Hi Bail Ha'i, heading to the Hyatt for a "rinse and repeat" holiday.

[Flyfrequently]

I booked this trip 8 months ago and when my alarm pinged this morning for T-80, it is now starting to feel real.
I know mostly because Mr Flyfrequently is furiously vacuuming and mopping as our daughter will stay in our absence - should head away more often!

After our 3 weeks in Portugal last year where I had the misfortune to fracture my 5th metatarsal on day 1, we decided on taking holidays rather than a "trip" this year.
On Saturday we head to Bali and September is Koh Samui.
Roll on relaxation!

 

[Flyfrequently]

This holiday has begun!

Rather than stay closer to the airport as we usually do, being a Saturday we opted for an early start from home.
Greeted with a brilliant sunrise, we enjoyed a hassle free run to our off-site airport parking.

By then, in overcast skies, we were promptly transported in their van to the terminal with the advantage of avoiding the queues banked up for drop offs and pickups (long weekend in Melbourne)

Quick domestic to international check in process, oversize bag drop off and security had us in the J lounge in 15 minutes.

Noticed quite a few cancellations on the departure board due to adverse weather, but fortunately our flight was not one of them.

Good flight to Sydney with an excellent CSM Carey and her crew.

And now we wait for the transfer bus, fortunately we have nearly 3 hours....... it took an hour + to get us from domestic to international.

 

[Flyfrequently]

The transfer bus from gate 15 domestic to international was crowded, 10+ people standing, no courtesy given to older folk, but I guess you get used to that.

Took about 40 minutes to get through Passport and security.
Express/priority scanner seemed to be slower than the others and of course Mr Flyfrequently was singled out for special treatment.
I found the concourse very warm and stuffy as we walked through the maze of Duty Free and into the Q Lounge.
Very crowded at 2.30pm but emptied quickly and found a spot to charge our phones and recharge ourselves.
I try to rehydrate at every opportunity so it was chilled water, a reasonable sweetcorn and basil soup before a pinot gris.

Time to board QF43. Such a shambles at the gate with no one paying any attention to the Priority pax/J queue.
Good on Q ground crew Jo who finally bellowed "Business Class Passengers Only".
Gotta laugh as some pax said to her "well we have been in the Business Class Lounge " - clearly they had and to the back of the queue they went!

 

[Flyfrequently]

Pushed back a few minutes late as one pax was a no show and had to wait for bags to be offloaded - how can they do that so quickly? Kept informed by the Captain and only had a very brief delay.

Well served by a fantastic, cheerful crew on QF43, especially as J was full of family/friends heading to a wedding.

PDB served promptly before take off.
Dinner orders taken shortly after seatbelt sign went off with dear Meg sorting out the very thirsty pax behind us.

Good flight, brief turbulence with good communication, and did love it upon descent CSM barked "Sit Down, the seatbelt sign is on" almost wanted to applaud

Off the plane quickly, had a chuckle when queried at VOA desk, are you over 60?
Ah yes, nearly 70 we replied, she looked quite embarrassed - but in a good way.

Next stop, passports in the "over 60's, families with young children and disabled" line.
Through in about 5 minutes and over to baggage carousel, passing queues of pax waiting for VOA and border control (that was us 2 years ago as we were with Flyfrequently offspring )
Bag off quickly then a 20 minute wait for oversized baggage
QR code with customs was quick, even the interaction with the young officer checking my declared medications was brief.
"What are they for?"
"Kidney"
"Oh ok" and on our way.

Next :We seemed to be the only pax who paid the new tourist tax equivalent of AUD15 each.

Met our driver and off to the wait zone in the car park.
It was hot, humid, noisy and chaotic. Took Dewa 20 minutes to bring his car down from 3rd to 1st floor. He was very apologetic, said it was the worst Saturday night in a long time.
He was telling us about December 29th when pax had to get out of their transport to walk to the airport, bypass road was chock a block and he was stuck there for 4 hours.
Gridlock is becoming a big traffic issue.

Quick trip to Holiday Inn, check-in efficient and given 1pm check-out without even asking.
Room was delightfully cool, chilled water and a chocolate mousse mini cake for my birthday in the fridge.


Not bad for $100 including breakfast.

With the sound of rain lulling us to sleep after a very long day.
Had we not had the delay with the guitar and carpark it would have been 20 minutes from plane to hotel.

