Well, my life is fine again now but let me tell you how it became that way:
0530: Wake up to my alarm, and ignore it as the guys told me we'd be woken up at 0545 by the guys at reception. I doze fitfully, still concerned about the credit card situation.
0615: I hear a vehicle pulling up outside, and in the absence of a reliable timepiece I ran down to see if it was our van. I find out that it is, and the guy who was supposed to wake us up is asleep on the floor behind the desk. I told the guys the bus was here, and Philip declared that he was feeling too shit to travel, and I need an extra day really, so we decide I should go down and cancel our trip - no refund at this late stage, of course. (Total spent/lost: RP 140,000)
0730: I couldn't sleep, so I read the rest of Friday's Times before getting ready and heading out to an internet cafe/phone place to try and sort the card out.
0800: I found one that was open, and went in and phoned Dad, to explain the situation and ask if there had been any messages from HSBC, as my phone is broken and won't turn on. Despite it being midnight, Dad is really helpful and offers to bale me out via Western Union if needs be. I go onto the internet and try and find the Fraud Prevention number, with no success. I talk to Clare on MSN and panic a wee bit, especially as the connection keeps cutting out at crucial points, and my Malaysian phone has finally run out of credit, rendering it useless as I can no longer receive calls. It is decided, after I phoned the two numbers I could find and encountered closed offices, that the Western Union transfer should take place - Clare did the necessary online stuff with Dad on the phone, only to get the card rejected first time around. Second time it was accepted but a confirmation call was necessary - to an office open from 0700-2300, or 1500-0700 my time. All the Western Union agents in Kuta close at 1500, except one which shuts at 1700, so I gave Clare the address and hoped we could do it, despite cutting it fine. There seemed to be no alternative.
0900: I am also talking to Leo & Gumpy on MSN at the same time, Gumpy happens to have all the HSBC bank numbers with him, despite it being past midnight and he and Leo being very drunk (they offered to phone my parents when they were less so, which is very nice). What an odd chap. Anyway, none of these numbers work, and I eventually find the right one on a Who's calling? telesales scam website, where people debate its legitimacy - having had to deal with them repeatedly, I luckily recognised the number and called them straight away, and despite my lack of a reference number it turned out my guess was right - they had put a block on my card, which was promptly removed, and I was assured that it wouldn't happen again. By this time it was gone 0100 at home, so I couldn't really call and cancel it all, as everyone had gone to bed, so I paid the enormous phone/internet bill and left. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 293,000)
0930: Next stop was to go and sort out my ticket. I wandered for ages before I found a guy with a motorbike who'd take me back to the office cheaply, as I had not yet found an ATM in which to try my card. The chap I found agreed on a price of 40,000, but it turned out he didn't really know the way. It took us a good 45 minutes to get there in the end, as he stopped and asked directions about 8 times, and ended up just dropping me on the beach a few hundred yards from the office. I felt a little generous as he'd been all round the houses, so I tipped him a little, probably foolishly. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 343,000)
1015: I finally made it into the Qantas office, and after a short wait started my marathon ticket reissue. I had my laptop out with a flights spreadsheet (waaaah) and he had various bits of paper and his computer, all of which we got thoroughly confused about. After a few false starts and forbidden routes I discovered a few things - I did have a flight from Bali to Darwin, on the 9th of March, which I was never informed of by my travel agent, and consequently never amended the dates for and never turned up, so it was cancelled. I then found out that I wasn't allowed to rebook this flight as it was on a subsidiary of Qantas, not the airline itself. After much toing and froing we decided that the best/cheapest thing was to fly Bali-Perth-Sydney-Melbourne-Christchurch, as opposed to Bali-Darwin-surface-Sydney-Perth-Melbourne-surface-Sydney-Christchurch, and I'll sort out the American sections when I get there, as there are too many variables to consider. This seemingly shorter itinerary cost me quite a lot - $125 for the ticket reissue (despite the fact that this took 5 minutes and involved a fancy printout) and a further $134 for taxes (about $20) and fuel surcharge (the rest) for the new flights. Bastards. Still, it worked out cheaper than flying to Jakarta and rerouting to Sydney, or getting to Darwin and getting the Ghan across to Sydney. Less fun though. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 2,901,920)
