Category: Indonesia

Despite a 15-minute departure delay, we made it to San Francisco on time.

I used to fly a lot, back when I was teaching classes for Lesley University. A lot has changed on airplanes since those days. Now, planes have in-seat power, USB ports to charge your phone, and elaborate on-board entertainment. The flight to SFO didn’t have in-seat entertainment systems, but it did have a bring-your-own-device system. You simply downloaded an app before takeoff, and connected to the plane’s WiFi in order to view a large selection of movies. I connected my phone to USB, clipped it in to the seat-back phone holder, and enjoyed watching Shazam.

After the movie, I checked out the flight tracker and tried to see if my next flight was on time. Unfortunately, it was a code share flight, so I couldn’t connect to Singapore Airlines’ website. I would need to wait until we were on the ground.

You could pay for in-flight internet, but I chose to use the free features that simply allowed or WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Apple Messages. It took a while to figure out how to activate the free texting, and it was a little finicky with the iPhone at first, but eventually I texted the girls. Elizabeth didn’t respond. She was presumably sleeping. Meredith did reply and we had a brief conversation until she needed to get to sleep since she has to work tomorrow morning.

I struck up another conversation with a good friend. Unfortunately, right in the middle of some larger messages, the WiFi connection died . It came back shortly afterwards, and we wrapped up 30 minutes before we landed.

Upon arrival, we had to leave the terminal and take a train to the International terminal, where we could check in with Singapore and get our Boarding passes. This was a bummer, as we had to leave the security checkpoint and re-enter, dumping out the majority of our $4 bottles of water we purchased at O’Hare.

At the ticketing counter, we got to go to a special line for Premium Economy due to our upgrade. An airline agent walked out to greet us and escort us to the counter. She cleared up an issue with our luggage only being checked through to Singapore, and changed it so we can pick it up in Yogyakarta instead. This will save us the hassle of having to re-check our luggage at the counter after our 19 hour layover.

Here’s where I learned that different airlines have different policies for carry-on luggage. We were permitted one bag, instead of the two allowed by Alaska Airlines in Chicago. Also, carry-on bags must be less than 8 kg. We didn’t weigh them as domestic airlines don’t have that requirement. Fortunately, the agent did permit it all, as the bags included wedding gifts and medical supplies. We will have to be careful to pack more in our checked luggage next time.

In the TSA Check-In line at the International Terminal, I was a little tired and a little overzealous and almost walked past the TSA agent. “Sir!” she called. There was a big group of people that had all went through at once, and I assumed she was part of that group and made a bee-line for the TSA PreCheck entrance. I was apologetic and she understood.

I had my first issue with my insulin pump. The TSA Agent hadn’t seen it before. He asked me to take it off and swabbed it, since it can’t go through X-Rays. Diana was pulled aside for additional screening, and it turns out that was due to a gift in her bag they didn’t recognize on the X-Ray.

Even with the little issues, we made it through and to our gate two hours early. Now we wait, under the mural of The Beatles getting off a plane, presumably in New York. Our next leg is the longest, and will be the most luxurious of our entire trip. It stops in Hong Kong in the early morning, hopefully before the protesters arrive for the day.

I find that writing about the trip is helping pass the time in the airport. I’m considering buying Internet access on the next flight, but will wait until after I get some sleep. This will most likely be my last update for at least 12 hours.

Today’s the day. I woke up three hours before my alarm, dreaming that I was playing board games in the San Francisco airport and missed my flight to Singapore. I was able to catch about an hour of going in and out of sleep before giving up and getting out of bed. I cleaned and packed my CPAP, got on the treadmill for a half hour, and took a shower. I went downstairs to catch some breakfast.

Those who know me very well know I have anxiety about punctuality. The plan was to leave at noon so we could get to O’Hare by 3 for a flight that left at 5:55. The girls would ride down with us and drive back home. Unfortunately, two things started triggering my anxiety: I was unable to check in online, and one of my documents said the flight left at 5:30.

I couldn’t check in online because the flight was a code share between Singapore Airlines and Alaska Air. The app I downloaded said I needed to check in at the counter. Anyone who has flown out of O’Hare (ORD) knows that lines can be super long. What would the impact of the earlier departure be? True to form, I started to get anxious. I loaded Meredith’s car at 10:30 and paced, asking if we could leave by 10:45. Fortunately, everyone was able to do that. We gave hugs to mom and John, and headed off. We stopped three blocks away and while Diana fueled the car, I programmed the GPS. It reminded me of tolls, and that reminded me that we forgot the I-Pass in my car. I hurried Diana back into the car and sped back home.

Everything in place, we drove south. Traffic didn’t really get bad until halfway through Milwaukee. The drive from Milwaukee to Kenosha was under construction (when isn’t it?) and that was the slowest stretch aside from the O’Hare exit.

My flight confirmation email said we should check in at Terminal 3. Unfortunately, that terminal was full of American Airlines counters, but no Alaska or Singapore. I asked an American Employee and they directed me to Terminal 2. My heart began to race, even though it wasn’t that far of a walk. We had to exit and re-enter the building as the terminals aren’t connected, but Alaska was the first counter.

I braced for impact as we rounded the corner to see…. nobody in line, nobody at the self-check-in. We walked right up to the counter, checked our bags, and got our first boarding pass. We’ll have to get the second when we arrive in San Francisco.

Months ago, Diana and I signed up for TSA Pre-Check. This service allows you to be screened and fingerprinted ahead of time, and then you’re able to skip the lines at the security check and go through the easier line, without having to remove belts, shoes, computers, and liquids. That went quite smoothly. It was a short walk to our gate, during which I was able to hit up a few Pokestops.

