4 Friday 2007 – Friday
A travel day but first we had to pack. I went down to the bakery and got a lot of goodies that we ate for breakfast – later I did the same thing for lunch. For the most part all of the items were good but the apple strudel was my favorite. We managed to read from the Kitab Mormon and still have time to meet the Noordas’ driver at 8 a.m. The Noordas had volunteered their driver and their vehicle until noon. The Kanes suggested we get up and leave at 6 for a drive to the ocean. But we did not want to start that early so we compromised for a trip to a mask factory.
It turned out that no one could really tell us where the mask factory was and it was also mentioned that it was not very excited. So instead we decided to head for the mountains. As the driver made his way through the town – he was from Malang and his mother still lives here – we came across an area where there were lots of temporary stalls that was filling up with all kinds of crafts, food shops, and activities. We were too early for most of the shops to be open but we managed to find a number of things to buy and we got to watch a young lady handpaint a sheet of rice paper. She just holds it on the flat of her hand and paints. It takes a really steady hand to do that.
We then headed through Malang and up into the mountains. He took us through some beautiful scenery to a park area. We took some great shots of the valley, of the loads of grass going down the hill on motorcycles and in carts, and a truck being loaded with cabbage. The park rents out some of the land for growing crops that need a cooler climate. There is corn, cabbage, and carrots growing under the trees.
When we got to the part of the park where it was a short walk to the waterfall we found a family of monkeys that did not like us disturbing them. I got some good pictures of the mother suggesting that we go elsewhere. The walk to the falls was through lovely scenery and the falls itself was beautiful. We notice that the water was as crystal clear as any we have seen in America and commented on the fact that it was the first clean river we had seen. This is because the stream runs through rock and so it does not pick up the red clay soil that every other river seems to have.
By the time we got through touring the falls it was time to head back down to the hotel and get ready to leave. We finished our packing, ate a light lunch and settled our bill – a little expensive for Indonesia because of the fancy meals we had on Wednesday and Thursday. The hotel itself was not expensive for what they provide, but the meals were about twice what they were at places like Novotel. But the trip was worth it – if just for the company.
The Hashs were nice enough to pick us and the Kanes up and take us to the airplane. The rest of the Jakarta group had ordered a van to take them. The Noordas and the Bennetts were leaving soon after us – it turned out they stopped and went to the street fair we had found earlier and had told them they should look on their way out of town. The Roberts and the Barnards had a van – they call it here a ‘travel’ – taking them back to Solo – a 5 hour drive.
When we got to the airport the terminal was closed. It seems that since there are only two or three flights in and out each day they only open an hour before the flight is supposed to leave. We got to wait outside in the heat. But it was a good opportunity for me to meet a man who had been given a copy of ‘Kitab Mormon’ by Elder Hardy when he was here on his mission. The man had not read it because he decided to stay with his church. I told him that if he ever felt like knowing more, there were branches of the church in Jakarta and gave him a pass-along card. They say that each convert has about 7 contacts with the church before they join. Maybe our visit will come to his memory sometime or looking at the card will spur his interest and he will want to know more. I will never know but that does not matter.
The experience of checking bags – thankfully I got us a porter who pushed us to the front of the line and made sure our bags got checked correctly – and going through security was really something. Everyone makes the metal detector goes off but no one even makes an attempt to find out what is being brought on board. The Kanes brought on a full liter bottle of water – nothing like a liquid check here – and I think you would have to be carrying a gun in your hand to even cause them to ask about anything. I decided that plane they lost over the ocean could have been a bomb and since they never found the wreckage no one would ever know.
The flight went well, our luggage came off quickly and until we got into Jakarta traffic everything was great. It took somewhere between 90 minutes and 2 hours for us to get home. The Kanes took about an hour longer. It was sooo good to get into our apartment and take off our shoes. Be it ever so humble – which ours is not – there is no place like home.