The Long Road Home

I'm back in the US and of course had some trouble getting home. It seems as if the universe was intent on kicking my ass the entire time I was gone, but man, what an adventure I had.

I booked my flights, routing me through Perth and then Sydney while still in Bali. I made sure I had to appropriate electronic Visa to get into Australia and though I was dreading the almost 30 hours of flight time to get home, I was thrilled. My leg was giving me constant problems and I could barely walk to the store to buy water. Not exactly a fun place to be in while alone in a foreign country. I woke up early for my flight to Perth and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. I went to check in with Air Asia, and the ticket counter guy scanned my passport. He paused and looked at me with a curious look on his face. "I'm sorry, you aren't allowed to board the plane." He tilted his screen towards me and there it was, a giant Do Not Allow To Board screen. I told him their must be some mistake, I was certainly allowed to fly to Australia. He told me that I would be sent back to Indonesia if he allowed me to board and since my Indo Visa expired the next day, I wouldn't be allowed back in. I began to panic. I was in horrible pain, dragging my backpack, in the Denpasar, Bali airport and basically at a loss as to what to do. He gave me a website and told me to contact the Australian embassy through it. I wandered around the airport for a bit, trying to find an internet signal and finally decided that there had be an Australia Consulate in Bali. There just HAD to be one and I would go there and get it sorted out. The fourth cab driver I asked knew where it was and off I went, an hour ride away to try and get proof that I could actually leave Bali.

I sat outside the Australian Consulate for 3 hours, my passport inside the building, and finally the agent came out with a piece of paper that said I was allowed to enter Australia. It seems that their was a glich in the airlines system that automatically rejected my passport. I grabbed a cab back to the airport and showed the Air Asia people all the forms, trying to get them to put me on another flight. After all, it was their fault that I missed my flight. They, in true asshole corporate form, refused to refund my ticket or reroute me in any way. I whipped out my credit card and paid $400 for a flight to Sydney, deciding to bypass Perth all together. So, it cost me a total of $800 to get from Bali to Australia. Fun times.

I finally made it to San Fransisco some 48 hours later and boarded a flight to Las Vegas. I spent the next 4 days, comfortable on my friend Beau's couch, seeing various friends, the ones that really matter to me. It was strange being back. It struck me how incredibly easy life is in the US and I plan to post another blog about that soon. After Vegas, I went to Atlanta to see friends from my former life there, spending my time once again on the couch with my stupid leg up.


Peace, love and joy,


Lara