And here we sit at our gate with nearly 3 hours to departure. But I’m not anxious any more.

I’ve always had a problem with over-preparing. This manifested strongly during family vacations. A three-day trip often involved a large suitcase, a small suitcase, a cooler and a computer bag, and that’s just for me. We needed larger vehicles to handle the things we took with us. What if we needed something? What if I one outfit was too cold, too warm, too formal, or too casual? The end result was needing an entire luggage cart stacked to eye level just to get from the car to the hotel room.

I’ve gotten better over the years. I can actually travel for three days with just a carry-on sized bag, for the most part. I guess I figure I can always stop at a store or a pharmacy if I need something I didn’t bring. That doesn’t really apply to our Indonesia trip because I don’t know what I’ll be able to find there, and it’s a 10-day trip. I’m not big on re-wearing outfits before they’re washed. Our destination, despite being near the equator, can have cooler nights. I also have to bring a suit to attend a wedding.

For clothing, Diana and I each took half of two large suitcases, with roughly the same amount and types of clothing inside. That way, if one gets lost, we still have clothes to wear. I have four pairs of shoes – two pairs of running shoes and two pairs of dress shoes. The suit and tie is in my carry-on, as are two casual outfits.

Then there are my medical needs. I need insulin, oral medication, pump supplies, extra batteries, test strips and blood glucose tester, in addition to the prescription and over-the-counter meds recommended by the travel doctor. I have to bring extra bottles of glucose tablets in case my sugar goes low, which it does frequently. My CPAP machine needs to fit in with the carry-on goods, too.

Let’s not forget the environmental and hygiene products. I need bug spray, sun screen, wipes for my hands and different wipes for my CPAP, since I won’t be able to wash it in the tap water.

I tried to weed out a few things this evening to lighten the load, but it’s still more than I’ve packed in a very long time. I’m realizing that despite the difficulty of transporting all that stuff, there’s a comfort in having it all with me. I hope I feel the same when I’m lugging it all through the airport.

The airline we are using to get to Indonesia has a way to upgrade to the next class of service by participating in a bidding process. You bid what you are willing to pay, and if there’s a seat for you at that price, it’s yours. I’ve never flown anything other than economy before, but in this case, our longest leg is over 19 hours, with an overall travel time from wheels up in Chicago to arrival in Indonesia at over 50 hours. I thought that we could bid the minimum amount on two seats in Premium Economy, where the chairs have reclining footrests and there’s a little more space. I have difficulty sleeping on planes, so this would be our best chance to arrive rested and ready for the wedding despite the 12-hour time difference. After consulting with my financial planner (Diana), we went for it. I was told that I’d hear no sooner than 48 hours prior to boarding of that flight.

Since Saturday, I’ve been trying to sleep a little later and get more prepared for the long day of travel on Wednesday. Monday night, I went to bed just before midnight. As is often the case, I woke up in the early morning to use the bathroom. I saw a notification on my phone and unlocked it to see good news and bad news. The good news: we were awarded an upgrade for that leg. The bad news: our credit card was declined. It turns out having an Asian company charge your card at 2 am triggers fraud alerts. I was able to authorize the charge and message the company to try again. I was told it would take 8 hours, and if there are still seats left they’ll let me know. Of course, I couldn’t get back to sleep because I was worried about the potential of a missed opportunity. Would I lose my chance at a more comfortable flight? If not, would there be two seats next to each other so Diana and I could travel together? My mind reeled, and any sleep I did get before work was poor in quality.

I obsessively checked my email as the time neared the 8-hour mark. No email arrived. I had just about given up when a message came through that we were able to get our seats. I went online, found two seats next to each other (even though they were middle seats) and chose the special meal we were entitled to in that class of service.

Hopefully, I’ll sleep soundly tonight!

Preparing for a trip across the world is more complicated than one might think. Aside from booking flights and arranging lodging and transportation, one has to learn about the ports of call. This involved many hours of online research, as well as communication with our future hosts. In our case, we were able to arrange for very nice accommodations due to the favorable conversion rate. Ary helped book our hotels in Wonosobo and Yogyakarta, and we found our own room at a resort in Bali. Ary set up ground transportation for us, and I did some research on food options.

Food promised to be a challenge, as Javanese food tends to be high in sugar. We’d also been advised not only to avoid drinking the water but to avoid foods that would be rinsed in it, like lettuce or strawberries. This is going to be a huge challenge for me, as salads have been the cornerstone of my new food lifestyle, but I can overcome that. We will try to order soups and hot meals that incorporate vegetables and get fruits that have a solid, inedible peel, like oranges and bananas.

We visited a travel doctor, as we knew we would need vaccinations. I was shocked at the amount of information, vaccinations, medications, and risk that were part of this journey. Both Diana and I walked away from our visit with heads spinning from information overload. We had shots for Typhoid, Polio, Hep. A, and Measles leading up to our departure. We got prescriptions for antibiotics and Malaria pills, as well as recommendations for over-the-counter meds we shouldn’t forget.

I got letters from my Endocrinologist about my insulin pump, and from my sleep Doctor about my CPAP machine. I know that if either of these has problems during the trip, it could be very serious.

We got passports, something that Diana had never had before. I had one but it had expired before I got to use it. We arranged for Meredith and Elizabeth to drop us off and pick us up at O’Hare, and for Diana’s brother to stay at our home to be there with her mom.

While it seems overwhelming, each piece of preparation was a reminder that we would be going to see Ary again, attend her wedding, and spend some time together. That alone made these stressful tasks joyful.