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The lounge was a gong show as well and every seat in the house was packed for the first hour and a half hours that we were in the lounge. It did clear around 30 minutes before we left and we could see the lounge staff hustling to clean up all dishes, glasses and garbage left behind. Kudos to them for keeping on top of things. We could not get a shower in time as there were 30 people in line ahead of us and it would take 3 hours for our turn. No difference in the food selection as the same stuff was served from when we were last there in February.

Always a great view outside

After 2 hours, we decided to leave and make our way to the gate. Gave us some time to stretch our legs and not rush at the last minute. Boarding was late by 5 or so minutes but moved quickly once it started.

The Chicago bound flight next to us.

My seat for this flight.

Reverse facing seat

Sparkling wine offered as a PDB

Pushback

Still amused by the ground crew send off

Long taxi around to the far runway 34R

Peace out Tokyo!

Flight menu – IMO less exciting than our JFK-HND leg

After the seat belt sign went off, the crew went into action. Ordered the Kobosu drink plus amuse bouche.

Had 5 of these 😀

Appetizer – delicious

Junior got the fish and said it was ok.

While I got the beef which was tender and delicious. Ordered rice and miso soup as extras.

Dessert to end the meal which was also yummy.

Went down for a nap and woke up after a few hours to a lovely sunrise.

Sweet treat but rock hard. LOL

Went down for a nap again plus watched some movies to kill the time. Breakfast service started 2 hours before landing. I went with two cold plates and in retrospect, I should have ordered the Frittata breakfast.

Landing at JFK was smooth and we took the scenic route to T7.

Immigration was a breeze with Global Entry and bags took another 15 minutes to arrive after that. After walking towards the exit, a CBSA officer randomly pulled us aside to ask us questions, only to find out we were just transiting and we were let go. Air Canada restarted flights to JFK and we just had to go back up to the departures area to recheck our bags.

No lounge access was available and the ANA dragon lady would not allow us in despite us being in AC business class and AC being a Star Alliance member. Sat in the restaurant area to kill time before boarding.

Big bird vs Little Bird

Pushback was 30 minutes delayed but we still landed on time at YYZ. Nothing special about this flight and the meal served was quinoa salad.

Home after 3 weeks!

Overall, the ANA flight was unremarkable compared to our JFK-HND flight back in February. The crew were not overly friendly but still polite and able to fulfill requests quickly. The food offering was better on the JFK-HND leg. The seat was fantastic as usual and very comfortable.

Finally finished this TR – a heartfelt thank you if you have been reading so far!

Check in was friendly and efficient and the agent even checked our bags onto the connecting Air Canada flight from JFK to YYZ. No issues with security but immigration was a bit of a wait as the officers were processing everyone one by one but eventually we were through. Jakarta Airport has two lounges – Garuda Indonesia lounge and the PP lounge and we were directed to use the latter. We used this before on our February trip to Abu Dhabi, so nothing new to show.

ANA check in area

Bit of a wait as people were ahead of us but eventually helped.

PP lounge

Quite busy during the evening

“Made to order” menu

The noodles were good, the rest was meh

A boarding announcement was made 40 minutes before departure. The gate was far from the lounge and took us 15 minutes at a leisurely pace.

Our chariot for this evening

Our neighbour

A familiar place

Menu for the flight. I passed on eating as we were all tired and went straight to bed after take off.

Peace out Jakarta!

Six hours later …

After 15 minutes of taxi-ing, we finally pulled up to the gate

We had a 4 hour transit period but this was whittled down to 2hr 45 mins as we waited in the worlds longest security line. We lined up to get through the next section and once inside there, it was a snaking line again. There were only two security stations and one of them was specifically used for passengers using wheelchair assistance.

After this gong show, we headed up to the lounge to wait out for our flight to JFK.

Made’s cousin, Kadek, picked us up from the hotel and whisked us off to the airport for our flight to Jakarta. It would be the first of four flights back home to Toronto.

