A Jakarta Visit

My friend, Karen, came to Jakarta! Let me tell you, there were lots of tears when I saw her walk out of the customs area at the Jakarta airport. I just felt overwhelmed that she had come all the way around the world to see me.

We spent a whirlwind few days touring Jakarta. We didn't give her any time to adjust to the jetlag - and she was such a trooper. From Monas (pictured below) to Istiqual (the 4th largest mosque in the world)...

...to the old Dutch part of the city

 with its festival type atmosphere, we were go go go.

On Tuesday, we enjoyed a lovely day at the spa - Karen opted for the herbal press massage while Madi and I had head/shoulder massages and pedicures. Karen braved the bajaj ride to the Lippo mall where we watched a movie in the Premiere theater. Hard to beat the lazy-boy recliner chairs and dinner served while we watched the movie.

Of course we went to Taman Safari. Karen held every baby animal available. The baby orangutang, Jennifer, was quite taken with Karen. She wrapped her arms around her neck and didn't want to leave her lap when time was up. I'll never forget the little orangutang with her cute face and dark eyes holding out her hand to Karen as though she was saying, "Please don't take me away from this kind lady." Jennifer didn't like me quite as much - though she did enjoy pulling my hair!  The elephant ride was also a hit.

Then we headed to Bali (on a crazy early morning flight - we left our house at 4AM!) We couldn't have packed our Bali trip any fuller. Here are my top five memorable moments:

1.  The snake sighting during our beach exploring (later found out it was a Blue Krait - one of the 5 most venomous snakes in Southeast Asia!)

 

2. During our water rafting down the Ayung River, our awesome guide, Agus, announced "If you want to get out and swim down the river, this is a good place to do it." I was cautious, thinking maybe he was joking. Then I heard a splash! Karen hadn't waited for a second invitation. She was the first one out of the boat and in the river. Leasie and Meya quickly followed. I followed their lead, and soon we were floating down river laughing and whooping.

3. Morning run on the beach. So good to enjoy my running partner again!

4. Sari Organik  We hiked through the rice fields to an incredible organic restaurant for lunch in Ubud. Although Leasie and Meya were NOT impressed by the organic menu, Karen and I were in food-heaven. My grilled vegetable salad, pink drink, and fried bananas were exquisite! 

5. Monkey Forest attack! We were in the forest less than a minute when a huge monkey jumped on Karen's back. Even after we gave him a banana, he stayed perched on her shoulder. I tried to shoo him away, but to no avail. I thought Karen was going to have a heart-attack. 

But my favorite two moments of the entire trip were on Easter Sunday. Sitting there in church next to my dear friend, we both got emotional during the opening song. I could barely sing as the tears rolled down my cheeks. I was just so grateful for so many things.

And then, true to her giving-nature, Karen made her famous (divinely delicious) orange rolls Sunday afternoon. We didn't have any oranges, but we substituted with lemons and they turned out wonderful. I'll never forget watching Meya and Karen standing side by side in my Jakarta kitchen rolling the dough and forming the rolls. I know it was Karen's way of saying thank you.  

  

 
Indonesia is a long way from my Virginia home. It's a long way to come for a visit. Which makes me so grateful to Karen for making the long trek so that I could share a bit of this incredible country with her. And to see it through her eyes was a gift to me. As we drove to the airport she said, "Jakarta is not as bad as I thought it would be. From the way you described it, I expected much worse." And it's true, showing Indonesia to my friend, made me realize just how much I've come to love this place.

We'd love more visitors...so if you have an inkling to ride an elephant, dine in rice fields, or have near-death experiences with snakes, you have until June 2014.