An unfulfilled vacation (P. Pangkor).
A desire to have another vacation in 2007.
An auto lucky draw for CAAS staff as part of the operational-readiness preparation for Terminal 3.
A stroke of luck (thanks to lucky charm Amsyar who has been bringing me luck since he came into my life!).
A pair of free return tickets to Bali on a chartered Valuair flight on 3rd-7th Oct. Damn! Fasting mth, how to go!?
Another stroke of luck (another mgr who won the same for 5th-9th Sep can't go due to work exigencies & desperate to swop to Oct!).
A desire to bring Mom for a vacation on flight (which I'll nvr be able to afford!!) this once in my lifetime!
A not-so-sporting Dad (he didn't q. give his blessing for Mom to go).
A supportive/understanding darling of a Mom (she insisted I don't let go of this opportunity...and find a friend to go with...which I told her is close to IMPOSSIBLE!)
A telepathic connection (what's spookier is if you check out Shazadi's comments on my entry dated June 17, 2007...you'll be shocked to see how her words really came true for my v. next trip!!)
A coincidence (that Shazadi was dying to take a break to India since she's resigned from her current job & her new job commences on 10 Sep -> her parents suggesting she take a short getaway to Phuket or Batam -> she telling them her friends are not likely to take leave to go vacation with her!).
A sign from Allah that He is answering my prayer for a 2nd vacation (by making everything go smoothly...15% discount for travel insurance, free late check-out @ our choice hotel which didn't come with that bonus, complimentary free 45mins massage when we had purposely chosen that hotel for it's spa & set aside budget to visit the spa for our massage).
A rendezvous in Bali.
WED, 5 SEP 07
I finally forced myself to pack on Tues nite aft ngaji (ie. arnd 11pm). Eventually completed arnd 1-ish am & went to sleep. For the trip, I only took leave on Thurs & Fri since my flight is @ 8.50pm, I can just depart from work. So since it's gonna be a looong day, I slept early.Over the wkend, I waited & waited for my period (due on 5th of the mth) but it didn't arrive. As my luck wld have it, I woke up & found that I got my period! Oh man...not on the day I'm departinggggg...I'm gonna be troubled by nasty migraine on the 1st 2 days! Still, took it ez, went to work, brought some potential retailers to view T3 vacant retail units. By almost lunch, migraine came along with the drilling & knocking sounds in T3. Haabiss! Disaster! My colleagues who knew I was departing tonite kept asking why my face v. pale, so I told them my plight. 1 of them suggested I get myself a bottle of 100plus or any bicarbonate drink as it's known to cure migraine. I was supposed to have a lunch date with Roshni, but since I can't take it, I called it off & slept over lunch instead. By 4pm, I decided to get myself the 100plus @ Cold Storage since I needed to get a travel t/brush+t/paste (can't find mine)!! Went dwn, got the stuff I needed & drank the 100plus...slowly. By 6pm...it was a lil btr. Now, I've got last min things & Sis & Mom is due to arrive @ T2 to fetch me to bring me to T3 any moment now. We're supposed to gather @ Check-In Row 6 of T3 @ 6.50pm for the agent to give our tickets.
As Mom bought extra Nasi Ayam Penyet from Simei, they asked if I wanted it for dinner. Gd timing! As I'm in need of dinner since I didn't have lunch! They came almost 6.30pm, I went up to canteen & gobbled my food fast...and then went toilet and off we went to transfer my luggage from my car into Sis car. By then, I was already under pressure as Shazadi & family has reached T3. I was reaching just after 7pm. Luckily she handled the administrative for me...so no more pressure.
Reached...the photographers snapped complimentary pics of us with our well-wishers...met Shazadi's family...Shazadi met mine...we checked in, took more photos. Finally, traveling for the 2nd time, I had someone sending me off. :-) The timing was convenient, thus I didn't stop Mom from coming. Gd thing she did, at least she get to see T3. Don't think we'll ever fly from T3 . I'm just lucky that I won this lucky draw...and get 2b the pioneer batch to take off & land at T3. On normal circumstances, if I were to travel on Valuair, I'd be departing/arriving @ T1.
Arnd 8.15hrs we bid our family members adieu & walked our way to the departing gate. Had fun in the plane...wasn't house-full, so we had an empty seat (window seat) on our row, thus we seat-hopped. I realise I'm more relaxed traveling @ nite as I don't see the height when I look out of the window. It feels like I'm on a double-decker bus traveling on a flyover. All I see is lights of the traffic & bldg. During the day, I cld see the green patches of land & got frightened by the height thinking the plane will come crashing dwn any moment!!!
