21-March - Saturday - We are Homo Sapiens Sapiens after all

The day started early by all of us 4 travellers meeting at the agreed time of 8.15am, with the one objective: Re-route the Perth-Zurich trip to a Denpasar-Zurich one. We had packed everything: laptop, passports, all our money, all valuables on us, just in case. We hopped into a taxi and off to Qatar office, via the zig-zagging Balinese roads, empty of tourists, with closed shops, little traffic and locals just busy with their phones and staring out into the distance. A sad sight, a very strange sight. At the destination the obligatory forehead temperature reading by the hotel staff, to let us pass. One of us returned 33.5 degrees, obviously an acceptable temperature reading which was acknowledged with a kind smile. We reached the still closed Qatar office to see masses of waiting foreigners once again, we tried to figure out what type of queue system was in place, how one is supposed to line up? The Swiss travelling lad ventured to the door to read the various signs and try to spy on others. To his horror he discovered a list with 40 spots and the 40th one already taken... For the time it took to process the reality of the all spots having been taken, an inventive fellow poor soul added in pen #41 and his name to it, quickly followed by another doing the same for #42 and this Swiss lad jumping to it, adding #43 and make it ours. I returned with the bad news to our group, we were in shock. The Homo Sapiens Sapiens genes kicked in. Laptop came out to log onto the Swiss email account and download all booking references and ticket numbers. We logged onto Qatar’s direct website to explore the option of changing the ticket ourselves, regrettably to no avail. We called friends to desperately ask them to immediately make their way to a dear friend and travel agent, to see if she might be able to assist, regrettably she was closed on the one Saturday it would have been amazing to have her insight. We sent an email instead, hoping for the best. We reached out to every single possible fellow Homo Sapiens Sapiens we knew with a remote connection that might be helpful: colleagues (current and old), exes with a potential number of use, friends of friends. It all come to nothing. The tension was high, mixed with the anxiety of the ticking clock... Having the 2 Travelling lads fly out whilst the Swiss were left to their own devices was really not a reassuring prospect. We decided we would NOT leave this queue till the 40th spot would be called, we started taking turns in the queue, with one or two of us going off for a walk (or a smoke for the two smokers in our party). The Swiss travelling lad desperately needed breakfast, having only managed to drink a cup of tea early in the morning. A walk and fresh air always do the trick. Is this how some of our forefathers got ideas? Is it the ability of standing up from doom and gloom, walking away from a crisis and venturing away to get a fresh perspective that made us Homo Sapiens Sapiens? Not giving up, not accepting fate but looking for a different way when there doesn't seem to be one? At 9am the Qatar office opened, and THE list was now in the hands of a staff member, guarding the door. We were on the list, which was now INSIDE the office. A good thing? No other name would go onto it, surely there was some hope? The Italo-Aussie travelling lad tried his strong approach and walked up to the door demanding to see the manager, who of course was not present. He voiced his great disappointment at their handling of the matter, indicating all these people needed help and ventured into the deeply unacceptable behaviour of really raising his voice at a Balinese, an immediate loss of respect in their eyes, but the only remaining weapon in his arsenal, hoping a strong voiced Westerner might make them buckle. The attempt failed. Those on the list were shocked in horror at his display of arrogance and anger, those that had NOT made the list rejoiced in someone voicing their concerns. More travellers were arriving, some walking straight to the door only to be told "You're not on the list, email the office". The rest of us picking up their pieces and providing them with the latest developments, having by now become "experts" of the process. They either resigned themselves to a long wait, hoping they might make it into the office or walking off. We regrouped and tried other options. A message was sent once again to the Swiss travel agency (despite it being fast asleep due to the different time zone) to urgently investigate the matter. We saw yet another sign on the Qatar door with an Australian number open Saturday & Sunday, off the Swiss travelling lad went to the reception of the hotel in which Qatar is located to make an international call the old fashioned way, via a fixed line, paying the hotel (it is good to remember the old days, when all we did is travel with a guidebook, a printed map and do the occasional phone call home using reverse charge from a pay phone). The rate was steep for the international call and a budget lasting 10 minutes was allocated. The 10 minutes on hold came and went, having listened to an electronic voice some other ingenious Home Sapiens Sapiens developed who knows how. We looked at booking a brand-new flight, and found plenty, starting at an easy AUD 4000 each. Fail again. We did what one does in desperate times, we