On a rainy Monday, the 22nd of December, in the year 1986 of our Lord, Benjamin Ross Capon was born in the capital of the United States, Washington D.C. 33 years later, to the day, he would wake up in a Holiday Inn in the capital of another country, Singapore. Upon rising to a chilly, cloudy morning, he, along with his fiancé Nadine, ate their favorite Holiday Inn hybrid Asian breakfast of eggs, bacon, and noodles. After filling his stomach with goodies, he packed up his belongings and ordered a “Grab” taxi. In our family we have a rule that we don’t ride public transportation on our birthdays. On the 25 minute ride to the airport, we acquainted ourselves with a retired Singaporean cabbie who 1. Doesn’t drive for the sake of a paycheck, but out of boredom 2. Hates doing business with China even though he speaks perfect Chinese. With extra time to spare, we had him deliver its to the Jewel terminal again to take a closer inspection, but this time Ben was one year wiser and this more observant. It was same same, but still beautiful.
Most airlines in Asia have a 7kg carry on per person baggage policy. If a passenger has more than 7kg, he/she is forced to pay to check the bag in, which usually comes at a higher price if purchased at the airport as opposed to ordering it beforehand. Some airports regulate the policy more than others. As we predicted, the Singaporeans strictly enforce it. Most airports weigh and measure the size of the bags at the check-in counter, but in Singapore, after we checked in, there were two guards whose sole jobs were to measure and weight the bags on two high end scales methodically placed before security. We watched one of the guards somewhat rudely turn away a foreigner and made him go back in line to pay. We know the drill, so we scurried off to our respective restrooms to stuff our pockets with our heavy items.
Since we have actually been caught, Ben had become lackadaisical with his weight reallocation, but since we had witnessed first hand such harsh treatment of the other tourist, he decided to carry out this task to the max. Funny enough, when we approached the two guards, a new guy who had not been there moments before appeared. Nadine approached the man and said hello and that we knew him! Ben was confused, but Nadine insisted that she recognized him and that he was the specific employee from VietJet who had guided us out of the airport when we had arrived the week earlier. Sure enough, it was! He remembered us also! How Nadine remembered this man is incredible. It was an amazing spotting, second only to Gilad Shalit. Without even putting our bags on the scale, he issues us our tags and allowed us to pass. Danger averted!
Inside of the airport taxi rides are offered at 250 Rupiah ($20), but we are experienced travelers and unlocked the secret to hiring taxis: walk away from the airport and try to use a local application. In Indonesia they use GoJek,
their version of Uber. The price was only 100 and change, merely 40% of what is offered by the locals hovering around the airport exits, preying on naive tourists. While waiting an ungodly time for our ride to show up, we began asking other foreigners if they were, by chance, also heading to Sanur. Might as well try to share a ride and lower the cost. Our fishing expedition proved fruitful, as we snagged a French-Canadian from Montreal who was on break from his study abroad in Thailand. Once the car arrived and we were well on our way to Sanur, only then did the Canadien find it necessary to tell us that he didn’t have any cash because the airport ATM didn’t work. Umm, ok. It wasn’t a big deal, considering the taxi fare was low and his hotel was on the way, but wouldn’t this information be the first thing you say to someone who asks if you want to share cab? “Hey, yeah I would love to ride with you guys, but listen I couldn’t get money out of the ATM do you mind if I pay you on the way?” This would have been a more acceptable situation that the one that actually happened. But no harm, it was already late and the Canadian seemed like a nice guy that would not leave us high and dry. En route to his hotel, we eventually found an ATM and he took out cash to pay his share before departing.
Ari Putri Hotel turned out to be an excellent choice for a hotel. Tastefully decorated, with a friendly staff and refreshing pool, it was a welcoming stop on our Indonesian journey. The night was still young and it was still Benjamin’s birthday, so we traveled down the street to check out the food selection for his birthday dinner. We were tired and hungry and gave up once we realized all the restaurants had the same menu and same price. We settled for the restaurant at our hotel, ordered a variety of unknown Balinese food, and enjoyed the live music performance. At Nadine’s, the duet enthusiastically sang Happy Birthday to Ben once their set finished :)
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