Finally!

This afternoon I awakened and I was immediately in a bad mood since my new watch I bought at Hong Kong airport was obviously broken. I went to bed at 11PM and no way that it was now 3PM. It had to be 'kaput'. Well, apparently it wasn't. I had slept for a solid 16 hours and without even waking up once. I am sure I needed it.

The trip from Goa to Bali was extremely tiring with a lot of inconvenient flying times and long waits. Add to that the completely insane security measures and attitude of the India army in enforcing them and it was one of the most exhausting experiences ever. To paint a quick picture:

1. Arrive in Mumbai Domestic and have an argument with every airline representative and the army because they won't let me transfer to Mumbai International since my flight was not until tomorrow. Technically correct. It left at 04:05AM.

2. After winning those arguments I almost exchanged blows with the army guard at the international airport main entrance who would not let me in for the same reason. I confused him with a lot of information and finally got through.

3. Next I needed to convince the Cathay Pacific boarding staff that the Indian Army would not execute them if they would give me a boarding pass. They initially refused since customs would not let me pass.

4. Got the boarding pass, headed to customs and finally got no argument at all. Another 45 minute wait in line for the baggage checks and Bob was my uncle.

All in all 2,5 hours of frustration to start my remaining 6 hour wait for the flight to Hong Kong that turned out to be delayed for 2 more hours. India was giving me a good old Indian goodbye indeed.



After a short flight of 4 hours (so no time to sleep) I quickly arrived at my hotel in Hong Kong where I was informed that the Hong Kong Marathon was scheduled for the next day so I needed to get going to the airport 4 hours before my departure time since the roads around the hotel would be closed. That meant getting up at 5:30 AM. Already exhausted I tried to find some nice watch deals but I failed. I got McDonalds (yes, I know) and fell asleep around 9PM.

After waking up at 5 to get to the airport in plenty of time where I managed to buy two nice watches. Oone fancy, one sporty.

The fancy one


After a couple of hours in the lounge with a nice breakfast...


...I got on the plane to Bali. It was an excellent flight with an excellent crew. They even let me come play on the flight deck.



I watched Inglorious Basterds (recommended) and was happy to see my beloved island come closer and closer.



After a good meal came the long sleep and a day of getting my act together. India had managed to make me slightly ill (like always) and I have started the by now usual remedy of cleansing my system with antibiotics. Already feel much better. The hotel room is quite nice and it feels like home!