Mommy thinks she will do a couple of separate posts about our week in Balikpapan. This first post will be about getting to Balikpapan. Mommy stayed up late the night before packing. Although Mommy tried to pack lightly, we still had several bags. There was one medium sized bag full of clothes and other essential items and one small bag with 3 sleeping bags. Mommy also had a laptop bag and her purse/diaper bag. Joseph carried a little backpack.
We got to the airport early because it was friday. Traffic on friday afternoons and monday mornings are worse than the usual bad traffic so we got to the airport around noon although our flight did not leave until 4:30pm. Also, Mommy thought going early would give the driver plenty of time to go to the Mosque to pray (customary in Indonesia for the men to have time off from their employment to go to the Mosque on friday).
The several hours we spent at the airport were rather crazy. Katelyn refused to walk so Mommy tried to carry Katelyn and the larger suitcase plus the laptop bag and the diaper bag. Joseph was refusing to carry the smaller carry-on sized bag and his backpack. Audrey insisted on holding a non-available hand after she threw a fit about not being carried. It was quite an ordeal to get through security and then to the check-in counter with 3 non-cooperative children.
The airport was hot and crowded with people. We had to stop at one counter to get some kind of printed itinerary. Then we had to go through security. Then we had to get our luggage strapped. At least with Garuda airlines, you have to have your luggage wrapped with a yellow strap. So, Mommy had tried to get in the baggage/check-in line and was sent to get the bags strapped. While we were trying to get the bags checked in and get our tickets, Audrey insisted she had a potty emergency.
Mommy had a hard time finding a restroom. The one we found was far away on one end of the terminal and it was super crowded. There were only two stalls and I think one was non-functional. There was several inches of water or something nasty on the floors. The bathroom smelled awful.
Mommy decided to try and find a different restroom. Then Audrey said she didn't have to go after all. Mommy was relieved so we went to order some food for lunch. Of course right after we ordered and got our food, Audrey said she really had to go potty. By now, Mommy was feeling highly agitated and anxious. Mommy didn't know what to do with the food we just ordered. Mommy would never have done what she did next under normal circumstances, but Joseph said he would stay with Katelyn and eat while Mommy ran Audrey to a restroom. Mommy thought, what kind of an insane mother would leave a 2 yr. old in the care of a 5 yr. old in a foreign country at a crowded airport? Well, the answer is a totally desperate one. Mommy ran Audrey all the way down to the other end of the terminal. This restroom also had two stalls but fewer people. Audrey did her thing and Mommy and Audrey ran all the way back to where Joseph and Katelyn were sitting. Katelyn was happily licking her ice cream cone and Joseph was still eating his chicken nuggets. Mommy was relieved that nothing had happened to them and that they were still there.
After lunch, we went to find our gate. The gate was a little bit of a walk and Katelyn refused to walk again so Mommy had to haul her all the way to the gate. There was another security checkpoint before we reached the gate. Once we got to our gate, the kids said they were thirsty. Mommy left Audrey and Joseph at the gate and took Katelyn out past security again to buy drinks. By now Mommy was starting to get angry and she was tempted to text Daddy that she hated Indonesia and she hated him for bringing us there. Mommy refrained from writing anything nasty and just texted that she wished she had stayed home instead of trying to fly to Balikpapan with 3 crazy kids.
So while we were at the gate, Mommy noticed that all the annoucements were only in Indonesian. Then after an annoucement, a large group of people would get up and leave the gate. Mommy was a bit concerned and confused so Mommy asked if we were at the right gate. The people at the gate assured Mommy it was the right gate. After we'd been at the gate a little while, Audrey insisted she had another potty emergency. Mommy was getting very irritated with Audrey, but Mommy took Katelyn and Audrey to the restroom. Then Audrey said she didn't have to go. Mommy was really not having a good day. When we got back from the restroom, Mommy asked a lady sitting nearby if she was going to Balikpapan. She said yes. Just a few minutes later, another annoucement in Indonesian was made and the lady said that we needed to change gates. Now it made sense why the masses were exiting every time there was an announcement. Not long after we got to the next gate, there was another annoucement...of course it was all in Indonesian again. The nice lady that helped us said that we needed to go down some stairs and to the bus. Mommy was wondering why we had to go to the bus. Anyway, we boarded the bus and it took us to the plane.
We finally boarded the plane and were off to Balikpapan. On the plane, Audrey said she had to go potty again at another very inopportune moment. The stewardesses were handing out food and drinks so we were blocked in on both sides. Audrey insisted it was an emergency. Mommy told her she would have to wait. Luckily, it all worked out. A few hours later we were in Balikpapan. Daddy was already at the airport waiting for us. So getting to Balikpapan was one of the worst experiences Mommy has ever had, but in the end we were glad we went. Mommy will post more about our week in Balikpapan in other posts since this one is already ridiculously long.
Katelyn eating her ice cream cone...photo courtesy of Joseph.
Waiting at the gate for the flight to Balikpapan.