THURS, 6 SEP 07
(%&$^#!! I had completed a loonnnggg entry for Thurs & Fri and was just going to Sat...with 1 wrong press of a button, it disappeared...juz wasn't revivable as the auto-draft didn't work all that while!! Damn...1hr of my life went dwn the drain!!). Anyways...once agn, all over agn...*sigh*
Reached Bali's airport arnd 11.40pm...by time we cleared immigratn, it passed midnite. Gd thing is our luggages were already of the conveyor belt, so we didn't have to wait. We were greeted by Bali's guide, Mr Diki. With his assistants welcoming us with a garland of frangipani, a bottle of mineral water & a wet towel! WOW!
The journey to the hotel, which was supposed 2b abt 15mins took slightly almost 1/2 hr due to a massive jam along the streets (due to Bali's night life!). With all these delays, my h/ache started knocking agn. I so can't wait to reach the hotel. Plus the strong garland's smell was getting on my nerve! When we finally reached the hotel, Diki showed us the monument for the 2005 bombing which was just 5 mins away from our hotel. GREAT! Anyhow, we waited a while more to get our rm keys & by the time we got it & headed to our 3rd storey rm 3002 (no lift, mind you!!), it was way past 1am! Kesian kita. I unpacked my luggage for my necessities, showered, popped a panadol & settled in bed arnd 2am & straight to sleep. Gonna have an early + long day the nxt morning...for our planned tour. Luckily, I didn't have to pray...so I cld wake up late.
Woke up arnd 7.45am. Showered & got ready for b/fast arnd 8.20am. Juz nice so we can finsih & be ready to gather @ lobby by 9am. At b/fast, we bumped into our local agent, Betty, who told us she got for us free late check-out till 6pm. Wow...that's a relief. Save money. On top of that, she also told us that the hotel had given complimentary free 45 mins full body massage, so to book our appts. Holy cow!! We actually set aside budget for our massage & we're getting it free! Syukur Alhamdulillah. Murah rezeki.
Anyways, set off for the tour - the thing I dislike most abt vacations! A/c bus, then get dwn for 1st stop (batik gallery), 30 mins of sightseeing/shopping, then on the bus, then 2nd stop (silver/gold shop) for 30 mins of sightseeing/shopping, then up on the bus, then 3rd stop (souvenir shop), then up on the bus...Moral of the story: a/c, hot sun, a/c, hot sun, a/c...my migraine got real bad, I puked by the time we arrived Mt Batur to see the volcano & have lunch. Terrible. I shall not like to re-live the memories of my ordeal here. Plus, I feel bad Sha had to tolerate my bad table manners etc (by putting my head on the table & sleeping...I'm sure all eyes were on our table...but who cares!). It's not over...nxt stop was the coffee-bean factory. As I wasn't interested, I stayed in the bus. Went in to the window seat, closed the curtain, slouched on the seat (till I stained my cargo pants!!). 
Got a gd 1/2hr of sleep. Felt btr. Till the kids came up & started making noise. Nxt stop was the GALUH shopping centre (ala DFS Galleria). It sells gd quality pdts @ unbargainable price, but what made shopping there worthwhile is that if u travel in grp tours, u get a sticker for identification. That sticker entitles u 50% disc on all items! So imagine, I bought everything at 1/2 price!! I bought mainly clothes for Mom, Sis, Amsyar & myself. After that, I searched for the toilet to "change"...luckily I had my sweater to cover my backside, so not so paiseh. I juz nvr got to go toilet to "change" the whole day & it's my 2nd day!! After that we went to venture the temple area and snap some pics...spent a lil too long there till Diki had to come search for us (MISSING)!!
That was thankfully the last stop! By then it was almost 6pm. We contemplated going out to the streets to have dinner at some warong nasi padang. But by the time I entered the rm, I was too lazy. Also, fearful that I may aggravate my h/ache if I get into crowds, and puke if I have to eat food that I don't fancy. So I suggested calling Pizza Hut (Mak kau! Go to other country, instead of trying out their food, we made ourselves @ hm like in S'pore! Order Pizza!). 1st, I called the spa to book our massage for the nxt evening @ 7.30pm. Then I called the reception for Pizza Hut delivery no., made the order, then called rm service for Nescafe. So that's like our dinner. I feel contented. Now, to digest the dinner, Sha wanted to walk...but since I wasn't up to walk at their town (stretch of shops along the streets...ala Arab St) @ nite, we juz checked out the garden, pool & lobby. Had fun blasting my mp3 on my mobile @ the garden/pool & snapping pics @ the lobby/bar area. Oblivious of the staff looking at us (or not!).
