June 3, Wednesday
Today everyone in the group returns to the US but each on different flights. Scott and I have the morning to enjoy at the hotel before leaving at 1pm for a 4pm flight from Denpasar to Hong Kong. The easy part about packing to return home is that you just have to shove it all in. No worries about folding or finding. Just cram it in. So with that done, I went for my final expedition to the spa (ahhhh) to have a foot massage. In the meantime Scott went to the pool and checked out and we met for a bite to eat before departure.
It took exactly one hour to get from Ubud to the airport in Denpasar. Our Cathay Pacific flight took off at 4pm and arrived in Hong Kong at around 8:30. This gave me just enough time for a return visit to Muji To Go (@ Gate 61 in the international terminal) and a shower and change in the Business Class Lounge. Our next flight left Hong Kong a bit late due to stormy weather. We were supposed to take off at midnight but when I woke up we were still on the runway at 2am. We had a brief layover in Vancouver, confined to a small transfer lounge for about an hour, and then departed for JFK. We arrived in New York at 7am on Thursday June 4.
The weather today is cool and rainy – quite a jolt from the warm steamy weather of Bali - and not the transition back home that we’d hoped for. I've spent most of the day finishing up my Bali journal (aka the blog) because I had considerable difficulty getting internet access the last few days of the trip.
I'd also like to say a special thanks to Chee Choy of Jalan Jalan Asia (and Barbara Eiswerth) who worked so hard to work out the logistics of our trip and to ensure that our diverse needs were met. Also thanks go to Ariawan for his tireless driving and unending good humor. And to Kevin Barnes who, among other virtues, inspired us all to take better photographs. Lastly, thanks go to Jill Heppenheimer and Barbara Lanning of the Santa Fe Weaving Gallery for cooking up the idea for our textile adventure to Indonesia in the first place.
