Last day in Bali & flights back home: DPS-HKG-ICN-LAXOur flight left in the late afternoon back to HKG, around 4:10 pm. For our last morning in Bali we decided to just stick to the Airbnb so DW and DD could go swimming in the pool. After we woke up and got ready, that’s exactly what they did.
While swimming in the pool seemed like a good idea, it was in fact a bit chilly for DW to be in the water, and DD wasn’t interested in swimming either for that matter. They both spent about 30 minutes in and out of the water while I watched before coming out and showering.
While we didn’t use it, this is the outdoor showerWe had made up with Wayan to pick us up to go back to the airport at around 11 am. While DW bathed DD quickly and showered herself, I packed up. By the time they were ready to go it was around 11:00 am. We didn’t see our Norwegian hosts when we left, but bid goodbye to those around us.
A short 1:20 minutes later we arrived at the airport. I paid Wayan and we were off. Inside the (not so air conditioned) terminal we had to first pass through a security check where all bags were screened. When we got to the Cathay check-in counter there was no one in line, though a queue started forming after us.
Sign in the bathroom at DPS airportWe were in economy on this leg, but I decided to try my luck with checking our bag all the way though to LAX. Sure enough it worked! I showed them my (paper) itinerary for the connecting flights in HKG and ICN on Korean Air, and after a while she was able to check the bag all the way to LAX. She even put a “first class” sticker on the bag and allowed us to carry all our carry-ons with us, despite us being in economy on the way to HKG. Score!
We proceeded though security to the terminal and up to the lounge. While the lounge was just a contract lounge used by tons of airlines, we got in with my Priority Pass, courtesy of the Chase Sapphire Reserve card.
The first thing we did was have lunch, some leftover soups. We took turns eating at the table and looking after DD. We spent some time in the kids room with her before another family came in with their kids and DD was able to socialize a bit.
I guess this is how you say seltzer in Indonesian
Some pictures of the lounge in DPS; it was quite crowded when I went so no good picturesBefore we knew it, it was time to go to the gate. Once at the gate we had all our bags searched again (not sure why), as it was the only way to get into the gate. Shortly after we arrived boarding began with people with disabilities and kids, in other words us.
Our flightWe boarded the plane and settled in. I checked on my phone and the seat next to us was blocked, presumably because we had an infant with us. While they airline made us check the car seat for the flight, having the extra seat really helped. The airline even gave us a bassinet to use, though we mainly used it for storage and DD didn’t want to lie down.
We left a few minutes late and had a pretty smooth flight. The salmon meals were good, though there was not as many side dishes as in first or busienss.
Meal on Cathay, coachBefore we knew it we were landing in HKG. We got off the plane and were waiting for our luggage along with a family that as traveling from Bali to Hong Kong to Vancouver to a smaller town in BC with 2 small kids. When the crew came off the plane and we were still waiting there we knew we’d need help. I spoke to some one and a short time later they brought us our Doona and the other family their stroller.
Since everyone was way ahead of us and it was now almost 10:00pm in HKG, we were through the health check in a matter of minutes looking for the Korean Air transit desk. While it took a while to find, there was no line at the desk when we arrived. After waiting for a while for the agent to fix the broken boarding pass printer, we got our new boarding passes and headed to transit security.
We had a while before our next flight, so after security we headed to the lounge. While I’ve only ever been to The Wing and The Pier lounges in HKG, this was my first time at another lounge. The lounge itself was pretty basic. We parked our stuff down in a pretty much empty area and I went to shower. The shower rooms were empty, and the shower was fine. We waited until it was about 50 minutes before our flight (which was at 12:45 am) to head to the gate, at around 11:55 pm.
Redeye flight to SeoulWe got to the gate and boarded relatively easily. Once on the plane, we headed to our seats, 1A and 1K in the very nose of the 747! While I’d have loved to be in these seats on a daytime flight where I didn’t just want to sleep, that was not the case. At ~3 long, this was a relatively short redeye flight that definitely left us quite tired. They don’t provide amenity kits on the short flights, but the flight attendant did have an eye mask for me.