We were dropped off at the domestic terminal and with our goodbyes said, we entered the hall.

Found the premium check in area after looking for the Garuda area

The check in agent was busy handling other passengers but she did ask us to take a seat and informed us that she would help up soon. She eventually came by, collected our passports and check in luggage to process the formalities. After 5 minutes, she came back with our passports and boarding passes

Security was right next to the premium check in area and we were through very quickly. After that, we took the escalators up to the airside portion of the terminal. The Garuda lounge was located on the very end of the terminal close to gate 2 (there were no signs posted but we eventually found it).

The agent welcomed us and waved us through after scanning our passes.

There was an upper and lower area to the lounge – we went up and glad we did because soon after, the lower area was packed. Only issue with the upper area is that it is not properly air conditioned and it was quite warm.

Upper area

Our chariot

My seat

Mrs and Junior next to me

Cabin shot

Oh look! A cold towel – I’m throwing shade at your SQ.

Boarding was eventually done and pushback shortly thereafter. Our taxi to the runway was quick but held up due to incoming aircraft and other planes departing ahead of us.

Peace out Bali! Until we meet again.

Seatbelt sign was turned off soon and lunch was served 30 minutes after. The cabin crew member serving our side asked if I wanted “chicken or fish”. No menu was provided – went with the chicken while Junior went with the fish. He had the better dish IMO – mine was ok.

We eventually made our descent into a smoggy Jakarta.

Final look at our birdie.

After collecting our bags, we took the Skytrain over to T2 where I booked the airport hotel. Even though we only needed it for 7 hours, the site was only offering a day minimum for booking but it was still cheaper than booking 6 hours at the Yotel Changi or Abu Dhabi airport hotel.

Up the escalator into the lobby. A staff member was actually outside and helped us our bags.

Check in was friendly and quick. The same staff member who helped us earlier, guided us to our rooms with bags in tow.

Lobby

The LONG walk to our room

Looking out the hallway window towards the Skytrain

When I saw bathroom, the first thought in my head was “I’ve been in worse” followed by “this is only for a few hours but at least its ‘clean’ “. Also, it was a good deal for CA $ 95.

Excellent view

Two hours before departure, we took the Skytrain back to T3 to check in for our ANA flights.

We spent our 2nd day touring Bali. Made picked us up around 12pm and our first stop would be the Uluwatu temple which took us around an hour to get to.

We paid our entry fee, tied on our sarongs and walked about the temple grounds. We were allowed into the temple area itself as it was closed off to tourists. We were able to see some deers and monkeys during the initial half of the tour. Made did warn us to keep our belongings tightly locked up in our backpack as the monkeys have become more aggressive in recent past. We did see one monkey pull the slipper off a young lady’s foot and hold onto it until it got a treat in return. The young lady was clearly in a state of panic but Made managed to find a local in the area who helped to bribe the monkey to release the slipper. We also saw another monkey pull someone’s sunglasses off their head and drop it on top of the roof of one of the buildings. I took as many pictures as I could without incident and was glad my phone didn’t get snatched.

It was really hot and humid despite the cloud cover. So glad we have towels on hand as Junior and I were dripping profusely. 😀

The inner courtyard of the temple where only locals were allowed in. We were able to silently observe a worship ritual in progress.

After an hour, we headed to the coffee tour site where we got some civet cat coffee. Got the tour which we said could be sped up as we did this before.

The various stages from when the cat “vacates its bowels” of the coffee bean, to cleaning, drying and finally roasting.

Other fruits grown on the plantation

After that, we made our way to the Garuda Wisnu Kencana Statue.

Excerpt from Wikipedia – Garuda Wisnu Kencana statue (also known as GWK statue) is a 122-metre tall statue located in Garuda Wisnu Kencana Cultural Park and was designed to be Indonesia’s tallest statue, and is inspired by an event that finds its roots in Hinduism about Garuda’s search for Amrita, the elixir of life. It took twenty-eight years (started in 1997) – construction halted quickly after groundbreaking, then resumed in 2013 and was completed on 31 July 2018.

