The hardest part about getting to Indonesia is…getting to Indonesia. My flight left on time from Boston and arrived 15 hours later in Hong Kong. At 4:30 in the morning.
Not having anything else to do, I went to a small park a little ways away from the airport, where of all things, there was a group of birdwatchers all crowded around a little fish pond. When I asked what they were doing, they said, “Waiting for a bird.”
“What bird?” I asked.
“That one!” the man said, as the group begand madly snapping photos like paparazzi at the red carpet ceremony. I looked over the shoulder of one of the photographers and saw an adorable kingfisher perched atop the bill of a crane statue.
So cute. Despite myself, I had to get out the good lens and snap a photo.
That was fine, but I still had hours to kill. I went back to the airport, paid for use of the lounge, ate some food, took a shower, and took a nap.
On the flight from Hong Kong to Surabaya, Indonesia, where I would enter the country, there was a medical emergency. Despite a lot of attention from the flight crew, the person didn’t seem in dire enough condition to require rerouting or delaying the plane. A relief, because the last thing one wants after a 15 hour flight and an 8 hour wait is to have the final leg, itself 5 more hours, delayed.
But it all went smoothly from there. It was dark, too dark to really see much as I went to my hotel, but clearly the Surabaya drivers are much like Tanzania. Not so many bicycles, but scooters zipping between cars, missing by inches (or less, sometimes!), big trucks belching fumes, and the occasional pedestrian trying desperately to cross before being flattened by the oncoming hordes. I am happy to not be driving (for once) which gives me plenty of time to look around.
Alas, jet lag is settling in, so I’ll have to write more later. Most likely at 1am or so, when I wake up…unable to get back to sleep.
But I am HERE. Indonesia. Surabaya City, East Java. Can’t wait to explore more and see what this incredible city holds!