By almost 10am, we head back to our rm, settle dwn & I fixed my portable DVD player (Hajira thinking out loud in her heart: "Sharb & her idea of a perfect vacation!!"). I brought Heyy Babyy which I really enjoyed watching couple of days earlier. So I thought if there's any movie which Sha hasn't watch & I'd like to watch wif her & have a gd time...it's Heyy Babyy (apart from Amsyar's b'day celebration!!). Unfortunately, the TV didn't come wif AV input (so mean!!)...so we had to watch it on the 7" screen. But gd enuf. Till the battery went flat. We were like "Oh man!! The movie's getting nicer...". So I plug in the charger adapter & we resumed watching till end...till midnite.
After that, we decided to turn in. The nxt 2 days are Free & Easy...so since b/fast ends @ 10am, we planned to go @ 9.30am, so we can wake up later. Yeayyy! This is probably my 1st time for vacation to get up late (coz nvr had F&E). We chatted & chatted (the conversation juz got interesting!)...altho my eyes were like half-closed, my ears & brain was still active. We possibly said "g'nite" dunno how many times, but after each g'nite, we still carried on chatting!! Till we hear "tch tch tch tch"...and then there was complete silence. Till Sha broke the silence by asking "Did u juz hear wat I hear?" Oh mannnn...not Mr Chipkali in the middle of the nite!!! That really ruined our nite. We didn't wanna sleep..so we carried on chatting...till I saw something near the a/c. When I tol her to on the master lights (the remote's nxt to her bed)...she refused...so while that was going on, I saw what I was focusing on moved...thus confirming my suspicion that the lizard was there! So yeah, we located the lizard. So we on the lights, so we cld keep our eyes on it. After a while, it went dwn...behind the TV...and then we nvr caught sight of it anymore.
The funniest part was...Sha has a habit of putting the a/c to as warm as possible...and I didn't noe that. Only the nxt morning I woke up perspiring due to her bed lights left on the whole nite...not able to find the a/c remote & realised it was place on the TV table. Bcoz we both didn't wanna go near the TV, none of us even took the a/c remote! Urrgghh... anyways, it was already 7am...so I just got up since I needed a visit to the toilet...I showered and then went back to sleep till 9am! Then dragged my feet outta bed & got ready for b/fast.
FRI, 7 SEP 07
We were planning to take the shuttle @ 10am to go to a shopping centre (MATAHARI... supposedly cheap). Today was dedicated for shopping. But since we missed the shuttle by 5mins, we didn't wanna wait for the 11am bus...lest we'll get lazy to kill time & might juz call off the plan. So we decided to walk the streets (which Sha wanted to check out last nite). We walked...and walked...along the way, shop keepers and the Balinese (men) will always say "Assalamualaikum" (knowing we'd answer)...I got really tired of it. Ans the salaam, they'll move on to "how r u"...I answer "Gd thank u"...1 men went a lil too bold with "I love u"...thus I lost my cool & went "F**k u"...of coz all this is while we were walking along. Teruk ah I tell u the men hanging arnd the streets...malas nak layan!
That aside...we carried on walking...and walking...looking for shops selling those bamboo-made souvenirs with tatooing service. We walked for almost 2hrs till our backs hurt! But we endured (well, at least I endured...since that's the essence of this vacation...to chill & have fun on our own!). Afterall, we hav to really exhaust ourselves so that our massage will be value-for-money (what money? it's supposed 2b free rite?!?! hehe). Finally we caught sight of KFC (oh we found the shop & she got her souvenirs...while I took the opportunity to get 1 for my boss too)...like jakun...like nvr see KFC b4!! We asked the shop vendors nearby for direction of MATAHARI...and they showed us KFC. It's just behind KFC. Hehe...wat luck!
We had our lunch @ KFC (as long as Sha gets to sit dwn! She's like half-dead!). I had spaghetti for the 1st time in my life! After lunch, we headed to MATAHARI where I did my souvenir shopping, actually another reason is I wanted to get sanitary pads from the supermarket there. Haha. Really feels like @ home sia! Go overseas buy sanitary pads all. 1st time in my life! Guess what we saw in MATAHARI??
