Epilogue

I’ve got a vacation hangover. I had a fantastic time, beyond my wildest expectations. Diana and I were able to be with our host daughter at her wedding and spend time with her and her wonderful husband. We stayed in the nicest hotel I’ve ever seen, and seen the most beautiful tropical beach. We visited historic sites that were 12 centuries old, learned about the many diverse cultures of Indonesia, hung out in the best airport in the world, was chauffeured on the craziest roads ever, and took so many photos that trying to upload them here hit my upload quota halfway through. I’m going to upload them to a Google Photos folder and share that here for you.

While I took a lot of photos, there were many photos I didn’t take. There were roadside junkyards, litter on the street, sickly stray animals, run down buildings, and unsightly areas like there are in any big city. The room in Bali smelled a little moldy. Sometimes the service was slow. I could have chosen to focus on the negative during the trip, but instead focused on all the wonderful things we were experiencing and the time spent with loved ones. We all have that choice – and I’m going to make a point to keep my focus on the good and be grateful for what I have.

We overpacked terribly. We had one completely full large suitcase with clean clothes on the way home. We more more long pants than anticipated, as they were required in the temples and historic areas. The climate was also milder than I expected. It was really very comfortable in Wonosobo, north of Yogyakarta, and Ubud.

It was a tearful goodbye when Ary and Dichi dropped us off at the Bali airport. We had no problems with our flight to Singapore, if you ignore the tall Australian lady in front of me who was oblivious to those around her. This was a Singapore Airlines flight, not a code share, and they clearly understand customer service. Even in Economy class, they treated every customer as a valued customer. We spent less time in the Singapore airport than our first trip, and spent it looking through photos and reflecting on the journey.

The flight from Singapore to Hong Kong to San Francisco was long, but I actually slept better in Economy than I did in Premium Economy a week earlier. I think the cloth seats breathed better than the leather, and had a travel neck pillow that helped. We were given lunch on the first leg, dinner and breakfast on the second. We also watched several movies together, including the live action Disney films Jungle Book and Dumbo.

Our perfect travel record was broken once we arrived in San Francisco. Thankfully, the customs agent told us that our luggage had to be picked up there, not in Chicago as we had expected. Then we thought we would be able to pass it right along but our next flight was more than 3 hours later, so we were told to take it to the check in counter. We were directed to the Sky Train to get to Terminal 2. Unfortunately, it took us to the rental car facility first, and the ride took longer than had we simply walked. When we got to the Alaska Airlines counter, they would not check us in either, so we ended up taking an extra half hour only to have to haul our luggage to the hotel in San Francisco for the overnight.

The hotel was the least impressive and most expensive of our trip, but it was great to have a bed to sleep in before our next leg. We got out early to the airport, checked our bags, and waited through a nearly 2 hour delay. Fortunately, we were in communication with Meredith, who was going to pick us up at O’Hare, and told her to wait before leaving.

When we landed, we got our luggage pretty quickly and met Meredith in the pickup area. She drove us to Kenosha, where we stopped for dinner at Culver’s. It was super busy, as the Renaissance Fair had just closed and we saw lots of people in costume. Still, the food was good and we were back on the road and back home just after 10 pm.

We gave the girls some gifts from us and from Ary, and did a little unpacking of laundry before going to bed. This morning, I woke up at 10 am and Diana slept in until noon. It’s been a day of washing clothes and getting back into my exercise and food routines. Speaking of which, I weighted myself this morning, and gained a total of a statistically insignificant 0.2 pounds! I was pretty happy about that.

I have no regrets. This trip filled me with so much joy and wonder. It proved to me that halfway around the world isn’t too far to stay connected with those you love. It taught me what it feels like to be an ethnic minority for the first time, and showed me how a respectful and tolerant society should treat those who are different from them. I received nothing but kindness and love from everyone I met. I learned how to overcome communication barriers and what it is like when you’re not understood. I wondered at the history and archaeology of the country and the modern architecture and engineering that followed. I saw the best in people, and the paradox of ordered chaos in the streets. I learned, I loved, I lived. I am a different person, in the best possible way.