Long transit in Makassar

Killing a day in Bali

I woke around 0600 in Bali and headed out for a morning walk soon after 0700 around Kuta. Balinese tend to wake early but that doesn’t hold true in partytown Kuta. It was dead. There were some people on the beach and a couple of people surfing. The Balinese surf lifesavers were at their station.

The shops were closed and I had hoped to by a local SIM card (they’re cheap) since I’ll be in the country for 26 nights in all. Having not succeeded with that I went back for a rest till check-out at 1100. The SIM sold for IDR50K which I thought was rather expensive. I recall them being only IDR5-10K in the past. As it turned out later in the trip, they start from IDR10K but can go up to about IDR50K if it has a nice number; I don’t think mine qualifies as having a nice number so I put it down to a Bali tourist premium price.

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After checking out, I went round the corner for a massage. The girl wasn’t very strong but fortunately I had asked for Thai-style which meant she walked on me a fair bit. She kept calling me with the honorific “Kakak” (sister in Malay) which I found quite strange but I later realised that it is also applies to men in parts of the country.

I had time to kill afterwards so it was another walk followed by a light lunch. I returned to the hotel about 1300 and my transport (pre-arranged for 1400) took me to the airport far too early.

Wait at the hotel lobby, or at the crowded temporary airport terminal … choose your poison really.

The Garuda flight from Bali to Makassar / Ujung Pandang took 1h07 flying time. We left and arrived slightly late but Garuda is impressive both on the ground and in the air. I was pretty bowled over by how good they were some 15 years ago and they’re even better now.

Waiting at Makassar Airport

There was a 7 hour wait in Makassar from 1830 till after 0100 for my connecting flight to Biak. Fortunately Garuda was able to through-check me and my luggage all they way from Bali to Makassar and then Biak.  Otherwise, I would have been waiting landside for a long time.

Things happen in funny ways.  I had originally booked a cheap flight from Bali to Makassar on AirAsia, which would have seen me stuck outside the airport waiting. But that flight was cancelled with advance notice due to route withdrawal, requiring me to rebook on Garuda.  It cost more but I’m happy.

I opted to pay for the lounge which had some not-so-good food but there were lots of free non-alcoholic drinks. I could have spent more than the IDR65000 buying meals (which would probably be of better quality), snacks and drinks at inflated airport prices.