RTW TP Run in Jan 2026: Day 11 – Early Morning in Denpasar, Bali

By Nige on January 28, 2026 at 12:59 pm
Type: Post
Story: Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026 Category: Travel
Tags: Denpasar | Hilton

Getting to sleep had been a struggle. I felt unusually cold, largely because the air-conditioning unit was positioned directly above me, and I had a vague concern that I might wake up with a stiff neck.

I could have adjusted it, but that would have required getting out of bed — and I simply couldn’t be bothered. I did eventually fall asleep, though overall it wasn’t a great night. The bed itself, at least, was very comfortable.

I woke at around 2am and used the quiet time to do some blogging and plan the day ahead. That also included a bit of ironing to dry my first T-shirt — without that, I wasn’t going anywhere.

At some point in the early hours, a monsoon-like downpour arrived. Had I still been asleep, it would almost certainly have woken me. The weather forecast was slightly surreal: thundery showers, rain, and humidity, all day and all night.

The temperature barely changed either. With nighttime lows around 25°C and daytime highs only two degrees warmer, the distinction between day and night felt largely academic.

I briefly flicked through the TV channels the previous evening and found the selection pretty dire. No SVU, no NCIS, no Castle. The best I could manage was BBC World — informative, but not exactly gripping.

There were supposedly three Starbucks outlets around the airport: one advertised as being open 24 hours, and two others scheduled to open at 5am.

And as anyone who knows me will appreciate, if there’s a Starbucks anywhere nearby when I wake up on holiday, I feel compelled to visit it.

So off I went.

I downloaded the Grab app and ordered a taxi to take me back to the airport. I could have walked, but it was still dark and it didn’t feel worth the risk. The Grab cost me around £1.50.

Just after 5am, the airport was very quiet — calm, almost serene. It didn’t feel especially hot, but the humidity was unmistakable.

I found the Starbucks at Domestic Arrivals, only to discover it was closed. I then wandered into Domestic Departures but couldn’t locate the supposedly 24-hour outlet at all.

Finally, I made my way to International Arrivals and spoke to a member of staff who was opening up. He confirmed that both Starbucks locations would open at 7am.

Helpful — but frustrating.

That meant it was time to head back to the hotel for breakfast, which started at 6:30am. A Grab taxi for the return journey would have been around ten times the cost of the trip out.

So my rebellious side kicked in and I decided to walk.

It felt perfectly safe, but by the time I got back, my T-shirt needed washing again.

I sat in the breakfast area with a latte from the self-service machine. There were still twenty minutes to go before breakfast officially started, but the staff were happy to let me in.

Breakfast itself was very good. There was an excellent selection — a mix of Eastern and Western options — though the baked beans were very definitely not Heinz.

Once I’d finished, it was time to head back to the airport again for the Starbucks mission — this time properly timed.

I walked both ways. Traffic seemed remarkably relaxed about pedestrians navigating the edge of the road, and I thoroughly enjoyed my real coffee. In my mind, that’s the only coffee that truly counts.

The return walk to the hotel felt easier this time. I knew the route, understood the traffic, saved myself around £10, and added roughly 1,500 steps in the process.

So what was I going to do today?

Most of the tourist attractions were located around 10–15km north-east of the airport, but that translated to only about £5 in a Grab taxi — hardly a deterrent.

By then, I’d formed a loose plan for the day: Grab to Big Garden Corner, on to the Bajra Sandhi Monument for a bit of culture, and then lunch at Level 21 Mall.

Sadly, the Panda Express element of that plan fell apart. The only confirmed location was much further north-east than I wanted to go.

Some plans, it seemed, would have to wait.

Next up: Afternoon and evening in Denpasar on Day 11 of my Round The World trip of a lifetime.

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Round the World Tier Point Run in Jan 2026