20. Hope is the thing with feathers.

My body is currently anchored in a booth at Sajian restaurant in Jakarta airport—my mind, however, is still trying to catch up. Vicus and I are sharing some delicious ayam sate and a Bintang beer, and I honestly can't believe we're back in Indonesia so soon after our last visit.

It feels absolutely surreal that we are back for another special visit just months after our trip in June/July. Of course, we both desperately wanted to return, but my 'realistic' (some might say pessimistic) brain had totally ruled it out. How could we possibly afford it? Plus, with my brother's wedding in the UK next June/July, I simply wrote this off as an impossible dream... But then—as often happens with our travel plans—things changed drastically. And here we are! Sitting at the airport, waiting for our flight to Bandar Lampung. Tomorrow, it's a small, two-propeller plane to Krui.

Yesterday was a whirlwind, proper tourist day out in Jakarta, courtesy of our friend, Andreas! We took the train to Jakarta Old Town. The museum Andreas originally planned to take us to was closed, but as luck would have it, we stumbled upon an open 3-D Museum. I have no idea what we missed at the other venue, but this 3D museum was an absolute treat! We laughed until we cried, and I'm fairly certain we need to buy a new memory card to handle the photo count.

Lunch was at Café Batavia, Jakarta's oldest restaurant. Just looking at the framed photos made us feel like we were stepping into a piece of history. I loved the colonial style—it’s a highly recommended spot!

Next, tea at Acaraki. I'm not a huge tea drinker, but after sipping a beautiful ginger and turmeric blend, I might have to reconsider my stance! We then walked through Jakarta's opulent malls, admiring the beautiful Christmas decorations, before winding up at Block M. There, we shared a meal and deep conversation at Jiroku Ramen. Safe to say, we got all our steps in—my Garmin watch was very proud!

So, my friends, here we are! I'll keep you posted on the next leg of this adventure. But if I had to sum up this experience so far, I would turn to Emily Dickinson:

“Hope is the thing with feathers, That perches in the soul.”

If a place or a dream is pressing on your soul—don't write it off as impossible. Hold on to it with all your might. Because sometimes, hope and faith gets you on that plane.