Hehe..I told ya...we jakun!! After shopping, we ta-pao dinner from A&W (I got a strawberry milkshake from there), McDonalds (Sha got sandwich) & KFC (I got spaghetti agn!). We targeted ourselves 2b back @ the hotel by 4pm so we can have dinner & finish eating b4 6.30pm. We did juz that. Settled dwn (I showered) & then had our early dinner. After that, Sha filled me wif some mind-boggling scenarios to solve mysteries (some IQ test thingy)...after solving the mystery almost 20mins later, she gave another test (that will determine if I have the mind of a murderer). Now this 1 was really syiok. I hit bullseye @ the 1st attempt...and frightened the shit outta her...till she wanted to change rm (hehe...kidding!)! After all that, we got ready for our massage.
During massage, Sha gave me another test. After thinking for abt 5mins, I decided I wanna relax my brain for the massage...so we adjourned the test till after massage. I resumed thinking while watching her do her pedicure. Solved it anyways...after like 10mins or so. Then she gave me another funny test...failed big time! :p
By 9-ish we head back to our rm. Dunno wat to do...so she did her sorting/packing since no more shopping oredi. After that she got bz watching this english movie FEAR on Cinemax (I've seen the movie, even the hindi copied version AITBAAR starring Amitabh, Bipasha & Jon). So since I'm bored, I did my sorting/packing...so that check out day the nxt day won't be a rush. Usually my Mom is in charge of all this sorting/packing. Now...I sure miss her! ;P
After that...we chatted tru the wee hrs of the morning agn (so much for our wanting to turn in early to catch up on lost sleep last couple of days!)...think by the time we zonked off...was arnd 2am!
SAT, 8 SEP 07
Woke up same time as yest. Today's plan is to go to KUTA beach by hook or by crook.
Altho we didn't bring our swimming attire (she said she not swimming, so I didn't bring la!)...her pt is that we came all the way to what's known as the "surfer's paradise"....so how can we not even check out the beach. So ok, beach it shall be. Today, we reach b/fast @ 9.50am, tak malu! Hehe. After b/fast, we checked out the monument & mourned our fellow africans (our self-made joke) killed @ the 2005 bombing. After that, we walked & walked & asked & asked...for KUTA beach. What we saw was kuttas (dogs!). Today, Sha wasn't too well & needed medication. So, it's my turn to sacrifice & make sure she's ok...even if that meant back-tracking our route (abt 10mins walk) to go to the pharmacy near the monument to get her much-needed medication. After that, we took another route & walked & walked & asked & asked...till 1 shopkeeper finally showed us "that's the beach". Whoaaa...(oh btw, it was abt 1/2 hr walk just to get to the beach! By then I was afraid the heat wld get to me...so I told Sha we btr hurry & find the beach...no more window-shopping.)...after that my mood picked up & I started my singing frenzy (much to Sha's displeasure...but who cares! Hehe). Dunno why the song "kisi roz tumse mulaqat hogi..." juz came to mind.
The beach...all I can say is BEAUTIFUL, esp the waves. 
Truly, a surfer's paradise. We spent abt 20 mins...incl. our singing of "chalte chalte mere yeh geet..." (this time it was Sha who started it...it wasn't me...but the prob wif me...once I start singing 1 song, it gets stuck in my head & I'll keep singing it till I get another song in mind to sing!)...and me making my last daily call home to hear Mom's voice...we made our way back when we caught sight of...McDonalds!! Whoa...r we @ East Coast!??! Hehe...we headed to McDonald's for lunch (with a stray dog sleeping behind the glass behind me!). We realised the McDonalds is an extension of Maharani Hotel. Whoa...like that nxt time come Bali muz reside here...so it's near the beach! Lunch was ok...I had cheeseburger. Now, we juz look forward to our flight back hm tonight. But b4 that...we still have the seafood dinner by the beach on the itinerary.
We somehow found our way back to our Hotel...after encountering stray dogs & freaking out! I tell u...at times like this...I really wish my Mom was wif me. At least, she'd protect me. Having Sha (another dog-phobic like me) by my side wasn't much of a help...altho now playing the role of protector (since she's younger!)...I somehow braved myself & overcome 0.0001% of my dog-fear. I tell u...if we keep u-turning & walking against the dog...we'll end up losing our way & not getting hm!! Found our way & back to our rm juz after 2pm. Enuf time to juz bunk in bed till it's time to check-out. I showered...and napped till 5.15pm (Sha got bz with her iPod). After that we got ready for check-out & 15 mins b4 we check-out, we took some final snaps @ the balcony. After that, a grp foto @ the hotel entrance b4 we set off for dinner.
