A very hot day. I was picked up by the shuttle bus at 12:20pm and soon enough I was at Sydney International Airport. I checked in, proceeded through customs and after an hour delay due to strong winds I was on my way to Bali, Indonesia.
This was to be a 5 week trip in Indonesia with most of the time spent in Morotai. Morotai is an island in the far north of Indonesia in the Maluku Island group. Sometimes trips do not go according to plan. Not that things went wrong just that they don't go to plan.
I arrived at Bali, was picked up by Nyoman (200 000R) and driven to my hotel in Legian, the Grand Kumala. It was late when I checked in so a had a quick bite to eat and went to sleep.
1 February 2019
I woke and had a long morning walk along the beach towards Kuta and back. There was a lot of plastic and other crap on the beach but on the way back there were a number of people cleaning the beach and placing the rubbish in large plastic bags. I was later to learn that the rubbish is taken to a rubbish tip in Bali and there it sits. There is recycling of some materials. Rubbish not taken to the tips is dumped illegally behind villages and in the rivers.
Back at the hotel, I had a great breakfast and set off for my beginning of trip jobs. I cashed my Australian dollars, bought a Telekomsel sim card and a small amount of data which I needed to top up in Morotai and food supplies in the Bintang Supermarket. At the market, I caught up with Kirki, who was from Sangihe. She was very surprised and happy that I visited Sangihe last year.
I had a massage but the oil was too thick. It took me three showers to get it off.
I had a tasty lunch at a Greek restaurant in Jalan Double Six.
During the course of the day, I met Katherina from Greece who was 70 years old and Richard and Tina from New York City who were now living in Miami.
I finished the day with beers on the beach and watched the sun set.
2 February 2019
I was going to have a morning shower but there was no water. There was also no internet. I let them know at reception and went for a very long beach walk and sit. When I got back an 1 1/2 hour later, I walked into a flooded bathroom with hot water gushing out the tap … I had left the tap on … Opps!
I had breakfast, sat around the pool and had a good massage at Sicilian Spa.
It was time to leave for my domestic flight to Manado.
There were no dramas. My flight stopped a short while in Makassar. At Manado, I got a taxi to the Novotel, which was close to the airport. The hotel and the room were nice. I was upgraded to a better room.
3 February 2019
I had a restless sleep and a good breakfast, then caught a taxi to the airport for my flight to Morotai.
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