Flying AirAsia to Bali

Airasia recently won the 2013 Low Cost Airline of the Year Award again at the 2013 Air Transport News (ATN) Awards ceremony in Montreal, Canada. This repeat recognition and reputation is probably why we chose to fly with them again into Denpasar the capital of Bali, and also maybe because of their affordability, due to its highly customizable flight options such as hot seats, in-flight beds, and red carpet fast check-ins, and not forgetting their rather tasty dining options.

P5186254_1

Rooftop works on the upcoming extension of Ngurah Rai International Airport Terminal

The airlines has also been in headlines recently with Sir Richard Branson dressing up in a humiliating drag. The billionaire entrepreneur had to dress up in a female AirAsia cabin crew attire after losing a Grand Prix bet with AirAsia chief executive Tony Fernandez two years ago. I wonder if Branson will dress in drag for his inaugural flight to the moon!

P5145663_7

AirAsia flies to Denpasar, Bali from several destinations in Asia and Australia. We caught our flight from Malaysia this time. Normally a 3 hour flight, we experience some poor weather conditions and arrived an hour later at the Ngurah Rai International Airport. When we arrived, we head over the speakers several flights had to be diverted to other airports.

P5145660_3

As Malaysian food devotees, we never fail to have the Nasi Lemak with Chicken Rendang

P5145657_1

With a few hours to kill, we played some cards

Bali usually resplendent with sunny warm weather, greeted us with a heavy drizzle as we exited from the plane. A shroud of gloom covered all of the passengers’ faces as we rushed across a section exposed to rain from the stairs into the feeder bus waiting to scoot us off to immigration section.

P5145754_8

If you are seeking pristine stillness then you will probably want to settle at a place outside of Kuta district, but not for us this time as we stayed at an affordable lodging not far from the 5 kilometer stretch of sandy beach of busy Kuta. While some travellers describe Kuta area as a noisy surfer-backpacker party central, you can find accommodations which provide comfortable and quiet rooms to rest after endless hours of fun on the beach, shopping and partying at the bars.

20130515_082757

20130515_085419(0)

With all the cheap local Bintang beers and Balinese food available on the street corners, and the fancier but still affordable western restaurants, we certainly needed to keep our metabolism high and waistline in, with morning beach runs. You certainly won’t be alone in the wee hours, as other fitness conscious early risers are already leaving footprints on the sand at the crack of dawn. As the day progressed, there is only so much of sunbathing one can do on the beach so we tried our hand at surfing, mingled with the local kids with beach soccer and building sandcastles then enjoyed the services of cheap beach masseuse.

P5155943_9

Streets all around Kuta are filled with so many retail outlets that close 10pm daily while bars and clubs leaves its doors open until 1 to 3am, depending on their licenses.You will find international brands at big retail shops, and you will find the local shops selling knock offs of famous brands, from clothing to sunglasses. On this visit, we were so excited with sales of up to 60% discounts at the Surf and beach wear shops. We definitely clothed ourselves with the finest beach brands.

P5176178

It always fun to be in Bali. Whether you are seeking peace, relaxation, spiritual fulfillment, a beach wedding reception, or a wild party getaway, Bali certainly has it all on offer. Your holiday means work opportunities for the Balinese.

All opinions expressed are that of C&C. Check them out on FB if you have any queries.

10 Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *