Three years ago this month I flew to across the world to surprise my best friend. Sarah had told me if I could ever come visit her to make it be a surprise, and although I thought she had guessed I was coming she was properly amazed and shocked when I arrived.

My month in Indonesia was delightfully wonderful. It was utterly gorgeous there with exuberantly abundant vegetation, more varying shades of green than I’ve seen anywhere else, refreshing waterfalls, and breathtaking mountains.

The food was also some of the best I’ve ever eaten. Their fruit was unparalleled. There were so many kinds that I’d never even heard of before. Trips to the marketplace to buy bundles of fruit make up happy memories for me – especially the first time we went, because it was pouring down rain and we got drenched.

I’m fairly sure I could have survived solely on fruit while I was there, but the stir fries, rice dishes, and chicken kabobs with peanut sauce weren’t exactly something I would have wanted to miss. Even now, three years later, I have a strong liking for rice and eat it far more than I ever did before going to Indonesia.

The mode of transportation in Indonesia was so much fun that looking back it was one of my highlights. Most of the places we went we traveled either on motor bikes or piled in the back of a pick up truck. I never travel that way in the states for several reasons – the main one being safety. But over in Indonesia that’s pretty much how everyone traveled, so therefore we didn’t have much of a choice, plus it’s a lot safer. Everyone drives at a slower pace, and they’re a lot more engaged in the activity.

Feeling the wind rush around me as we drove places was very much like swinging, and swinging is one of my favorite things to do, so I was one happy little cupcake. One time we went on an excursion where we left in the middle of the night, then came back the next afternoon. We piled a bunch of blankets in the back of the pick up truck, then star gazed on the way there, and dozed on the way home. It was a gloriously fun day.

Despite how totally marvelous the island, adventures, and food were, the best part about the trip was the people. I have hundreds of very happy memories of laughing, talking, cooking, playing games, and hanging out together.

We had an extreme amount of water fights – something that was nice and cooling since it was really hot there, we danced in the rain, and we explored waterfalls. Splashing in water that had recently tumbled down the mountain was refreshing, and sometimes almost too cold.

We climbed one mountain twice – each time contributing a thousand memories into my memory bank. The view from the top was both beautiful and rewarding. The second time we did it early in the morning (to be specific, it was actually the middle of the night) in an effort to be at the top when the sun rose. Almost humorously, the morning turned out to be extremely foggy and we ended up huddling in blankets and not really being able to see much. It was well-worth it, though.

There was one big mountain that I wanted to climb and wasn’t able to. I still dream of some day being able to go back and climb that mountain. I’m not sure if it will ever happen, but it’s on my “maybe-someday” list. For now though, I’m just enjoying the memories of my wonderful visit there.

Thank you for letting me indulge in a bit of reminiscing. I’m glad I get to share my adventures with y’all, even if they aren’t exactly current ones.

Have you ever been to Indonesia? If so, what was your favorite part? If not, what sounds like the most fun to you?