The dinner by the beach shall remain as 1 of my most unforgettable moments of this trip. The scenery so breathtaking (hah...not forgeting the dogs straying arnd the beach...I almost climbed on my seat!). If u have a guy by your side, I'd say it'd be truly romantic! 
However, having a gal by my side, I still made full use of the moment. By blasting mp3 on our mobile & singing by the beach. U see, they had a live band where we can pay for them to sing...so to save our pockets, we sang ourselves! Hehe. Budget trip la.
After all that, we set off to the airport arnd 8-ish & juz killed time while waiting for our flight @ midnite! Means we cld only check-in fm 10pm++. It was the boringest wait. Juz can't wait to get on board & fly back home!
SUN, 9 SEP 07
Finally the plane took off! I think every1 was sleeping...except us!! We were having fun, listening to mp3 on Sha's iPod...actually she's the 1 having fun (I was reading papers, abt CAAS corporatising!)...serenading "Akkam Pakkam" to me & irritating the shit outta me...u shld see her serenading to me...complete wif her gestures...eeee gelliiii!!! For gdness sake's, I'm STRAIGHT ok! Mayb I was a lil lost in my thoughts as I was beginning to miss Amsyar & wonder if he'd have forgotten me after not seeing me for 5 days. He might not react to me in his typical "magnetic" way the way he always does at the sight of me (automatically the body surge fwd to come onto me!)
Finally reached T3 arnd 2.40am!! Alhamdulillah! So ppl...the new Terminal 3 is tried & tested. Works fine! I went & came back alive. No hiccups. Altho I found the arrival of my luggage unbearably long...think it was almost 15 mins (for someone claustraphobic...it got a lil wee bit overbearing being surrounded by kancheong ppl crowding all arnd me!). I cld spot Sha's parents waiting at the arrival hall. I'm getting a lift from her Dad to T2 to my own car. Thank God for him.
I was already damnnnnn sleepy (Sha got worried since I'll be driving)...when I reached my car...Sha's Dad insisted that I made sure I had my key & that the key worked. I beeped, opened the door & the alarm went off!!! Oh man...I tried to shut it off, but it juz won't shut up!!! It went on for 2 or 3 cycles till it got tired & stopped itself! My car caused a din @ T2 carpark @ 3am! WTH! Anyways, I took my luggage, they drove off...then I followed suit...blasting my CD player to keep me awake. I reached hm only to have to go round & round searching for an empty lot. Finally got 1. Then when I off the engine & pull off the key to go get my luggage from the bonnet, the alarm went off agn!!!! Arggghhh...what the hell is wrong! Takkan merajuk till like that...juz coz I left her for 5 days!! I really gave up & juz sat in the car while waiting for the alarm to shut up by itself. Dunno how many sleeping ppl @ the vicinity probably cursing me!
I went up, Mom got awoken...Sis & Amsyar slept over. I took out my laundry to dump into the machine & had my tea (I had sms-ed Mom b4 my flight to make tea for me...I was missing it badly!)...after that I took out all the food items to put in the kitchen...Mom told me to shower & sleep...I did shower...but until I clear my luggage, I can't get to sleep. So I cleared everything except the things I bought for them...that shall be presented when I wake up!
I planned to sleep till 11-ish...but arnd 9am, the lil monkey was creating a din, so I woke up since I needed to go toilet. I went toilet...he didn't see me...but when I came out & on my way back to my rm...he was in his walker...the moment he saw me...he started jumping with hands up in the air in gesture to be picked up! Phew...he still remembers me!! I played with him for a while...till Mom's back from market & put him to sleep arnd 10-ish, I cont'd my sleep till 12-ish b4 finally getting outta bed to have lunch & open up my luggage to show them what I bought for them.
That day, my Makni did cukur rambut for her 3rd son & my cuz Nizam's newborn daughter...but bcoz I was too tired & sleepy...I didn't go. When Mom, Sis & Amsyar left, I caught up on my lost sleep agn...till they came back arnd 5pm. The nxt day (Mon) back to work!!!
Truly...I feel fulfilled for 2007. This trip made up for my screwed-up vacation to Pangkor. This rendezvous in Bali will last me the whole yr, b4 I start yearning for 2008's vacation!! It's back to work now...gonna get bz with the T3 opening. Plus Ramadhan. Plus Eid. Gosh...I wish time wld pass slower!