 

[Flyfrequently]

It rained all night but both slept well, it had been a long day!
As it was still raining after breakfast, took a taxi ($3) to Lippo Mall just for something to do before moving over to Nusa Dua.
Happy with AUD1 =10,325 IDR at the Money Changer attached to the supermarket and that was the extent of our shopping - though whilst I was wandering, Mr Flyfrequently kept himself amused in the guitar shop, of course!

Our driver got a better offer to Ubud, so he sent his Dad, a delightful bloke, more our vintage and engaged in lively conversation as he recalled the progress (or not) of Bali over the years.

Short 20 minute trip and safely ensconced at the Grand Hyatt.
Having stayed at 2 other hotels in Nusa Dua, this place is pretty big.
We are certainly getting our steps up!

 

[Flyfrequently]

Our room wasn't quite ready but the check in process was smooth and our Concierge kept us updated whilst we relaxed for 30 minutes in the Club Lounge.
Very happy with our allocated room. Close proximity to both the Grand Club Pool and Lounge overlooking the beautiful gardens.

5pm and tme for evening canapes and drinks. All staff very friendly and hasn't taken them long to remember my coughtail of choice.


Unlike few lounges of late, it is not a zoo and do appreciate their quiet zones.
No need for dinner as canape selection was enough for us and enjoy anything Pandan or chocolate for dessert.


An early night as "one of us" wanted to listen to AFL - not saying who!

I can see us slotting into a pretty comfortable routine here, rinse and repeat.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Over a week has passed with complete relaxation and I have finally finished a book I started in 2021!
Our mornings start with a 3-5 km beach walk but it was only this morning we were up for sunrise.

This one below looks more like a sunset but was at 6.30am.


We had Club Lounge for the first 6 days and had no reason to leave the hotel.
5 pools, many restaurants and four "villages".


At day 9, we are now embracing dinner, massages and shopping outside in Bualu Village and at Maingate - a nice balance.

We first came to Nusa Dua in 1986 when the Flyfrequently offspring were only in prep and kindergarten. It was a new resort area with only 3 hotels. So many changes and much progress since then.


When I wake up in this beautiful tropical paradise tomorrow, I will be entering my 70th year, not a bad place to be in life on many levels, I feel very blessed.

 

[VPS]

Happy Birthday then - enjoy

 

[Flyfrequently]

The purpose of this trip has come and gone in celebrating my insignificant birthday yesterday.
I consider myself lucky to have had birthdays in the UK, France, Italy, Spain, Bali and Hawaii but I've also had some sub-par celebrations in between times (my dear Mum died on my 50th, I was unexpectedly surgically relieved of a body part on my 55th, 65 was a socially distanced limited guest lunch)
So I thought let's not wait till 70.

Even though the Flyfrequently offspring couldn't join us, I enjoyed a typical "rinse and repeat " day here - up at sunrise, surprised with flowers

more cakes than I could possibly consume


and a few coughtails that I did!


Mr Flyfrequently thought it a hoot to do one of those cheesy photos shoots and have to admit, we did have fun!


One more day and we will be back into winter with the countdown then on to someone's significant birthday in Thailand.

 

[Blinky]

We’re off to Bali in August, with a number of kids all coming under their own steam. It’s one daughter’s 40th, but leaving Melbourne n winter? We don’t need much of an excuse.

the last two times we stayed at Nusa Dua, and nothing wrong with that. However we do enjoy the shambles and vibrancy of Seminyak more.

Thanks for this trip resort.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Am sure you will enjoy it @Blinky !
Traffic being (more) crazy is probably the biggest difference we have noticed.

 

[Blinky]

Am sure you will enjoy it @Blinky !
Traffic being (more) crazy is probably the biggest difference we have noticed.

Sure, but I still feel safe in Bali. Safer than a lot of places in Australia….

 

[RooFlyer]

Lovely report, thanks.

The Hyatt looks enormous! Do all the 'villages' head into the main building for lounge, restaurants etc, or does each 'village' have its own?

 

[Flyfrequently]

We did the Flyfrequently offspring's 40th's in 2022. A 40th and a belated 40th (thanks Dan)

The girls having been born 2 years 2 days apart had shared many a celebration
.
As we wanted them to have special separate "parties" for once, we paid, as you do, and let them choose.

Surprisingly Surfer Flyfrequently went with rooftop Japanese bbq and private Karaoke room in Kuta (a real hoot!) and then 2 days later a very civilised dinner in Seminyak for the Mum of 2 and all the brood.

Whatever you do, you will be safe and happy creating great memories @Blinky

Good news is IDR 10,525 to AUD here.

