Today I departed Maui, heading to Bali, Indonesia. I left my cousin’s house around 6:30 a.m. to return the rental car and catch a 10:00 a.m. flight to Honolulu. The car return went smoothly, and I ended up with about a three-hour wait at the airport. Fortunately, they announced available seats on an earlier flight around 8:00–8:30 a.m. I took it—and I’m glad I did. If I had waited for the original flight, I might have missed my connection to Manila due to the time needed for check-in and transferring to the international terminal.
The flight from Honolulu to Manila took about 12 hours. As expected, I didn’t get much sleep. I had a three-hour layover in the Philippines, which was a welcome break after sitting on a long-haul flight. The next leg, from Manila to Bali, was about four hours. Not too bad—I even managed to get an hour of sleep.
Arriving in Bali wasn’t too difficult. I had already been approved for a 60-day travel visa, which turned out to be a smart move. I landed around midnight, and although there were four or five VOA (Visa on Arrival) stations, they didn’t seem to be moving very quickly. With my visa already secured, all I had to do was scan my passport, fill out my accommodation details, and I received my stay permit via email.
While going through this process, a driver approached me. I ended up paying 300,000 rupiah (about $19 USD) to help me navigate the final steps and take me to my hotel, about a 30-minute drive. I probably could have negotiated a lower fare, but at that hour, I just wanted to get to my hotel and sleep.
Check-in was smooth, and I don’t think I’ve ever been so grateful to see a bed. It was now around 2:00 a.m. on Saturday, March 22.