i go to check in for my flight at Jakarta airport.  it is 4:30am in the morning when the airport staff checks my paperwork.  then she tells me “i’m sorry, you need a Covid test 24 hours before this flight.”  i said “what?  yesterday the airport staff told me it was 48 hours before the flight?”  omg, i had my PCR test over 24 hours ago so they told me i couldn’t board.  i ask “is there somewhere i can take one now?”  she points down, up, side, then left.  i plug that into my memory and start running!  of course i just left my surfboards behind because there is no way i was going to make it in time lugging all of that.  i didn’t even care if somebody stole it, i just wanted to get out of Jakarta!

finally i get to this little makeshift table where you sign up for a covid test.  of course, no signs, and nobody spoke English.  thankfully, sign language is international.   i sign up, pay the 85,000 rupiah, then get directed around more corners.

i get to the makeshift testing booth.  i couldn’t believe they were going to stick that thing up my nose again!  but once again, they could have stuck it in my ass.  i just wanted to get out of Jakarta!

it was the longest 10 minute wait of my life.  i was thinking if it was positive, i would immediately get escorted to a government facility and be quarantined for 7 days.  i heard from Bol that the quarantine in Jakarta is like prison.  thank goodness it was negative.  i start running back…

i get to the counter just in time, then i see the staff measuring my board bags.  if you’re a surfer, that is very bad news.  i’ll explain later…

it’s crazy how small this world is.  i’m running into so many people from all over the world in Bali.  i haven’t seen some of them in years but they just pop up in the most crazy places.  that’s the cool thing about traveling.  you just never know who you will see and when you see that person, it makes your trip so much better.  the coolest thing about everything is we all love the same thing, and that is SURFING!  here we are enjoying the taxi out for an epic surf session.  it was only us!!!

traveling with surfboards can be a nightmare.  not so much lugging it around, but dealing with the airline staff and excess fees.  i heard a lot of airlines need money so they’re charging outrageous excess baggage fees.  Takahashi-san told me he paid over $400 for his surfboards on a domestic flight in Bali, the same one i’m about to fly on.  he only had 3 boards and i have 10!  we shall see what happens.  for now, i paid this porter $3.50 to take my baggage all the way to the counter.  i tried to do it myself but my boards fell off.  haha…

as my trip is coming to an end, there are steps to follow.  which steps i really don’t know.  i came here with a negative PCR test so i thought i’d go home with a negative PCR test.  at first, i thought it was easy because the one i got in Hawaii was painless.  so the nurse takes a swab of my saliva.  easy!

then she said “look up please.”  and i felt a long stick going up my nose almost coming out of my eye!  it hurt so much and that was one of the most uncomfortable things i’ve ever felt.  by the way, the PCR test cost me $15 in Bali.  that’s cheap compared to the $160 i paid in Hawaii.

it’s pretty nerve racking opening up the result when they send it 12 hours later.  i won’t lie but i was thinking “omg, what if i’m positive?”  but thankfully, i was Negatif, what ever that means.

before my long journey back to Hawaii, i’m going to soak in a nice bubble bath, change out of the t-shirt and shorts i’ve been wearing for the past 8 days, and get ready for the challenging journey back to Hawaii.  i’ll be going on 3 flights passing through 4 International airports.  add the transits, layovers, and hassles of lugging 10 surfboards and my suitcase, it will take me 2 days.  but you know what?  it’s ALWAYS worth it!