Bali to Perth 2026

My last few days in Bali were spent mostly at the house where I relaxed, cooked, and watched a bit of TV. Both Joshua and Gayle had things to catch up on having been away for four days.  On Friday Dwi took me on the back of the scooter to Dreamland Beach which is south of airport. The roads weren’t too busy going there but coming back we had to weave through the traffic heading into Denpasar then out along the backroads it was less busy.  This was the first beach that I was tempted to swim at here in Bali but it was a bit too hot for me.  I like the cool of the mornings and less people.  There were mostly western tourists, some sunbaking others swimming and others surfing.  Dwi and I walked along the beach then sheltered from the sun in some overhanding cliffs before walking to the other end of the beach to do the same.  We stayed about an hour in all before returning to the house via Tiara for lunch and a bit of shopping. Back at the house we relaxed and watched a couple of movies till it was time for her to go and for me to get ready for bed.  Joshua was camping out with some mates and Gayle was meeting up with friends.

Saturday Ibu Rosa came and I showed her how to make up some spray for the mildew on the pumpkin leaves.  I cut back the badly effected leaves and bugged them up so the spores couldn’t infect the other plants. I also did a load of washing, got my Monday morning breakfast and lunch sorted and generally got things ready to pack.

Sunday we left early for church as we had a visiting minister from Hong Kong.  When we arrived I gave the church dog the chewie bone I had bought the other day, unlike our western dogs, she had no idea what to do with it and just left it untouched.  The service went well with a great message from Matthew 3:17. We like Christ are to know who we are and that God the Father has chosen us and loves us. After church Gayle took the visiting pastor and his wife to lunch.  Joshua and I and two of the girls from the congregation joined them.  I was amazed at how cheap the food was in comparison to other restaurants of this standard, I ordered half a rack of pork spare ribs, costing me only $5.21 AUD.  I’m going to miss these prices plus the Asian deserts.  Back at the house I organised my suitcase.  I was only allowed 20kg so had to take some things out to lighten the load.

I went to bed early that night taking a sleeping tablet to help me sleep through but I still woke at 3am and couldn’t get back to sleep till I was about to get up at 4:30am.  I’m glad I had put my alarm on as there were still things I needed to sort out before I could close my suitcase. I was just over the 20kg my 0.3 kg.  I was certain I’d be ok with that.  Gayle was up just after 6am and Josh not long after that.  By that time I had eaten my breakfast which I had decided I didn’t want to take and eat at the airport.

The roads weren’t too busy so we arrived in good time. Bidding my farewells, I lugged my heavy suitcase into the airport and waited till 9am check-in to drop off my suitcase.  I then finished my coffee (premade) and my water before going through customs and immigration without a problem.  I was surprised they accepted my frozen water as at some airports, frozen water is not accepted.  I then waited at the departure gate.   Before departing AirAsia sectioned off the area asking us to line up for a security check just before we boarding.  I was so annoyed!  They told us water was not permitted to be taken on the flight.  I think this is a rort, the airline is make us buy water on the flight.  I emptied my keep cup but kept the little bit of frozen water in a bottle which was accepted.

It’s a short flight but even so I fell asleep; I must have been exhausted from my previous lack of sleep.  Thankfully I had brought my own lunch which I ate plus the snacks and finished off the tiny bit of water that had defrosted.

On landing, we joined the queue for immigration; well, I decided I couldn’t stand that long and tried to join the families with small children’s queue.  One of the officials shouted that I couldn’t but then helped me through to the facial recognition point ahead of the queue.  I tried three times to get my face to be recognised by the camera; I took my mask off and then my glasses but it still didn’t work!  In the end I had to join another queue where others had had the same problem.  Here I leant up against a pillar then asked an official if he could find me a chair.  He was busy but later called me to his booth, checked my passport and waved me through.

Next I was asked by another official if I had anything to declare at customs. Yes, I had some nuts and rice. Oh he said, you will have to declare the rice.  I picked up my suitcase off the carousel and a woman came up to me.  She explained she had put a sample scent container on my bag for the customs dog’s training.  I smiled and said, Oh I hope he didn’t pick up anything I’d been carrying. She said no it passed the dog’s inspection.  Praise the Lord!  Some of the other passengers had been watching and had a bit of a laugh with me.

Heading towards customs I was horrified at the length of the queue.  Unlike previous trips, there were not two queues, one for nothing to declare and one for something to declare; this was just one long snaking queue from all the international flights that had just arrived.  I was grateful to have my large suitcase with me so I could sit on it as the queue progressed.  Finally I was sent to the ‘something to declare’ customs tables where I opened my suitcase and showed them the nuts and rice.  The nuts passed but the lovely rice I had brought all the way from Thailand was seized.  The khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is a very invasive species that can hide in raw rice and although I was disappointed I understood why it was confiscated.

Once through customs, I was out the door heading to the train station where I caught the train into the CBD then on to Warwick Station where my neighbour Kathy picked me up.  She had already turned on my hot water system and bought me milk and bananas for my breakfast.  I’m so blessed to have such lovely neighbours; well most of them bar one!  I unpacked most things before having a shower and jumping into bed exhausted!  Just before I fell asleep, the radio and lights came on! I had set them up to come on while I was away to help make the house look occupied.  They were two and a half hours behind time!  Instead of coming on at the sunset in the evening, the lights came on at 8pm after it had been dark for two hours!  I had asked my neighbours to check the timing as they told me the power had been off but obviously they had forgotten.  Praise the Lord He had His angels watching over the place and all was well.

Photos:  1. Purple shamrock – Oxalis triangularis    2. Dwi and I at Dreamland Beach    3. Dreamland Beach    4. Gayle’s seedlings

Prayer & Praise Points:

Praise the Lord for my safe journey home and all the wonderful things I was able to do while in Bali.

Praise the Lord for helping me through immigration and customs, both in Indonesia and here in Perth and for my wonderful friends and neighbours who welcomed me back.

Praise the Lord for the lovely spring weather here in Perth; a little bit of rain and lovely sunny days.

Please continue to pray for the Karen families not only in Thailand but also left in Myanmar. Persecution continues as churches are not only bombed but landmines are placed within their grounds. Pray for those applying for visas and permanent residency to join their families abroad.