 

[Blinky]

We did the Flyfrequently offspring's 40th's in 2022. A 40th and a belated 40th (thanks Dan)

The girls having been born 2 years 2 days apart had shared many a celebration
.
As we wanted them to have special separate "parties" for once, we paid, as you do, and let them choose.

Surprisingly Surfer Flyfrequently went with rooftop Japanese bbq and private Karaoke room in Kuta (a real hoot!) and then 2 days later a very civilised dinner in Seminyak for the Mum of 2 and all the brood.

Whatever you do, you will be safe and happy creating great memories @Blinky

Good news is IDR 10,525 to AUD here.

Thanks. We have seven children, all doing very well and still very close. Five are coming to Bali, the others have work demands that prevent it. There is no doubt that I will be putting a lot of rupiah on a lot of tabs, but none of them expect to be shouted, thankfully.

Live is pretty good.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Lovely report, thanks.

The Hyatt looks enormous! Do all the 'villages' head into the main building for lounge, restaurants etc, or does each 'village' have its own?

Hard to make a "rinse and repeat" TR exciting @RooFlyer !

Yes, Grand Hyatt does covers alot of ground, we have done 3kms daily at least just doing sunrise/breakfast/beach/pool etc!
Fortunately my sister (Party Aunty) and our daughter had stayed recently and gave us some insight.
The map didn't really make sense for us initially but by day 3 had ourselves sorted.

We were in East Village, this is only for guests with Grand Club access ( exclusive lounge, pool #14 on the map and 5-7pm canapes and drinks etc)

You can eat in any restaurant regardless of your Village. We only visited the main pool today, lots of families and kids. According to our Guest Experience Concierge, many are on a Luxury Escapes deal, very good value these days for young families.

Occupancy is 100% and we are unable to get late check-out tomorrow, but have been given complimentary Grand Club Lounge access. Great customer service.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Had a another lazy day, caught up with some friends at Melia and had a foot massage. Light dinner in the Grand Club Lounge and time to go.

On to our departure from Nusa Dua @Captain Halliday

After reading the fun @Pushka had at Immigration, we chose to leave our hotel at 6.25 pm for a 10.10 pm departure. We have been happy with our driver 200,000 IDR if anyone is interested.
He took the toll road and we arrived at Ngurah Rai within 25 minutes.

Pleasantly surprised to go through initial security without issue.
Over to the Qantas check - in where clearly the visually challenged could not read the Business Class only sign. They looked a bit miffed when moved over to the economy conga line.

Although we had done online check in, I wanted to try my luck in getting us seated together. To the Agent's credit, she did try and she contacted her Supervisor but no luck - as "everyone else is a couple and wants to sit together"
Clearly we are special and can function without each other for 6 hours!

Along with checking in Mr Flyfrequently's guitar, the whole process took only 15 minutes.
Scanned our BP's, again Mr Flyfrequently's wouldn't open the gates, needed manual intervention. This was quick though.

Off to next security checkpoint, do not have to remove anything but laptops.

My bag got the secondary screening, all good to go, about 5 minutes tops.

Immigration was up and running, each section had about 30+ people queued up but through in less than 10 minutes - note, no families, disabled or over 60's line.

A wander through the Duty Free maze behind a group of 8 dawdling pax, had us in the Tujuwan Lounge on level 4.

All up less than an hour from Hotel to Lounge.

Now, for the Lounge @Captain Halliday.

It was stuffy with 70's orange vinyl seating and crowded with noisy folk face-timing. Luckily we weren't hungry as the food didn't look all that appetising, so cannot comment on the quality.
Usual suspects, soups, sangas, snags and chicken stuff.

If you are interested, plenty of coughtails


Or if you prefer to carb load, rice, spag or sandwiches.


The snags.....

Went for a wander looking for cooler and quieter and a nice young staff member asked if he could assist.
He took me downstairs to their new brighter area, soft grey tones, same food but delightfully cool and quiet - certainly worth moving downstairs, it is also on same level as the gates.



Another hour before we board.

 

[Captain Halliday]

Thanks @Flyfrequently

You have confirmed what I suspected - eat before heading to the airport.

But going downstairs is a good tip - thanks.

Feel free to PM driver details. We don’t yet have a transport plan.

 

[Flyfrequently]

Thanks @Flyfrequently

You have confirmed what I suspected - eat before heading to the airport.

But going downstairs is a good tip - thanks.

Feel free to PM driver details. We don’t yet have a transport plan.

Just had a sandwich - it was ok, at least fresh white bread!

 

[nthd_nthd]

Wow. Great trip report. Love reading and imagin as if we were there. Thanks.