We were dropped off in the parking lot and took a shuttle over to the main entrance.

Once at the main entrance, we bought our tickets and we were told that the shuttle taking people up to the status was not running that day (even though we clearly saw shuttles running). It took us 30 minutes to get up there and its not easy when walking with kids.

A mini version of the statue

The halfway point

Almost there …

It was an absolute battle to walk up the road leading to the status even though it had a gentle slope. We made it eventually after loud complaining from Junior. Obligatory photo taken and we booked it back down to the waiting shuttle.

Caught the live cultural dance show

An awesome day spent with Made!

The Westin is located in the Nusa Dua area and is a closed off area meant for tourists and the like. We had to go through a “security checkpoint” to get into the area and pulled up to the entrance of the resort in 5 minutes or so.

As we pulled up to the lobby, a couple of staff members immediately helped us with our bags. Another staff member greeted us warmly and requested we go through a quick security check before heading to check in.

This is by far, the grandest lobby (IMO) I have ever seen at a resort or hotel.

As we entered, another staff member came by to introduce herself and guided us to the check in area where we were greeted by Ary who was absolutely amazing when she helped us through the formalities.

I will say with 2000% certainty that Indonesian hospitality is top notch (or at least what I have experienced so far). Everyone we have met so far in our travels in different hotels in Indonesia (JWM Jakarta, Westin Bali, Amankila etc) have been so warm and welcoming and gone the extra mile to ensure we were happy with our stay. We even experienced amazing hospitality in the Philippines but the WB exceeded everything by leaps and bounds. I think it’s also because after the lacklustre service we experienced in Singapore, we set our expectations low but we were so happy during our stay at the respective hotels in Philippines and Indonesia and felt content after we left. I digress but back to the story.

Ary walked me through all the check in formalities. Since this was a resort, it was a choice of points or daily breakfast. I asked if Junior could be included in the breakfast at no extra cost and she immediately said yes. In the mean time, another staff member came by to offer a refreshing beverage. The Mrs and Junior were seated on the sofas behind me and they were already offered drinks and Junior even got a nice little welcome present.

Ary provided a map of the resort and showed where everything was located. As part of Titanium benefits, we were able to join the happy hour festivities at the lobby bar – the normal rule is that it was only for adults and kids were not allowed. I asked if Junior could be allowed to join and Ary said to hold tight while she checked with her manager. She came back shortly and yes it would not be a problem.

I booked a basic room and used 2 SNA’s to upgrade to a Family Suite. The SNA’s clearly 5 days ahead of our arrival. Ary informed me that our room was not ready but she was going to put us into a temporary room and would call us when the room was ready. With keys in hand, we headed to our room to freshen up before heading to the beach.

The beach area

We were a bit peckish and ordered something to fill the belly

Satay, chicken wings and cheese fries – all delicious

Its not white sands of Boracay but a beach is a beach is a beach

We received a text from Ary indicating our room was ready. I texted her back to request someone to move our bags from our temporary room to the new room and I would come by the front desk to pick up the new keys.

We moved from the beach to the pool because Junior was tired of the beach. I left the Mrs to nap on the lounger while Junior made new friends and went to play with them.

Walking towards the room located in one of the wings

Quick tour of the suite – living room as you enter the suite

The bedrooms were to the left and right of the living room.

King bed to the right

Twin bedroom to the left

The pool area

Ikan restaurant located near the beach

We had to drag Junior out of the pool as we wanted to attend the happy hour. He was sad to leave but his mood picked up quickly after seeing all the sweet goodies. 😀

The lobby bar

Alcohol was extra $

While we were snacking, the guest relations manager came by to chat with us and check on us and how we were doing. Her effort to make small talk was greatly appreciated and she even came back on the 2nd day during happy hour to see how we were doing and see if there is anything else she could do to make our stay better.

