This is the day we would start our journey home. A journey that would take two days to complete. We would be in the minority today by beginning our journey at the Ngurah Rai International Airport (DPS) Domestic Terminal. As (I think) I touched on earlier, I had several criteria for picking flights. Bag allowance, timely flights/layovers, price and choosing seats were big as was hitting as many airports as comfortably as possible Garuda Indonesia Airlines checked all these boxes.

As with Vietnam Airlines, GA allows you to bid on upgrades. Unlike VN, I believe GA actually controls the process themselves. They hit me up prior to the trip to get me to bid. I entered the minimum amount and did not hear back. A few days into our journey they tried again. I entered the lowest amount possible and, BAM!, our first leg was upgraded at a total coast of $123 for the both of us. This included priority check in, priority boarding, priority baggage, lie flats, and lounge access that lasted through both legs of our trip.



Upgrade Bid Invite


Flight Details:
GA 407 DPS-CGK (A330-200)

The DPS domestic check in was a little chaotic as you get your bags x-rayed as you enter the airport doors. Makes sense in light of the previous mentioned bombings. I was able to easily find the Garuda priority check in counter and it had no line. Odd thing is, that wasn't where I was supposed to check in. the agent told pointed us to this:


Garuda Indonesia Airlines Premium Check in

I found it to be a little over the top for an hour and a half domestic flight but I played along. The agent processed our tickets but dug much deeper into itinerary that I had anticipated. She requested copies of our outbound tickets from Singapore (to Helsinki) on Finnair. For the first time during the whole trip I was able to use the blue folder I had lugged around that contained hard copies of our flights and lodging (also backed up on Dropbox). After a few phone calls, I was convinced no one was on the other end of the line, she asked about my flight out of Helsinki (to JFK). Showed it to her on the paper I produced. I was convinced she was going to request my EZ-Pass info as well as the code to my garage door. With that out of the way, she then started the process for my wife. I told her it was all the same confirmation code. Finally, bags were tagged and boarding passes issued. Surity (priority lane) was a breeze and we were where I feel the most relieved; airside.

We stopped at the Garuda Lounge to top off. The agent spoke the most perfect Enlglish I had heard since leaving JFK (ok, maybe Pennsylvania). The lounge was two level with only a handful of people partaking. Food and beverages were on both levels. Very nice, subdued lounge.



Garuda Indonesia Lounge

We only had about twenty minutes of lounge time before heading off to our gate. Boarding was quick and painless.



Our A332 To Jakarta


Boarding, Wasn't Moving Fast So No Idea Why It's Blurry


Lie Flat


Plenty Of Legs

Both the main and min Business cabins were about half full. FAs were attentive and very cordial. I'm an FAs dream as I usual don't eat or drink anything other than water (and the AA sundaes). My wife asked only for a hot water with lemon and it was produced in no time. Flight was on schedule and off we went to Jakarta.



Goodbye Bali, We'll Be Back

Landing in CGK was uneventful and on time. We disembarked and made our way to international transfers. It seemed like we walked forever, made a million turns, and went up several escalators to reach the main terminal. The terminal was stacked with eateries and shops. We made our was through all of the ado and were able to pass through the priority security without waiting. Immigration out of Indonesia was just as easy. Back down an escalator we went and we were in the international terminal to await our connection to Singapore. We collected coffee and pastries for my wife before depositing her, with healing broken foot, near the gate in some very relaxing chairs that reclined. I hoofed around the terminal to see the shops and do some plane spotting (horrible that I didn't take pics).


Flight Details:
GA 836 CGK-SIN (B 737-800)

Boarding was ........interesting. We were scanned in and off to what we thought was our jetway. We went down a ramp to a corridor that would lead us to, well, just a long empty corridor. We walked and walked and walked. When we finally arrived at our jetway we were one gate past where we had landed a little while back on our previous flight. While the area was sterile, we were using a domestic gate. This might have contributed to us leaving the gate and taking off late. It was the longest walk I've ever had to board a plane. We were seated in row 22, which was the second row of coach. Indonesian Math?


738 Legroom, 22H

We landed in Singapore, Changi Terminal 3. After a quick stop for a pic, it was off to immigration.


My Angel

Immigration was a breeze compared to our previous stop at SIN. The agent was curious about where we were headed. I explained our next flight and he happily pointed out where the SkyTrain station was and wished me a happy voyage home. He also gave my wife two Hershey bars. Damn, why can't they all be like this?