1200: All this took quite a while, although as I paid I was so relieved to see the payment go through that I didn't care about the money. I flounced gleefully out of the office and went for a swim in the sea - it was really clear and warm, it being high tide - far more pleasant than yesterday. I then went to an ATM and took out RP 2,400,000, which should more than cover my trip to the Gilis and the departure tax, as well as giving me some cash in hand when I arrive in Perth. I found, after some haggling, the driver of a beat-up minibus who said he'd take me to Kuta for 40,000. When we arrived he claimed to have no change, so an involuntary tip was given. I hate taxi drivers on this Island. On the upside, I bought an Indonesian sim card and sent Clare a message telling her not to worry about telling Dad to call and confirm the transfer, all was well. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 2,951,920)
1300: I met Marcus in the corridor and we decided, as it was a perfect and incredibly hot day, to go for a surf. I put some money in a plastic bag in my pocket and off we went, having hired a board for a paltry RP 25,000. The surfing was awesome, I only caught about 4 waves the whole time we were out there and stood up on 2, and entirely knackered myself and possibly burnt my face, but it was awesome. When the thunderstorm lurking to the north started encroaching on the blue sky I called it a day, and went and collapsed on the sand, only to find the plastic bag of money had disappeared from my pocket, and was now floating somewhere in the sea for some lucky surfer to find. Also I managed to bust a fin off my board, which some unscrupulous types on the beach offered to fix for 50,000, but was half the price at the surf shop. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 3,030,920)
1630: I found out the time and called Clare to check she'd got the message - turns out she hadn't, and so the money had been sent to the Bank in Kuta Square - I rushed to an internet cafe to get the address and details, then found the same guy who had driven me to the Qantas office and we raced to the office in 6 minutes, and after I persuaded the security guard to let me in as they were closing I found that the Western Union office had closed at 1500, not 1700n as stated on the website. On the upside, I found I can pick up the money at any Western Union branch in Indonesia for the next month, so I guess I'll do it when I get back. I paid the bike guy 10,000 for his hurried service, and meandered back to find the guys and go for dinner, which is where I'm writing this now. What a hectic day... (Total Spent/Lost: RP 3,040,920)
1929: Oh, we're off to the Gilis tomorrow at 0600 for sure, finally. And now we're off to play pool.
0530: Wake up to my alarm, and ignore it as the guys told me we'd be woken up at 0545 by the guys at reception. I doze fitfully, still concerned about the credit card situation.
0615: I hear a vehicle pulling up outside, and in the absence of a reliable timepiece I ran down to see if it was our van. I find out that it is, and the guy who was supposed to wake us up is asleep on the floor behind the desk. I told the guys the bus was here, and Philip declared that he was feeling too shit to travel, and I need an extra day really, so we decide I should go down and cancel our trip - no refund at this late stage, of course. (Total spent/lost: RP 140,000)
0730: I couldn't sleep, so I read the rest of Friday's Times before getting ready and heading out to an internet cafe/phone place to try and sort the card out.
0800: I found one that was open, and went in and phoned Dad, to explain the situation and ask if there had been any messages from HSBC, as my phone is broken and won't turn on. Despite it being midnight, Dad is really helpful and offers to bale me out via Western Union if needs be. I go onto the internet and try and find the Fraud Prevention number, with no success. I talk to Clare on MSN and panic a wee bit, especially as the connection keeps cutting out at crucial points, and my Malaysian phone has finally run out of credit, rendering it useless as I can no longer receive calls. It is decided, after I phoned the two numbers I could find and encountered closed offices, that the Western Union transfer should take place - Clare did the necessary online stuff with Dad on the phone, only to get the card rejected first time around. Second time it was accepted but a confirmation call was necessary - to an office open from 0700-2300, or 1500-0700 my time. All the Western Union agents in Kuta close at 1500, except one which shuts at 1700, so I gave Clare the address and hoped we could do it, despite cutting it fine. There seemed to be no alternative.
