Let me go back and update the trip. Typing on an iphone is not very easy.
The last dive in Manado was beautiful. The weather was great. We only did 2 dives on the last day due to the flight schedule. My cousin and I started having some ear troubles due to water not clearing. So the day after diving we went to visit the town ENT. I felt like I was in a clinic from Cider House Rules. But he confirmed what we knew...ear infections for each one of us.
The day we were scheduled to fly out of Manado we stopped at the local market area. I have always defended my "peeps" saying they don't eat dogs. Well guess what? They DO! Only in some areas. Many areas are not allowed to sell or eat dogs at all. But this area has a market to buy dogs, bats and rats. All the animals are incinerated to remove the hair and then chopped up. It was the most disgusting thing I have ever seen. And I have seen some pretty disgusting things in my years as a dental hygienist. I actually threw up outside of the market area.
So after the market, we are on the way to Bali. One layover turns into 2 due to a canceled flight. We have a party of 12 that manage to all get on another flight that is boarding now. We look like a Chinese version of Home Alone running throught the airport. Everyone is sitting on a different row. I give Grace her boarding pass because of the seat number. It actually has the boarding pass for the next flight stapled to the back. There is some confusion with another passenger's seat number. The flight attendant takes Grace's boarding pass and doesn't return it. Long story short, Grace doesn't have a boarding pass. She is crying because she thinks she will not be able to board the plane. Thank goodness for E tickets! Now we are all on the final plane to Bali, but our luggage is not. It does come in on the 1am flight.
That night in Bali, we are listening to the band in the Hard Rock Hotel and having cocktails. My cousin tells me there is something around my purse moving. I tell her "you must have had too much to drink." Well the next morning I am looking for something in my purse when something black with a tail is moving around. Let me just say~ if you were asleep on my hallway...you weren't after that moment! I drop the purse and jump on the bed. My sister shakes my purse and a big black gecko runs out!! I am so glad I didn't see it on the plane.
Now its Friday the 24th and we are on a plane for Phuket, Thialand. It is breath taking. We book 1 dive excursion off the main island. The scenery in Phuket may be beautiful, but the diving in Manado is much better. We spend the next day swimming in the pool and shopping. I am not a bargain shopper, just ask my husband. So this kind of shopping is exhausting to me. But thanks to my mother we are able to buy lots of things. We also go to a show called Simon Caberet. It was a very interesting show about all the different cultures...Chinese, Korean, Japanese, American. The women are stunningly gorgeous. Skin, hair, makeup and guess what they are ALL or were men at one time. Its a must see if you are ever in the area. www.phuket-simoncaberet.com/.
The flight home is uneventful except for the 2:30 am wakeup call to catch a 6 am flight. And the almost lost passport that was in someone else's bag! We spend one night in Jakarta before taking a train to Tegal. This time of the year is busy in Indonesia due to the children being on a holiday. So our group splits up to catch the train. I am so thankful to live in a country wear most traffic rules are obeyed such as not sharing a lane with a motorcycle. Traffic in the capitol is an absolute nightmare. Imagine the worst city to drive in... now take away the redlights. The point is we missed the 4:45 train by 7 minutes. I couldn't even understand what my mother, cousin and aunt were saying and I was stressed out. Luckily there was room on the 7pm train. Guess what~it was 10 minutes late!
So we finally arrived back in Tegal at 1:30 am.
12 planes in 24 days, 3 stamps in our passports and some really brown skin.
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