(31st March 2025)

We had packed days ago for the trip to attend Jamie and Ruth’s wedding in Bali, but the morning was spent double-checking that we had everything we needed. It was then that I made an annoying mistake, one that would only come to light later. After a final watering of the pot plants and the addition of last-minute electrical items, phone chargers, adapters, and the like, we were good to go.

Our journey to Terminal 5 at Heathrow began after a leisurely lunch. The nearly two-hour drive passed without issue, and although we had planned to kill some time at the Anchor Inn in Stanwell Moor, we instead parked at The Perseverance, a 17th-century pub in a charming village just ten minutes from the airport. It was a gloriously warm and sunny day, so we took a walk around Wraysbury, its village green resplendent with a cricket ground, a windmill, and numerous small lakes and ponds. Exercise complete, we settled in the beer garden, enjoying some thirst-quenching refreshments until just after 5:30 pm, when we set off for the airport.

We checked in our baggage and were issued with boarding cards, despite my having already checked in online and printed them as instructed by the airline. With our flight not departing until 9:20 pm, we passed the time with a meal deal and some internet browsing in the departures. The flight left on time.

The seven-hour journey to Doha with British Airways passed in a blur of sleep and regular airline meals for me, while Sue managed to fit in two films and a short nap. Upon arrival, we had a 90-minute transit before boarding our Qatar Airways flight to Denpasar, made memorable by the sweaty, mile-long march from our arrival gate to our departure gate.

We landed slightly early, at around 10 pm, and were immediately greeted by the chaos of I Gusti Ngurah Rai International Airport. It was then that I realised I had failed to complete the online Medical Declaration form 24 hours before arrival. My excuse? I’m getting old. The details of our cancelled trip had been filed away with my ATOL claim, along with the timeline of things to do, and the new pack I had put together for this trip lacked that crucial checklist. Visiting Bali is, after all, far more complicated than most of the trips we’ve taken recently.

Hoping I could complete the form at the airport, I was relieved to find a desk with a couple of computers available for exactly that purpose. It took only a few minutes to fill out, though a queue of similarly forgetful tourists was steadily forming behind me. Armed with a pair of photographed QR codes from the computer screen, we joined one of a dozen long, unmoving lines of passengers waiting to pass through what we assumed was passport control.

After twenty minutes of standing still, paperwork in hand, a staff member glanced at my documents and informed us that we could go straight through. The people around us were queuing because they hadn’t pre-paid for their visa and tourist tax. We quickly moved on, scanned our passports at a machine, and collected our baggage from the carousel without issue.

Thinking we were finally done, I messaged our taxi driver to let him know we were on our way, only to discover another hurdle at customs. Here, we had to photograph a QR code, fill in an online form declaring any goods we were carrying, and present the resulting barcode to a staff member. Naturally, dozens of other travellers were trying to do the same, clogging up the area with slow internet connections and confused expressions.

Was this some elaborate April Fool’s joke, or is this an everyday reality? Surely someone has noticed the absurdity of forcing hundreds of weary travellers to complete an online form on their phones, all at the same time, with limited internet access?

Once we had finally completed our form, we barged through to have our QR code scanned and hurried outside to meet our driver. The journey to the Aryaswara Villa Hotel in Ubud took just over an hour, and with tired relief, we checked in, were shown to our room, and collapsed into bed.

In the end, despite all the paperwork we had been required to submit online in advance, the only things actually checked were our passports and our customs barcode. Meanwhile, our transfer company had notified me that, due to airport delays, our driver would wait 90 minutes instead of the usual 45. It seems the technology in place simply cannot cope with the sheer number of people required to use it. Some clear signage and a separate fast-track route to the passport scanners would have made a world of difference.

(2nd April 2025)

We woke to the delightful sound of unfamiliar birds twittering in the beautifully landscaped gardens surrounding our villa. Sleepily, we had opted for an 8 am breakfast delivery, so it was up and into the shower by 7:15. The morning was exceptionally humid, making a cool shower all the more refreshing. Having selected our breakfast choices the night before, we were astonished when it arrived and was laid out on the balcony table—it was a feast! Surely we hadn’t ordered quite so much? Nevertheless, every bite was enjoyed, and it was absolutely delicious.

Today was planned as a chill-out day, a chance to acclimatise and recover from 18 hours of sitting down. After breakfast, we explored the gardens, taking in the infinity pool, waterfall, and ponds. Sue had saved the crusts from her toast and fed them to some rather large fish in one of the ponds. We came across a small temple tucked away to one side of the main garden and were struck by the sense of peace within its confines. Even at this early hour, fresh offerings and incense were evident. Our Balinese accommodation is truly beautiful, set in a tranquil location, an ideal place to unwind.

Suitably warmed by the tropical climate, we retreated to our villa, cooling down with the air conditioning set to 18°C and the ceiling fan on full blast for an hour before venturing outside the hotel. Navigating the busy little lane shared by several other tourist villas, we turned left onto the main road, intensely aware of the relentless stream of nose-to-tail traffic, cars and mopeds weaving past while we pedestrians were confined to a narrow half-metre strip that resembled an assault course. Carefully picking our way to a crossroads about 300 metres ahead, we spotted a temple complex to the right. Braving the traffic, we crossed over and soon found ourselves peering through the bars of the temple gate. I took a few photos, but the heat quickly caught up with us again, so we retraced our steps and returned to the cool sanctuary of our villa.

While Sue took a shower, I messaged Ruth to check the procedure for navigating Denpasar Airport. Then, I ordered an ice bucket of local beer, which Sue and I savoured as we lounged on a large sofa on the balcony, enjoying the tranquillity of the afternoon.

After a brief shower, the air cooled sufficiently for us to venture out on an exploratory walk, this time heading in the opposite direction to our morning route. Despite passing a few local restaurants and small paddy fields, there was little of interest. The road traffic was just as heavy as before, with no pavements of any kind for pedestrians.

We returned to the hotel but continued past the entrance along a narrow country lane that wound its way past several more tourist villas and through fruit, vegetable, and paddy fields. It was a peaceful stroll through the Balinese countryside, thoroughly enjoyable and a stark contrast to the noise and pollution of the main roads that carve their way across the island.

Back at the hotel, we dressed for dinner, which we enjoyed in a gazebo set in a quiet, romantically picturesque part of the garden. Retiring to our villa, we caught up with world news courtesy of BBC News 24.