Korean First Class, 747We left relatively on time and took off a few minutes later. A few seconds after takeoff I reclined into a bed and was sound asleep in a matter of minutes. After what felt like 10 minutes but in reality was the entire flight with just 10 minutes to go, we were landing in Incheon. We landed on time at 5:25 am on Friday. We were all a bit tired, but we got off the plane and groggily headed to the transit area.
They wanted DW to remove DD from the Doona, but she didn’t and they ended up being ok with it. They understood that we were coming off a redeye flight and were not in the best moods. We found the Korean Air First lounge a few minutes later and went up. It was quite empty when we first arrived they barely had any food out (not that it was kosher). We did see they had a few flavors of Haagen Dazs in the freezer, but that’d have to wait.
I first needed to daven, which I did in a conference-type room. I say that because there was not a long table like your western conference room, but rather a lot of chairs in a U around a low table. After I davened it was time to shower, first DW than me. While DW was showering I took advantage of the free luggage tags they offer and requested some for all of us.
We had a bit of time in the lounge—around 5 hours total—so after a while we went on a walk in the terminal, leaving our bags in the lockers. As we were getting ready to leave, the lounge associate informed us our luggage tags were ready. Boy are they nice!
We walked around a bit, watching the terminal fill up. By this time it was around 8:00 am, the middle of rush hour. We walked down the terminal looking at all the shops. We let DD walk as well as push the Doona, though that didn’t end well. We stopped by a piano that was playing itself and watching it for a bit before returning to the terminal.
We got back to the lounge with a bit more time to kill. At this point we were kind of hungry again, so we had some bread from our bag and some fresh vegetables form the lounge. DW even had a Haagen Dasz ice cream.
Around an hour later at 10:00, about 1:30 minutes prior to departure of our next flight, we were getting antsy, so we just decided to take a leisurely walk to the gate. We got to the gate about 15 minutes before they started boarding our flight, so we just sat tight.
Our flight to LAXWe boarded first (because of the baby, not because we were in first class), and they let us keep the Doona in another seat. We got to our seats, and before we knew it we were ready to go. It was cool being the only passengers (there was one crew) in First Class and having the entire cabin to ourselves.
One of our 7 seats, Korean Air FShortly after take-off we put DD to bed in the seat next to DW, and I joined DW for lunch in her suite. It was cool eating together, the first time we’d eaten facing each other on a plane. We had a lovely meal, though it got quite turbulent at the end. I didn’t have a seat belt on, being seated across form DW, though when the flight attendants were asked to take their seats because of the weather I got a bit nervous and decided to go back to my seat. I quickly jumped over to my seat and buckled up.
Korean Air Lunch; Mains: Spinach and Muhroom in puff pastry & a savory pancakeAt this point we just wanted to go to sleep. Since it was just us, we asked them to turn off the lights and make our beds, which they gladly did for us, as soon as the turbulence stopped and they were able to get up. I kind of felt bad for the flight attendants on this flight.
They were so b-o-r-e-d, all three of them. Either way, they turned off the lights and we both slept; DW for 3:30 and I slept 5:00. When we woke up it was pitch black outside.
Either way, since DD and DW were up before I got up, she just let DD excitedly explore the cabin. Once I was up and I had them turn on the lights (there’s no point to keeping them off if we’re up, right?) we decided to have breakfast.
Since DD was up at this time, we ate breakfast in shifts, first me then DW. Before we knew it, it was getting light outside and another Friday was dawning. We flew down the coast to some of the amazing views I was treated to last time I flew in from Asia, and before we knew it we landed in LAX at 7:15 am, Friday.
”Breakfast” including vegetables and soul (fish)
Sunrise #2 of FridayWe were out of the plane in no time, and made the long walk to customs. One interesting thing to note, was there was no picture of the president when we were going down the escalator to customs like there was last time. I guess LAX is not a Trump fan.
We were through customs in a matter of minutes, and met by my father waiting to take us home. It was a long 2 days of travel to get home, and sure, we could have done it a bit quicker, but in the end we were happy with Korean Air and all our other flights. A mere 18 days after we left, we were home again, ready to rejuvenate and recuperate for our next big adventure.
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