After customs we hopped the SkyTrain to Terminal 1. We had about a half an hour before Finnair began it's early check in that was easily killed by people watching.

The check in agent took our bags, issued our tickets and presented us with our invites to the dnata Lounge, which we didn't even visit for some reason.

Only thing on my mind at this point was to visit The Jewel.


Shameless Self-Promotion


The Jewel

I light things for a living so this was a pretty cool thing to see and experience. It being in an airport made it all the more unreal. We enjoyed ourselves in the midst of the mist of the water until the crowds got to the point where we decided to move on. We went up to the top of the dome and were meat with lines and walls of people in every direction. Lines for restaurants and attractions. I kept reminding myself I was in an airport. I wondered what these people did before this was opened earlier in the summer. And what mall, let alone AIRPORT, has a two story Apple store across from a two story Nike store?



Water, Dongles, and Sneakers


I love lights. I love Apple products. I love all things Nike. However, a mall where everyone has luggage was too much for me after this long of a voyage so we made a bee line to the quasi-security and automated immigration. I say quasi as the only scanned are your carry-ons. We wouldn't be body scanned until entering our individual gate.

A little wiped and hungry, we headed off to the lounges. Our first stop was Qantas.



Qantas

My wife oohed and aahed and couldn't wait to nest down. I then took her to the BA Lounge next door and this is where she chose to set up shop. Me? I just wanted a shower so it didn't matter to me.



BA Lounge

We spent about two hours in the BA Lounge, which started to fill up towards the end. It was then onto our gate, which was a long walk from the lounges. As mentioned, this is where we would encounter proper security procedures.

We waited in line for about 30 minutes to clear through, not realizing until we got up front that we could've used priority to skip the line. Not the end of the world. Boarding for out late night flight west was quick and painless.



Finnair 132 SIN-HEL (A359)

Most likely this was the same exact plane we flew here to in 10 days earlier so I won't expound. Slept like a baby most of the way. No pizza on board but OD'd on blueberry juice (again). We slid into Helsinki on a beautiful, cloudy morning after 11+ hours aloft.



Puffy Sunrise

Our layover this time was less than five hours. We locked away our bags at the Platinum Wing Lounge and wondered the airport to shake off some rust. We crossed into Finland to peruse the Schengen side of things. There was a little more activity there but we got bored, cleared immigration and headed back to the lounge where we enjoyed the breakfast spread. I also had one last, 45 minute goodbye to Shower Room #1 before it was time to walk to the gate.

Speaking of the gate, we were not big fans of the Q&A portion of the boarding process. We were pre-cleared to a smaller holding area after having our Passports checked and boarding passes scanned. The area filled up quickly with J passengers as well elites. Being a jaded AA elite, I was also assuming there were people there solely based on filling out a credit card app. We were stuck there way too long and couldn't leave unless giving back our documents (my wife LOOOOVES visitin gbathrooms at the most inopportune times). We toughed it out and finally boarded our last leg to JFK.

So, the whole time in the planning of this trip I was waiting to sit in this seat: The Throne Seat of Finnair's A332. Truthfully, it was quite enjoyable.

2A Queen AY 132 SIN-JFK (A332)


4A King

A little more leg room, I'm convinced. Definitely more elbow room. It was a damn good seat for a A330. Flight was quick and smooth. More sleep was enjoyed.

We landed at JFK on time. So did everyone else. The Arrivals Hall was the biggest mess I've ever encountered. I do have Global Entry but my wife does not. We'll have to fix that quickly. The people that run ICE at JFK should have to wiat in that line to punch out of work each night. Complete chaos. Since no one was clearing quickly the bags were piling up in the baggage claim area. It was comical. Maybe not. Either way, grabbed bags and off to the AirTrain to long term parking.

We ended up wheels down in our driveway at 7:30pm (landed at JFK at 3:30), exhausted and happy to have had such a wonderful journey. A lot of us are solo travelers for our jobs. Traveling with my wife always teaches me to walk slower and show more patience in general as well as communicate better. The trip was so good that we could've easily spent another few weeks on the road together. That's not easy, considering she married an introverted loner.

I want to thank those of you who followed along. My grammar is horrible as I am a stream of consciousness kind of guy. I didn't take notes on the trip and everything posted came straight out of my noggin. Writing this has been almost as time consuming as the actual trip. It's also given me the courage to, perhaps, try it again but , more importantly, better document my future trips. I took hundreds of photos and sit here kicking myself for the ones I didn't take. I guess I'll just have to get back on that horse soon. Thanks.

JK