Great breakfast spread with lots of items to choose from. The Western items were similar every day but other cuisines (Indonesian, Indian) had different selections each day. There was even a vegan section and it did look delicious.

We had a 2 day stay before we headed home but it was the best 2 days of the entire trip. The staff are the stars behind the property and they did not disappoint.

When we were checking, the assistant GM came by to say hello and thank us for our stay. He did inquire if there were any issues or if they could have done anything to make our stay better.

Highly recommend the Westin Bali to anyone.

We had a 12 hour layover and decided to just stay at a hotel rather than slumming it at the airport. Got a taxi to the Westin where our bags were swiftly taken care of and we were requested to head to the 32nd floor where the check in area and lobby bar was located. We were just tired and wanted to check into our room, have dinner and go to sleep.

Check in

Got a cab back to the airport at 6:30am and arrived at T2 around 7am.

Check-in was as efficient as it could get. With our tickets in hand, we headed for immigration and then the lounge.

While T2 is just gorgeous, T2 also is gorgeous from a design perspective.

Found the lounge and a spot in the back. Had a small breakfast as we would be having more food on the flight. Lounge was semi packed this early in the morning. Food selection was ok and to be honest, the food from the restaurants in the airport concourse itself were better by leaps and bounds.

We made our way to the gate eventually where security checks were done and boarding was called by the time we passed through.

Yay – 787!

Same regional seat

Well well, look who just pulled up.

Pushback was delayed by 20 minutes due to “congestion” at the airport. We were eventually underway and made the long taxi to the new runway.

Spooling up after 20 minutes of taxi time

Farewell Singapore – until next time!

Juniors breakfast

My breakfast – soooo good

Two hours later, we approached the shores of Bali

Immigration was a gong show with multiple flights arriving at the same time and everyone making a mad dash for the immigration counters. Multiple counters were open and yet the line up at each counter was 50 people deep. On top of that, the officers were calling up people one at a time even though there were families there. We eventually got through after 45 minutes and grabbed our bags off the carousel. After exiting the arrivals hall, we looked for Made from Made Real Bali Tours who picked us up and took us to the resort.

Next – Westin Bali

Our commute from the hotel to the airport was surprisingly quick. With a few sharp turns and quick lane merges, we were at the T3 curb in 10 minutes. Our goodbyes were done and we had to line up and show our passports and tickets to get inside (anyone without both were shoo-ed away).

Nice interior – more space compared to the woeful T2.

Found the SQ desks at Aisle A and we were helped after a 10 minute wait

I was dreading the line up for immigration/security but again, we were lucky and we walked right up to the front and waited for a minute before an immigration officer. While we were being processed, the officer asked for our visas.

Officer: “Where are your visas?”
Me: “What visas? We didn’t need one entering the country.”
Officer flips to the front of the passport
Officer: “Oh, you have a Canadian passport, sorry!”
😂

Security was quick as well and we were spit airside in 10 minutes.

This is a view from the top floor overlooking the security area.

All lounges were located on the 2nd floor and we just followed the directions.

CX lounge just opened after a looooong hiatus

The SQ lounge was fairly adequate, with a small but decent selection of food and alcohol plus it was comfortable enough.

Junior spotted this – awesome display.

Boarding was announced 30 minutes before departure and the walk to the gate took a leisurely 15 minutes. Boarding was already underway for business class when we got there and we went through quickly.

Same regional seat

One of the crew came by offering PDBs – eagerly accepted.

Boarding was done quickly and eventually we pushed back and were on our way.

Pro tip – you need to ask for slippers as they dont voluntarily give it out anymore and there is a limited supply.

Cabin shot – full-ish flight

The menu

Grilled prawns with mango salad – tasty.

Noodles with pork – was ok, pork was a bit dry.

