|
 During September 2004 Katie and Tony Meyer (Bill's niece and her husband) visited us as a belated honeymoon. They were originally scheduled to visit in late 2003 but there was the tragic bombing in Bali shortly before they were ready to come which necessitated them postponing their trip. They are the first family members from Bill's side of the family that have visited us in Indonesia and we were glad that they came. |
|  | | Tony and Katie on the plane before arriving in Singapore (photo courtesy of Tony) |
|
|
 Singapore |  They started their trip in Singapore where we met them and showed them around for 3 days. While in Singapore we stayed at the Intercontinental Hotel which is our preferred hotel while staying in Singapore. It's centrally located, on the subway line and reasonably priced. While in Singapore we went to Sentosa Island, The Long Bar at Raffles Hotel (famous for their Singapore Slings), Boat Quay for food and drinks and did a little bit of shopping at the famous Orchard Road district. After our fill of Singapore it was onwards to Jakarta Indonesia. |
| Jakarta |  By the time we got to Jakarta Katie and Tony were pretty much adjusted to the time difference. As such Katie had only one thing on her mind and that was shopping!! Anette took Katie to the tailor and the rest is history. I don't remember the final tally but she had quite a few pieces of clothes made, Tony also had a few items made. Besides shopping and dinner out a few nights there wasn't much time for anything else. |
|
|
|
Yogyakarta |  We then headed to Yogyakarta in Central Jawa to see the Borobudur Temple (Buddhist), Prambanan Temple (Hindu) and see various local crafts made such as ikats and silver items. While in Yogyakarta we stayed at the Hyatt Regency. Anette and I had stayed here before and knew it was one of the nicer hotels in Yogyakarta. We only stayed 2 days in Yogyakarta so it was a rather rushed trip but we had plenty of time to see the Borobudur and Prambanan Temples which was the primary purpose of this stop. We also made it to the ikat factory, silversmith shop and Tony and I even had time to play 9 holes of golf at the Par 3 course at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. |
| Bali |  Our final stop was Bali which is a short 30 minute flight from Yogyakarta. Upon arrival in Bali we checked into the Bali Hyatt in Sanur. Anette and I have stayed here at least 15 times over the past 8 years so this is like a home away from home. Despite being an older hotel it's in a good location with a variety of good restaurants within walking distance, a white powdery sand beach, and a very mature/manicured gardens. We spent a total of 4 days in Bali and the first thing that Tony and I did was head to the Nirwana Bali Golf Club. This golf course is "picture" perfect! There are 3 holes which run right along the Indian Ocean with waves breaking up on the cliffs. Despite both Tony and I struggling with our golf scores it didn't really matter with the fantastic views. Katie and Anette stayed behind at the hotel and pampered themselves to the spa with multiple massages, manicures and other body treatments. We had sunset drinks at the Le Meridien hotel which afforded us a phenomenal view of Tanah Lot Temple as the sun went down. Afterwards we had a nice barbecue dinner at the beach front restaurant. One day Tony and I rented mopeds and rode all over the island. If you've never drove in Indonesia then it's a real treat, and I have to say that the driving/traffic isn't half as bad in Bali as compared to Jakarta. In any event after a few minutes Tony was weaving in and out of traffic like a real pro and even followed me up on the sidewalk on a few occasions. During this trip we saw terraced rice paddies and many panoramic views of the Indian Ocean. After our few short days in Bali it was back to Jakarta where we had one final dinner out before Katie and Tony headed back to the USA the following day. |
|
|
|
Concluding Remarks | | All in all a good trip. Anette, Kimberly and I were happy that they came to visit us and hope other family members will consider doing the same. We are always willing to play tour guide and show family the many wonders that Indonesia has to offer. |
|
