and if the flights were cancelled we could rebook.

Sunday arrived and so we checked out of the room and went to the new and improved Bali International Airport, dropped the luggage and went to departures to wait. 40 minutes later the airport was closed due to more eruptions. We were given the choice of waiting until 4pm at the airport and then maybe we could fly or rebook for the next day and go to a hotel. We chose to rebook.  A few hours later we checked into a small room at Holiday Inn again, unpacked, went to the pool and forgot about Jakarta for another day. We had flights for Monday and so there was no worries.

Saturday and most of Sunday was spent in the hotel either swimming and playing with Jeremy or watching TV and doing very little. Thats a new thing for me because I do like to wander but a 2 year old gets bored easily and he is heavy to carry and pushing him around in a stroller is fun but not for long.

Monday came and so we went back to the airport and it seemed like business as usual, and it was. Our flight was on time, not full and by mid afternoon we were back home enjoying the hot Jakarta air.

All in all another fun time and a new experience. A great hotel and times with Jeremy and the family. Now to find somewhere for Christmas.

Car Free Sunday

For the last few weeks I have been waking up early on a Sunday to walk about the car free streets of Jakarta. Why? Mainly because it gets me out of the house, also it lets Jeremy have a good walk and see something different and also Yovita can go running, so everyone is happy.

Car free day is the same as it as been in the city for a few years now. Most of Jl.Sudirman or Sudirman street is closed to all traffic except the Transjakarta buses and is open to people only between 6 and 11 every Sunday morning, unless the government deems otherwise. In the busier parts of the long road there are lots of things to see and lots of things going on, elsewhere its just an empty street.
Sudirman is the main road from the south to the center of the city (assuming the Monas is the center) and through the week choked full of cars and buses and motorbikes which now that the MRT is being built under it as well, it has lost a lot of road space to the construction sites making it even more hard work to travel down.

We normally start at the big roundabout outside Grand Indonesia mall and Yovita runs off and I walk about with Jeremy ignoring the stares and weirdos and the nonsense around me and then we end up in McDonalds for Coffee and breakfast before walking all the way down the road to Semanggi, which is about 3km.

Last week we went to the Monas first so that Jeremy could run about on the grass and look at the kites and then from there, breakfast at McDonalds, 2 km away. Jeremy walks or runs a lot of the way as he is very excited to be able to do this. The buses and police vehicles and construction machinery keeps him busy and he seems happy enough.

Jeremy exploring

Because its fasting season, the car free day was not very busy at all with very few people wandering and of course no one selling food or drinks as all the muslims are fasting so the walk was even more peaceful. I hope its like that again this week.

The other good thing about the early start is that by 9 - 9.30am we have finished and are off for the grocery shop before the supermarkets fill up  which is very good. The sun is also not at its hottest and while its not exactly cold, walking in slightly cooler weather is so much nicer.

Having a human alarm clock (Jeremy) that wakes me up and then gets me up by 6am every morning, making some good of my time on a Sunday is quite pro active and energetic for me and may be in a few more weeks I will say I actually like it. 

New Photo Blog

I have set up a new photo blog which will be updated everytime I either post to Instagram or through my phone.

This way you can see more of my photos as I take them in around Jakarta. They may have some details, they may not. It will depend.

You probably wont be able to save them as the right click button is disabled for now.

So here is the link

http://myphotosjakarta.blogspot.com/  which is very imaginative and it is currently called 'my photo blog' which if you search for on Google will eventually show up.

There so please feel free to take a look. Photos will be added very often.

Thanks

Bricked Nexus 5

The best phone I have had since the good old Nokia days finally gave up the ghost on Thursday last week and decided to no longer work or load.

My Nexus 5 which I have had for November and complained about at 2 times since decided recently to keep crashing and stopping. Extensive research through the internet led me to believe that the problem behind this was the Update to Android Lollipop 5.1.1 which was behind it and so I let it go.
Then to my horror and displeasure on Thursday it crashed, went to reboot and never started up again.

So more frantic searching led me to this:

Nexus Help Forum

This was very helpful and gave lots of helps and simple instruction but then after following them I had this:

http://forums.androidcentral.com/

Which would sugges the phone was 'bricked' and therefore rendered useless leading me back to my Tab and my emergency lenovo cheap and cheerful phone until I could fix it.

I tweeted my news and had help from Nexus support but sadly they were really unable to help but it felt reassuiring.

So, on Monday having the day already booked off I took my phone to the LG service centre in Jakarta which happily is not far from my house in the hope it would be sent away and repaired.

To my surprise, the service center staff spoke English. Took my phone and started to fix it in front of me and then told me that it needed a new ROM as the current one had failed and that they had one in stock. It would take them 10 minutes to replace and so I waited and eventually I was called back to the counter where I was given my Nexus 5 back in complete working order and all parts and labour were covered under its warranty. I was and am still more than pleased. It was a good job from LG and probably means that the 5.1.1 upgrade was not too blame. 