Opera cake – was meh (the Costco Opera cake is waaayyyy better)

After a restful 3-ish hours, we approached Singapore. The pilot came on the comms and announced we could be delayed due to an incoming storm but we landed on time.

We flew in from a south easterly direction and the plane did a sharp 90 degree bank angle – never seen this before but as an avgeek, was loving it.

Hmmmm

T3 arrivals

We were dropped back at the airport one hour before departure and check in / security took us less than 5 minutes overall. The departure hall consisted of two bus gates.

Gate 1 here and Gate 2 behind us.

After scanning our BP’s, we were told to get into a specific numbered bus. Once aboard, we sat in the bus for a good 30 minutes. Our PAL flight just landed from MNL and we were eventually driven across the runway to where the planes parked at the arrivals hall. We still sat in the bus while passengers were deplaning. Our bus driver was impatient and drove around the aircraft 5 times like a prowling lion before boarding was announced over the walkie talkie.

We were off eventually where the plane taxi-ed to the other end of the runway for take off.

We made it back eventually.

Bags came out eventually and our friends picked us up to take us to the Marriott. A staff member eventually took our bags after a bit of waiting and directed us to the check in desk.

Lobby

The staff member who took our bags came back to give us a bag tag and also asked if I wanted to go the lounge to check in. Twice in one week? Yes please! We were handed off to another staff member who escorted us to the west wing of the hotel where the lounge was located.

Lobby bar

Rest of the lobby

Walked across this long path to get to the other wing

Almost there …

The other check in area

Another bar

Took the elevator up the club floor where the lounge was located and we were handed off to the staff at the desk. The formalities were done quickly and we had a 15 minute wait before our room was ready. In the mean time, we helped ourselves to snack.

The next morning, we chose to have breakfast in the main restaurant located back in the east wing.

We had a good stay at this hotel and would definitely recommend it. Again, it’s located in the Newport World area where other hotels are located plus the mall which we visited earlier. I would definitely give the edge to the Sheraton over the Marriott due to better service from staff all around, room styling, amenities and food.

Up next – Singapore Airlines and one night at the Westin Singapore

This was our 2nd trip to SLB – the first time back in 2013 felt magical, the 2nd time – not so much. Now overall, it was a fun and relaxing time but it lacked the polish compared to our 1st stay many years ago. Here are just some of the first world problems that I felt:

1. Too many guests for the SL staff to handle from arrival at the airport leading to a long wait time
2. All of us squeezing on the bus transport from the airport to the port lounge
3. Just lack of proactive customer service at the port lounge. Again, guest to staff ratio was skewed and the staff were busy running around trying to take care of everyone. Can’t really fault them as they did their best to ensure everyone was taken care of.
4. The overall stay didnt feel exclusive – when we stayed in 2013, the staff were super proactive in taking care of us and would always greet us no matter where we were on the resort grounds. This time, it felt like a bit of a factory experience i.e. breakfast, pool side service etc. The experiences where there was no one else around us felt better as we were the only people there and there were more staff to look after us.

The port lounge where there were departing and arriving guests. Seats were all taken and we had to stand in a corner. I went up to the front to hand my passports for them to take our information.

At least I got a hot towel

It was a 15 minute wait when one of the staff came by and advised specific guests to board the boat.

Quick boarding, speedy safety announcement and we were on our way.

15 minutes later …

The band welcoming us.

There were many buggy’s waiting for everyone. The three of us piled into one and we were on our way.

We pulled up to the front where we were greeted by another staff member and were escorted to the Lobby Lounge.

The concierge and check out desks.

We were asked to take a seat and were handed to another member of the staff who welcomed us and went through all the check in formalities.

Pineapple juice as a welcome drink

Once all the check in formalities were done, we were escorted to our room located on the 5th floor. Booked a partial ocean view room this time compared to a full sea view previously. The rooms are showing signs of age – the shower area tiles showed a little mould and grout cracking here and there, the wood floor was cracking or warped in certain areas and the overall decor of the room had not changed at all.

