Friday (10/3): We had a free day, with no tours. I wanted to take a walk around Jember. I probably would have been okay, but not having to also watch out for my wife, Bernie. Not with the crazy traffic and lack of sidewalks. So, instead we relaxed, read books and, in my case, tweeted. Nothing good on Aston Jember‘s hotel TV — certainly no “Forensic Files”. 😆
Saturday (10/4): Our guide Riky, and his driver picked us up at the usual 9:00 a.m., to begin our journey home. We left Jember via the now familar Highway 3 along the old Dutch canal to Lumajang, then Highway 25 to Probolingo, and then the tollway into Surabaya. Rather than proceed straight to the JW Marriott Surabaya, Riky took us across the 3.4 mile, cable-stayed, Suramadu Bridge to Madura Island.
We turned right around, returning to Surabaya. It was interesting to remember what the harbor was like when Bernie’s family cruised away from Indonesia for the final time in 1957. Or when Dutch sailing ships first appeared 400+ years ago. Bernie says our next stop was the plaza of the old Dutch City Hall. I dunno: Satellite view doesn’t look right. But whatever, I got an iced kopi at the coffee festival. 😁
Right: Looking northeast from the hotel, towards Madura Island.
Sunday (10/5): Our last full day in Indonesia, we went for a walk. Though safer in Surabaya than Jember (due to sidewalks), you should use mid-block crosswalks. Still, keep your head on a swivel, because yielding to pedestrians is optional. The block we walked around is wedge-shaped: Jl. Embong Malang, Blauran Street, Jl. Praban, Jl. Tunjungan, and Jl. Embong Malang back to the hotel. Then napping to build up rest for the long ordeal ahead.
Monday (10/6): Different guide and driver returned us to to Surabaya Juanda Airport. A couple of hours in the Juanda lounge. Two hours of Singapore Airlines business class to Changi Airport. Seven hours in the SilverKris lounge. Nice, but a long time. 🥱
Boarded. Hour on the tarmac. United Airlines Polaris Business Class 16 hours to San Francisco, this time taking a northerly route over the South China Sea, off the east coast of Taiwan, along the Ryukyu Islands (i.e., Okinawa), off the east coast of Japan, east along the southern edge of the Aleutian Islands, then south along the Pacific Coast, landing at SFO around 10:00 p.m.
Zipped through customs. Barely made the Hudson News before it closed at 11, grabbing snacks & drinks. Sat in food court, exhausted travellers racked out on all the benches, for the next 8 hours. No sleep. Eventually boarded United 1st Class, arriving back in Phoenix about 1:00 p.m., on October 7th. Had to pick up our cat, Gizmo. Finally arrived back home about 4:00 p.m. after forty-eight hours. 😴
