After two amazing weeks in Bali, two new first class lounges and the nose of a Cathay 747 to ourselves – it was finally time to start heading home. First stop: DPS airport.
The Alila driver dropped K and I at the domestic terminal, where we said our goodbyes to Mr and Mrs R, who were then driven on to the International terminal.
Thankfully, I’d prepared a few little treats for myself. There is nothing worse than having nothing but work to look forward to, whilst you’re still on holiday. You need to really make the journey home count.
I still had my first ever flight in Garuda Business Class to look forward to as well as my first long haul flight on Cathay in First Class… oh and another go at First on Cathay’s 747!
I love how you get to prolong your holiday at DPS, the airport is unmistakably Balinese.
In the past I had used one of the terrible gate lounges (open to everyone but Skyteam) at DPS so was really looking forward to using the Garuda lounge at one of their flagship airports. When we first got to the lounge the place was overrun with people but after about 20 minutes or so most of them cleared out.
Past the greeting desks you enter an area which kind of resembles a hotel lobby.
The buffet is in the centre of this area and features a selection of both Western and Indonesian food. There was no liquor or champagne but beer was available (much the same as on domestic GA planes)
A rather menacing looking machine which produced some watery coffee.
After visiting numerous Japanese lounges, I thought I’d seen everything…
Time for one quick instagram post before our flight.
Indoors was pretty boring, so I made myself an iced espresso, grabbed Kamara and waited outside until boarding was called for our flight. There’s something very cool about being able to escape the hermetically sealed confines of an airport and these experiences are memorable for their rarity if nothing else.
To be honest though, it was nice to be outside enjoying the heat but this area is not a patch on the outdoor terraces at the VS clubhouse at LHR or the Star Alliance lounge at LAX.