The Gods Are On My Side!

 

After being immobilised by a mass of Balinese worshippers, luck seems to have been on my side. Either these kind people put a good word in for a harassed looking ex-patriate woman, noticing that I desperately needed help or it could have been to do with my visit to the Goa Gajah in Ubud, alternatively known as Elephant Cave which is thought to have been a hermitage for eleventh-century Hindu priests. Maybe the spirit of an eleventh-century priest took pity on me? Who knows? Whoever or whatever caused this fortunate intervention in my life, has given me hope that no matter what obstacles or challenges may present themselves, we can be grateful for what we do have and be even more grateful when things do go our way.

My first stroke of luck was by booking a KLM flight to Singapore (they are currently offering a great deal). Normally I fly back and fore on the budget airlines which, during the peak times, feels like I've jumped on an over-crowded bus that happens to fly in the air rather than drive on the ground. At times, I also feel a little ripped off, such as when I'm thirsty, I'm forced to pay US$3.00 for a bottle of water when it costs less than US$1.00 in the supermarket and I can't even take my own water on the plane due to security reasons. On the KLM flight, however, I was given water for 'free' and I didn't have to worry about scraping together enough Indonesian rupiah to pay for it! I must have been the source of amusement to other KLM passengers. I felt so privileged and excited to be in economy class, I couldn't stop smiling. I was so grateful for the headphones, the stewardess looked at me peculiarly, like I had appeared from the caveman ages. I hurriedly put on my headphones and selected a nice, romantic movie 'Letters to Juliet'. What a treat! I had no children and no husband to dictate my movie selection. A warning appeared on the screen to let me know that there wasn't enough time to watch the whole film on the flight. I didn't mind in the slightest, the thrill of having a TV screen far outweighed not being able to see the end of the film. The smell of hot bread rolls, drove my taste buds into an instant salivation delight and the prospect of selecting wine to accompany my dinner, seemed too good to be true, so I politely asked for water instead and afterwards kicked myself for not having been bold enough to ask for some wine. The spicy, stodgy noodles delivered to me were a bit of a disappointment, but I optimistically told myself that the food would be much better on my return because the food would be prepared in Singapore rather than Bali. There were mainly Europeans on the flight on their way back home from Bali via a quick stopover in Singapore. I was enjoying my experience so much I wanted to stay on board with them rather than alight in Singapore.

My second stroke of luck was the next day, when I ventured out in Singapore first thing in the morning. I was still smiling from having flown economy rather than budget, the sun was shining and I was on my way to catch up with my long standing French hairdresser Davieeeeeeed (this is how he pronounces his name David and he calls me Janeeeeeeeete which I absolutely adore and makes my knees quiver). En route, I noticed how serious the workers looked in Singapore as they marched to their offices and must admit that I missed the smiling faces of the Balinese
people. Fortunately for me, my hairdresser who usually only cuts my hair, highlighted my hair this time and we spent 3 hours having a wonderful chat comparing the pros and cons of Bali and Singapore.  In the evening I presented to a group of Swedish business professionals and was mistaken for being Swedish! My cover was broken when I couldn't respond to them in Swedish. I was flattered by this compliment and can only assume that they made this mistake because I had my hair highlighted that morning!

My third stroke of luck was on my return to Bali.  Sandra, our Office Manager in Singapore asked if I would like her to try to check in on-line for me and then she could get me a seat at the front of the plane. On the way back to Bali, it always makes sense to sit as close to the front of the plane as possible to get ahead of the long queues of people who quickly congregate and at a snail's pace make their way through the painstaking immigration process. If I can get to the front of the plane, I can cut down my queuing time by at least an hour! When I arrived at the check-in desk, the assistant attached a 'priority' label to my luggage. I thought this as rather kind of her and assumed that she had done this because the plane would be carrying on to a further destination beyond Bali. She then asked me where my return ticket to Singapore was, looked at me suspiciously and sent me over to another desk where I had to quene up again and report to an official looking man. Not being amused about having to queue once again, I pompously explained that I have a villa in Bali as well as a place in Singapore! The officials apologised and allowed me through as a frequent traveller. Rather than the free for all, rugby scrum to the plane, KLM uses a more civilised and orderly approach. They allow you on the plane according to seating order, so after Business Class, people with disabilities and parents with young families, the back of the plane goes first, followed by the middle and front of economy class. I looked at my seat number and it said '2F'. How convenient, Sandra must have placed me at the front of the plane after all. I waited for my seat number to be shouted out, but they seemed to forget about my row, so I assertively made my way forward and joined the long queue onto the plane. The Dutch cabin crew laughed and joked with me that I would eventually get a seat, even if it meant sitting on somebody's lap. I laughed and joked back that at least I would be sitting on top of the long queue.  As I walked through the Business Class section, I could see a blonde, young air stewardess handing out red and bright blue alcoholic cocktails to the passengers. While wondering what these drinks consisted of, I saw two young Asian females laughing and excitedly taking photos of themselves holding up their cocktails with glee and looking as if they had never travelled Business Class before. Well I was excited to be flying economy compared to the budget airlines. When I walked into the economy section, I panicked as the seat numbers started from number 10. I quickly doubled back against the crowd of passengers who were still wading their way down the ailes and I asked an air stewardess what had happened to my number. She sent me in the direction of Business Class!  I couldn't believe my luck, the nitpicky check-in assistant wasn't so nitpicky after all. This kind woman had given me a seat in Business Class! No wonder my baggage was given a priority label. I was treated to a first class meal of salmon and dill appetizer, garouper fish, organic carrots and new potatoes as my main meal and a blackcurrant desert. All this was delivered on porcelain plates and with a real knife and fork. I was given a vanity bag with an eye mask, toothpaste, socks and lip salve and at the end of the journey was given a quaint little porcelain, blue and white Dutch house. The toilets had anti-deodorant, handcream and facial moisturising cream - I used the whole lot and smelt absolutely wonderful which was more than could be said about my neighbour who had B.O. and snored like a fog horn. Oh well you can't win them all, but I did manage to drown out the snoring with my headphones and the fragrant smells of the lotions from the washroom created a protective ring around me which seemed to repel the smell of the guy sitting next to me. This was my first experience of KLM and a very pleasant experience it was. I was very grateful indeed and will remember to count my blessings.

'When I started counting my blessings my whole life turned around." 
Willie Nelson

Janet

Enjoy discovering how to turn your life around on our intensive 7 day NLP programme in Bali this Nov 28 - Dec 4 NoLimits NLP 
www.nolimitsasia.com