Flirting my way into Christmas

For over 25 years, that’s half my lifetime, my Christmases have been about putting family first: my daughter, my parents, my spouse or partner at the time, and his family too. And, thanks to them, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience Christmases in both the humid heat of Suva and the chilly frosts of London.

But, earlier this year, I decided it was time to spend Christmas doing something for myself. So, I booked a trip to Bali. Leaving on 24 December and returning on 2 January.

Why Bali, you ask? Well, I wanted to go somewhere tropical, a little bit exotic but not too foreign, experience a culture I’d never before, stay at a luxury location that’s accessible, eat interesting food, and meet friendly people. Bali ticked all the boxes.

I booked my flights in July. I found a great Business Class package with Emirates, with the only one stopover in Auckland. By early November, after much research and several rethought bookings later, I’d settled on a 5-star resort in Ubud.

Located in the lush rainforested hills of Bali, Sankara Suites and Villas offered a generous-sized suite with traditional high ceilings, private pool, outside sunken bath, curtained four-poster bed, waterfall shower, and an onsite restaurant and spa.

For two months, I dreamed of this place. Through the stresses and tensions of work, I visualised myself relaxing in this tropical paradise, with just a tiny bit of fear that it might not meet my expectations. But, more about that tomorrow!

Travelling on Christmas Eve

At around 5.30 am on Christmas Eve, I headed to the airport three hours before my first flight with some hope that Emirates would check my bags all the way through to Denpasar. No such luck. Code-sharing with Jetstar meant that the first leg would be a budget domestic flight to Auckland, where I’d have to grab my bags from Domestic baggage claim and then head to the International Terminal. No biggy.

Now, if you ever find yourself flying overseas at this time of year, I highly recommend booking Business Class flights (if you can afford it, of course). Not only do you get a generous luggage allowance and lots of legroom, but you also stand in shorter check-in queues and, best of all, you get to escape those aggressive Christmas passengers jostling for the few seats at the gate by hiding out in a premium airport lounge for a few hours.

Landing around 10.00 am, I had plenty of time to find my bag, get over the International Terminal, stand in an empty Business Class check-in queue for 10 minutes, and then spend two and a half hours chilling out in the Emirates Lounge.

 Business Class queue versus the Economy Class queue

Rated the best of the three lounges available at Auckland Aiport, it offers lots of seating, a view of the tarmac, a sumptuous buffet of chef-prepared food, alongside wine, beers, spirits and champagne as well as the usual coffee, tea, and juice.

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Surprisingly good company

My next flight left Auckland at around 2.30 pm. Sliding through the Business Class queue at the gate, I boarded quickly and settled into my window seat. About 5 minutes later, my seatmate arrived – a good-looking guy in his mid-40s, with a smartly trimmed beard and a friendly smile. We introduced ourselves.

And, yes, I flirted. Seriously, couldn’t help myself. After all, if you can’t do that at Christmas time, when can you!

(And, no, I did not take a photo of him. That’s just creepy.)

Keith and I spent taxiing and take-off learning a bit more about each other: where we were headed, why we were travelling solo at Christmas time, and what we did for a living. Which led to a lengthy discussion about working for the private sector versus the public sector, what it means to do a job that you love and that makes a difference, and what it takes to build a diverse career and resume.

Sounds boring when I say it like that, but there was quite a bit of sarcasm and ironic humour from both of us, punctuated by flirtatious laughter. Well, I think that’s what we were doing – I’ve forgotten what flirting looks like, much less feels like.

He’s ex-military (six months in the Navy plus stints in East Timor and the Solomon Islands with the Army), ex-policeman (ten years in the force and a year teaching at the college), and an ex-intelligence officer for private security firms – the last of which promised professional development and never followed through. So, he quit in April and focused on renovating his Upper Hutt property – which he’d only finished staging as a rental at 8.00 pm the night before our flight.

He also holds a Master’s degree and loves his Mum. Smart, sweet, and cute. Daymn.

For him, Bali is a three-day stopover on the way to short stays in Paris and London, then a month-long Security Management course in Glasgow, and several weeks travelling around Norway with his brother, before he’ll eventually settle in Cairns where he hopes to set up his own consultancy.

So… not future husband No. 3 then. Ah well, nevermind.

Anyway, we spent the first 20 minutes of the flight exchanging anecdotes of our experiences of Paris, particularly our shared love of the Louvre and Saint Chapelle. We agreed that it’s too challenging to live out of carry-on when you have to pack enough clothes for several countries and four seasons in as many months.

He’d never flown Business Class before and he initially both scoffed at and delighted in trying out all the buttons and amenities around his seat. When the purser came around just after take-off with a couple of large white bundles in his arms and asked if either of us if we would like a mattress, we both shook our heads with bewilderment. We then turned to each other and burst out laughing. “Oh how the other half live,” he said.

See for yourself: Emirates Business Class | Auckland, NZ to Denpasar, Bali (YouTube, 25 secs)

And get this: he wasn’t meant to be in that seat! He’d booked an Economy Class seat and then had a drama at check-in with excess baggage. After going back and forth between three counters to pay the fee and finally getting checked in, the Emirates official then informed him that he’d been selected for an upgrade. To Business Class. To the seat next to moi. Lucky him!

Thanks to his delicious company, it was the quickest and most enjoyable 8-hours I’ve spent on a plane. Perhaps also due to the glass of champagne before take-off, the three-course lunch served on my cloth-laden tray-table with real cutlery, the further two champagne cocktails, the much-needed two-hour snooze, the afternoon tea of antipasti and an espresso martini, and the three recently released movies, interspersed with more chats with my cute seatmate.

After disembarking, we lost sight of each other at immigration (to be honest, the poor bugger probably wanted to get the hell away from the giggling 50-something!). But, just as I was heading for the exit, we crossed paths at the baggage carousel. I shook his hand (a hug would have been nice, but I fear a step too far), I thanked him for his wonderful company and wished him all the best with his future plans.

I then stepped out into Bali’s oppressive humid air with a renewed spring in my step and a wistful smile on my face.

Sigh. Nothing beats flirting your way into Christmas.