0900: I am also talking to Leo & Gumpy on MSN at the same time, Gumpy happens to have all the HSBC bank numbers with him, despite it being past midnight and he and Leo being very drunk (they offered to phone my parents when they were less so, which is very nice). What an odd chap. Anyway, none of these numbers work, and I eventually find the right one on a Who's calling? telesales scam website, where people debate its legitimacy - having had to deal with them repeatedly, I luckily recognised the number and called them straight away, and despite my lack of a reference number it turned out my guess was right - they had put a block on my card, which was promptly removed, and I was assured that it wouldn't happen again. By this time it was gone 0100 at home, so I couldn't really call and cancel it all, as everyone had gone to bed, so I paid the enormous phone/internet bill and left. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 293,000)
0930: Next stop was to go and sort out my ticket. I wandered for ages before I found a guy with a motorbike who'd take me back to the office cheaply, as I had not yet found an ATM in which to try my card. The chap I found agreed on a price of 40,000, but it turned out he didn't really know the way. It took us a good 45 minutes to get there in the end, as he stopped and asked directions about 8 times, and ended up just dropping me on the beach a few hundred yards from the office. I felt a little generous as he'd been all round the houses, so I tipped him a little, probably foolishly. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 343,000)
1015: I finally made it into the Qantas office, and after a short wait started my marathon ticket reissue. I had my laptop out with a flights spreadsheet (waaaah) and he had various bits of paper and his computer, all of which we got thoroughly confused about. After a few false starts and forbidden routes I discovered a few things - I did have a flight from Bali to Darwin, on the 9th of March, which I was never informed of by my travel agent, and consequently never amended the dates for and never turned up, so it was cancelled. I then found out that I wasn't allowed to rebook this flight as it was on a subsidiary of Qantas, not the airline itself. After much toing and froing we decided that the best/cheapest thing was to fly Bali-Perth-Sydney-Melbourne-Christchurch, as opposed to Bali-Darwin-surface-Sydney-Perth-Melbourne-surface-Sydney-Christchurch, and I'll sort out the American sections when I get there, as there are too many variables to consider. This seemingly shorter itinerary cost me quite a lot - $125 for the ticket reissue (despite the fact that this took 5 minutes and involved a fancy printout) and a further $134 for taxes (about $20) and fuel surcharge (the rest) for the new flights. Bastards. Still, it worked out cheaper than flying to Jakarta and rerouting to Sydney, or getting to Darwin and getting the Ghan across to Sydney. Less fun though. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 2,901,920)
1200: All this took quite a while, although as I paid I was so relieved to see the payment go through that I didn't care about the money. I flounced gleefully out of the office and went for a swim in the sea - it was really clear and warm, it being high tide - far more pleasant than yesterday. I then went to an ATM and took out RP 2,400,000, which should more than cover my trip to the Gilis and the departure tax, as well as giving me some cash in hand when I arrive in Perth. I found, after some haggling, the driver of a beat-up minibus who said he'd take me to Kuta for 40,000. When we arrived he claimed to have no change, so an involuntary tip was given. I hate taxi drivers on this Island. On the upside, I bought an Indonesian sim card and sent Clare a message telling her not to worry about telling Dad to call and confirm the transfer, all was well. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 2,951,920)
1300: I met Marcus in the corridor and we decided, as it was a perfect and incredibly hot day, to go for a surf. I put some money in a plastic bag in my pocket and off we went, having hired a board for a paltry RP 25,000. The surfing was awesome, I only caught about 4 waves the whole time we were out there and stood up on 2, and entirely knackered myself and possibly burnt my face, but it was awesome. When the thunderstorm lurking to the north started encroaching on the blue sky I called it a day, and went and collapsed on the sand, only to find the plastic bag of money had disappeared from my pocket, and was now floating somewhere in the sea for some lucky surfer to find. Also I managed to bust a fin off my board, which some unscrupulous types on the beach offered to fix for 50,000, but was half the price at the surf shop. (Total Spent/Lost: RP 3,030,920)
1630: I found out the time and called Clare to check she'd got the message - turns out she hadn't, and so the money had been sent to the Bank in Kuta Square - I rushed to an internet cafe to get the address and details, then found the same guy who had driven me to the Qantas office and we raced to the office in 6 minutes, and after I persuaded the security guard to let me in as they were closing I found that the Western Union office had closed at 1500, not 1700n as stated on the website. On the upside, I found I can pick up the money at any Western Union branch in Indonesia for the next month, so I guess I'll do it when I get back. I paid the bike guy 10,000 for his hurried service, and meandered back to find the guys and go for dinner, which is where I'm writing this now. What a hectic day... (Total Spent/Lost: RP 3,040,920)
1929: Oh, we're off to the Gilis tomorrow at 0600 for sure, finally. And now we're off to play pool.
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