We quickly changed into swim gear and headed to the pool area for a dip. The weather was nice in the evening and the heat toned down.

Sunset

Tree lights

Breakfast was included as part of the cash rate package but we had to pay 50% off the rate for Junior since he was above 7 years old. The selection was excellent and there was always different food everyday – Western, Filipino, Asian, Indian etc. As mentioned before, service was lacking here – we were shown to our seats, our drinks orders were taken and despite specific instructions everyday, the order was always messed up. Other than that, the staff were moving around quickly due to the breakfast rush and looked like they were flustered a bit.

Wall of Donuts

Ice cream for breakfast? Yes Please!

Kids station

Bakery

More baked good and pastries

SL has two beaches – one in front of the pool and the other bigger beach near the dock where guests arrive to and depart from.

Smaller beach

Bigger beach area, less people in this area versus the smaller beach.

Lots of shade under the trees

Junior liked spending time at the pool more than the beach.

SL has an onsite Scuba dive centre – it’s where I got my OW certification many many many moons ago and 11 years later, got my Nitrox Air certification. I was lucky enough to be the only diver (other than the DM) on the 2 dive sessions.

On a couple nights, we spent some time at the arcade before dinner. Great time for both adults and kids.

Business centre

We didn’t notice the Adventure zone until the last day but Junior had a great time.

It was a relaxing 4 days and despite the minor gaps in service, we had a good time and enjoyed ourselves. Newer resorts have opened next door to the SL, so it’s probably worth a try to check out the competition in the future.

Immigration and customs was a breeze at MNL (the immigration officer thought the Mrs was Filipino – maybe thats why he was extra friendly). After picking up our bags, we met our friends who would take us to the Sheraton and spend time with us through our stay in Manila.

The Sheraton is literally located across the highway from the airport.

As is customary for all buildings, there was a quick security check on the car before we pulled up to the front of the lobby. We were helped immediately by staff and were directed to the check in desk.

The check in agent was very friendly during the check in and after a couple minutes, asked if I wanted to check in via the lounge since I was Titanium Elite. Not going to turn down a good offer. We were escorted up to the top floor where the lounge was located and handed off to the staff at the desk. In true Filipino fashion, the process was overly friendly and communicated well. Our room was not ready but it was a 15 minute wait till we got the keys in hand. In the mean time, we helped ourselves to some refreshments.

Check in area

Headed to our room located down on the 5th floor. I booked a base room on a cash rate and then used SNA’s to upgrade to a 2 bedroom loft suite.

The view from the elevator bank area. Funny point – it took 30 minutes to get to the hotel with the traffic under the highway. Without traffic, it would have been 5 minutes. Yay for infamous Manila traffic.

Quick room tour – little closet area to the left as we enter and full bathroom on the right.

Living area plus bed

Staircase on the wall opposite the bed leading up the loft area

One for me and one for Junior 😛

Wash area plus toilet immediately in front of the stairs

Shower

Headed over to the mall which is attached to the hotel. You can follow a path on the 2nd floor to get into the mall which is very convenient. Junior wanted Mickey D’s and was way better than what we get in Canada.

For dinner, we went up to the lounge and it was a very good spread. Service was also fantastic yet again from the staff.

Breakfast was provided and we had a choice between the lounge or the main restaurant. Tried the lounge on the first two days and did the main restaurant on the third.

After breakfast on the first morning, Junior and I headed to the pool for a quick dip. Since the pool was also located on the same floor as our room, it was an easy walk across to the other side of the building.

On check out day, we headed to the main restaurant for breakfast. Lots of western and asian choices.

We loved our stay at the Sheraton Manila – an all round hotel with good services. The only minus point is that since it is close to the airport, it is far from any attractions that you may want to visit.