3 hours later, all the apps and settings were back on and the phone now is as good as new and whilst I have not upgraded to 5.1.1 yet I will do in the near future so I can upgrade to Android M whenever that is due.

Hooray.

Some links

LG service centre

http://lguntukanda.com/service-center/

Forum help and advice

http://androidforums.com/threads/nexus-5-stuck-in-the-start-up-screen.887612/

http://android.stackexchange.com/questions/96426/phone-on-bootloop-with-a-problem-in-the-cache

Singapore Airport

The reason I have not titled this Changi Airport, Singapore is too keep it simple. Thats all. Obviously as well, not every one is familiar with the name Changi so best not use it.

So, the Airport. Having recently been to it and stayed inside it for a good few hours, here are some more observations and maybe some hints and tips to it. However, I only ever visit Terminal 3 because thats where Lion Air are based so what T1 or T2 is like, I have no idea.

But, should you find yourself with plenty of time at the Airport and can't be bothered to go into the city then you can use the monorail and go to those terminals and find out for yourself.

Lion Air arrive at T3 and I  arrived at the furthest gate from Immigration, gate 19 and had the choice of the monorail to the main building or the travelator thing which is always fun to get on but more of a challenge to get off. I walked, I had plenty of time.

The nice thing about Singapore and the airport is the fact that it is a western oasis in the middle of Asia and so everything is organised and tidy and clean and people are helpful or more helpful and they wont try and rip you off because they can.

The details.

If you want a beer after your flight then there is a small convenience store opposite the taxi stand which sells beers and food.
If you want to eat something other than fancy cafe food or Ducks or Chinese food, then there is always the golden arches near to the taxi stand where they do double quarter pounders with cheese and hot fresh fries.
Subway is in departures and so is BK.
I dont do Chinese restaurants or sushi so I don't know.
The taxi queue around 1pm seemed to be going on forever and people were queueing well over 30 minutes for a taxi.
The internet is free. So all you need to do is ask at the information desk for the code and show your passport and then its free for 6 hours.
Lion Air is at stand 1, there are 11 stands as far as I remember.
The Crown Plaza hotel is at the other end.
There is a load of restaurants on the 2nd and 3rd floors of the airport and some expensive general shops. However the area was being renovated so some parts could not be reached.
A bouncy castle and things for the kids can be found near the entrance of the Hotel.

Thats pretty much it for arrivals.

In departures, there is a huge array of duty free shops behind immigration and Smirnoff starts at $17 (singapore dollars) a litre and then the skys the limit. The alcohol is cheap enough and there is plenty of it.
As there is for perfume and make up, sunglasses and handbags. There are some electronic stores with Apple, Sony, Samsung etc selling their wares and a couple of book stores.
A small toy store lies amongst it all and sells a range of toys, lego and books.
The Cocoa Tree chocolate stores are being refurbished so there is only one open at the moment and the starbucks has gone. But there is a Costa coffee, Dunkin Doughnuts and many other places to drink at.
Highlight was the new Carlsberg sports bar selling draught lager but at a price. $19 dollars for a pint or $16 dollars for a 500ml can. But its beer and it was cold and it was worth it.

The restaurants are around the main part of the duty free area and some more upstairs and there is a good choice or range of things to eat.

The gates are a long way though from duty free so make sure you have enough time to walk it.

And thats Singapore Airport T3 in a nutshell. Nothing great but now you know. However, why I spent 5 hours in there will remain for now a mystery. But the fact I did not want to go into the heat and the city are both true.

I never found the butterflies, the cinema, the showers or overnight seating areas but they are there tucked away somewhere and I probably never will.

Links

http://www.changiairport.com/at-changi/our-terminals/terminal-3


I borrowed photos from here

http://www.cpgcorp.com.sg/CPGC/Project/Project_Details?ProjectID=1122

and here

http://www.tourism-review.com/travel-tourism-magazine-changi-airport-terminal-3-article1193

and here

http://www.streetdirectory.com/stock_images/travel/normal_show/12774608890200/146669/changi_airport_terminal_2_skytrain_to_terminal_3/


If I compare this to Jakarta Airport then I prefer Singapore Airport. The airport in Jakarta has modernised and is a bit more focused on tourists leaving etc and there is even a WHSmith inside the dearture area at Terminal 2 as well as a Starbucks and am Old town Coffee shop but thats about it really. The checkin desks are always messy and never well signed but immigration is clear and simple enough to follow.

Coming back in Visa on Arrival is really badly laid out but that might be done on purpose and its narrow and old. The exit to outside after customs is confusing with all its glass walls.

But the worse thing for me now is the fact that if you want to buy something to drink once you leave the acutal terminal building then you will be charged pretty much double than you would pay for the same drinks in a local Alfamart or Indomaret.

And thats well, Indonesia.