TIMOR-LESTE REPTILE & AMPHIBIAN SURVEY
KL TO BALI

For Hinrich and the German team today was one of those days when not much other than travel can be accomplished. The hour-long morning drive to KLIA was uneventful, but at the airport they were reminded of tragedy. Malaysia Airlines, once one of the safest airlines in the world, had just lost two aircraft filled with passengers, one that disappeared on the way to Beijing and still has not been found, the other shot down by trigger-happy Russian nationalists over Ukraine. Both in downtown Kuala Lumpur as well as at the airport were memorials, with many signatures and mementos. The team were about to get on an identical aircraft to those that were lost.

The flight was its normal 2½ hour length, and the group arrived at Bali’s Ngurah Rai International Airport, with its gleaming new international terminal. As they had passed through here at the beginning of Phase IX, Hinrich was familiar with the layout and hoped that the line would be short and efficient. Alas, the line was one of the longest we have seen, and it took over two hours from leaving the plane until everyone had passed through immigration and customs. A driver from the Best Western Resort Kuta picked the tired group up, and took them to the hotel. By the time they got settled into their rooms it was 6.30 pm—and time for a swim.

Given jetlag on part of the German team members and the general tiredness that comes from travel and the humid climate, it was an early night.

Across the Pacific in Hawaii, Mark was also preparing for a short flight, the first in a series which would bring him back to Timor-Leste to join the Phase X team.

Click on any image to enlarge it
Click next page below for page 2