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Sunday 16 August 2009

Pi Bani pi Bali - Part 1

Waiting for the Ipoh-LCCT shuttle bus, with our luggage... the bulk being our Buddy Bears.

As early as 2.30 am on Saturday, 8th August 2009, 7 of us were already at the at the Ipoh-LCCT bus station in Ipoh. Originally 9 of us were supposed to be going for ICAAP (International Congress on Aids in Asia and the Pacific) in Bali, but one had to back out at the very last minute as her husband was unwell. Another volunteer didn't have to take the Ipoh-LCCT shuttle bus as she was already in KL and promised to meet up with the rest of us at LCCT.

We reached LCCT at about 6.30 am. The counter for our check-in was not open yet and so we decided to have breakfast first. It was while we were having our breakfast that our other colleague came and joined us for breakfast.

Anyway, things ran smoothly, flight was on time and reached Bali on time. Upon our arrival, even before immigration clearance, there were already people there holding ICAAP placards so that the delegates would know where to go and whom to approach. Although there was quite a queue for immigration clearance (they only opened one counter for that purpose despite the many foreigners around), our luggage got through without a hitch despite our initial worries that our package of Buddy Bears could be rather suspicious looking.

Our transport to our hotel was arranged by the ICAAP organisers, so we didn't have to worry about getting taxis. The hotel that we booked was not in the list of ICAAP's official hotels (we cheapskates opted for a budget hotel) but there was an official hotel nearby so we were supposed to be sent to the nearest hotel in the official ICAAP transport.

Well, the moment we got into the van with our things and all, we managed to coax the driver to send us to our budget hotel - giving our loads of luggage as part of the excuse. The other excuse was we had a handicapped person on a wheelchair in our team. The driver didn't argue at all, he sent us to right to the reception of our hotel, and although he didn't ask for it, we gave him a small token.

Our hotel... quite comfortable I must say despite it being a budget hotel.


Inside the room...

Outside the room

Our hotel pool


Initially we wanted to go to BICC (Bali International Convention Center) on the same day to register, but by the time we checked in and went out to get lunch, it was already 4 pm and registration for the day was only open until 5 pm; and so we decided to register on Sunday itself.

The long queue to get our delegates photo ID. Our friend here on the wheelchair managed to skip the queue. One of the organisers helped him out.

After registration and familiarizing ourselves with the convention center (which was quite a task I tell you... where was this room and that room... where was our booth at the Asia Pacific Village... where was my poster supposed to be put up etc) we went back to our hotel. We needed to get ready for the Opening Ceremony and Welcome Dinner at the Garuda Wisnu Kencana park in Jimbaran. We decided not to take the official shuttle bus for the opening ceremony. Thank God for that. Imagine our horror when we got to GWK and saw that all vehicles (except for VIPs) were to park at the bottom of the hill and we were all supposed to climb up all the way to the park where the function was supposed to be held. Even our van was not allowed to go up initially but the driver helped to appeal to the security people, telling them that we had a wheelchair-bound person on board - how on earth was he supposed to go up the stairs all the way?

So yes, our van was given permission to go up; even then our friend still needed help getting around as there were still some steps we had to go through to get to the park. Luckily the security people there helped to carry our friend in his wheelchair.

Group photo at GWK before the opening ceremony.

A not so sweet looking Malaysian with 2 sweet looking Balinese.


The Buddies present chairperson and past chairperson in action... nice or not my body??


A group of delegates with their attractive red umbrellas.

Performance on stage during the opening ceremony. Notice the moon?

Coming up next... Part 2 - The Congress activities...

12 comments:

sherry said...

Yay!!Che Pi kita dah balik..alhamdulilah..miss u lol...

Naz in Norway said...

Salam Kak Pi...

Cepat....cepat... can't wait to read the second part! :)

OH that person in the middle tu siapa ya. So ayu lah!

Pi Bani said...

Sherry,
Ya I dah balik... banyak benor benda nak cerita sampai tak tau nak cerita ni...

Pi Bani said...

Naz,
That person in the middle tu bukan jenis ayu tapi more of dah layu...

mamasita said...

Wahduh..nasib baik jugak the wheelchair bound guy tu ikut ye buk? Semua beres!heeee!
p.s. clever, clever!

Welcome home Pi!

Pi Bani said...

Mamasita,
At certain places, we all terpaksa mintak bantuan orang lain to help the wheelchair-bound guy move up or down staircases. Nasib baiklah ramai yang willing to help, kalau tidak payah juga because most of the places are not wheelchair friendly.

mekyam said...

welcome back, pi!

sounds like having a handicapped colleague turned out to save your delegation from quite a bit of handicaps. :D

Pi Bani said...

Mekyam,
Well yes, having a handicapped person in our delegation did save us from quite a bit of handicaps. Anak tangga kat GWK tu kurang sikit je dari Batu Caves - and my whole team managed to skip that! And our volunteer who wheeled him around during registration tumpang sekaki of not having to queue up for his photo ID.

Anonymous said...

Hi Pi,

Its has been more than 1 week since you left - hope you are fine.

Pi, can you teach me how to joget that Balinese dance?

Raf

Pi Bani said...

Raf,
Balinese dance? Very easy. Just find that big board dengan gambar those Balinese dancers, yang dah dilubangkan kat mukanya... then stick your head thru the hole. BERES!

wanshana said...

Welcome back Kak Pi :)

Hope dah hilang segala penat kat Bali.

Looking forward to Part II dan seterusnya ;)

Pi Bani said...

Wanshana,
Penat kat Bali dah over... now ni penat nak catch up with work at the office.

Part 2 coming up soon, on the Congress, and after that part 3 for the jalan-jalan around Bali.