called the Swiss Foreign Affairs Office's Emergency line. We were told they are trying to make sure Indonesia does not close the airport, allowing incoming flights to land, but otherwise to keep talking to the airline and the Swiss human at the other end (Sapiens Sapiens he does not deserve) finished the call with "don’t bother going to the Swiss Embassy in Denpasar as we can’t really do anything further, good luck!". We pondered if we could bribe the staff member holding the list? The Italo-Aussie travelling lad had blown any goodwill and was clearly seen as evil by the staff member holding the door, so the Swiss-Aussie travelling lad attempted a charm offensive at him, asking what number was currently being seen and indicating we were #43. He firmly stood by the maximum of 40 inquiries to be processed today, on orders of the Indonesian President himself. Bribing the guy would not work, that should have been done first thing in the morning. We were not done; we were developing more creative ways to approach this. Should one of us cough madly, produce foam in the mouth and collapse at the door? Would it cause hysteria and a mass exodus of the waiting competition? We decided for that approach to be put on hold. What if we sent our youngest member, female, to plead the staff member with THE list and start crying inconsolably? We thought that might work once #40 is reached. We decided once again to remain in the queue and should all fail, to call the Australian hotline and remain on hold for as long as it would take. Then the stroke of genius came from the Italo-Aussie travelling lad. He figured out two ladies sitting opposite us were holding position #38, he pleaded with them to please allow our Swiss travelling party to enter with them, as one group, when their turn would finally come. They agreed on the condition that only our youngest member, our junior, would enter, not my brother, her father. We consulted and decided it was our best attempt. We handed all required passports to our Swiss junior with instructions to remain on WhatsApp for instant consultation and feedback, once inside. 12pm came, the official closing time of the Qatar office, but we were still only in the 30s on calling list. The long wait was starting to strain our patience and our nerves. We observed people coming and going, seeing their interaction with the Qatar staff through the door. We consoled new arrivals who had to accept the fact they would not get an answer today and would have to return the following Monday. Finally, #38, the Swiss junior joined the ladies and happily walked in, without ever looking back to absolutely not give away our disguise. We observed her through the glass, trying to interpret every facial expression hoping to see a sign of success over failure. We received some good news as our junior reported the two ladies were in fact a random travelling party themselves, two ladies who had only just met! Great, it would mean our junior was not standing out, having two Swiss passports versus their Russian ones. Even better, one of the ladies lives in Italy and spoke perfect Italian chatting away with our junior as they consulted and waited for the Qatar staff gently and gingerly typing away at her keyboard without a care in the world. The disguise was complete! We paced the corridor, we stood, we hugged, but we always looked through that glass door at our representative inside. Finally, her turn came. The two ladies, having completed the transaction, came out and gave us an update. All positive, we exchanged phone numbers and thanked them 100 times wishing them all the best in their ventures. Our junior was doing brilliantly and finally at 2pm, 6hrs after we had arrived, she emerged with brand new tickets flying Denpasar-Zurich the coming Friday 27-March. We were mentally and physically exhausted. We dragged ourselves to the nearest shopping centre for a blast of air-con, away from the hot and humid corner of the Qatar waiting room where air-con was non-existent. We ate, we re-hydrated and went for some shopping. Once we had recomposed, we contacted our dear friends who departed the previous day and had so kindly offered us their villa, should we need it. And need it we did! Desperately. The hotel we were currently staying at had informed us of their imminent shut-down, as of this coming Tuesday. Thank goodness for friends. Accommodation sorted, knowing we would be under the watchful and trustworthy eyes of the Indonesian staff of our friends. Finally, it was time for a well-deserved relaxation at Mano Beach Club. We decided to take the long way, walking along the beach, the sight of the ocean extremely soothing for our nerves and our minds. The black sand of Bali, the gentle waives, the calm. We ordered beers, we ordered snacks, we swam in the pool, we absorbed some normality. Our German friends were contacted to please join us for laughter and drinks. So, they did. The evening approached with all of us laughing, bitching, cursing and drinking once again. Finally, we could settle into a few more days in Bali, hoping to have some enjoyment. It is good to know that we are resilient, we are innovative, we are agile. We are proud Homo Sapiens Sapiens, but we need the support of each other, alone we will fail. Alone we miss pieces of the puzzle. Alone we lack the resilience, the innovation, the agility to adapt at changing circumstances.