At the 8th-century Borobudur, the world’s largest Buddhist monument, in
, Indonesia, I panicked. Our guide, Hariyanto, had just handed me, my four and a half-year-old daughter, Indah, and my 75-year old dad the
-required pandan leaf sandals to explore the monument. With notoriously sensitive feet, my dad fumed: “They expect people to walk up and down uneven steps in these? How much harder can they make it?” I helped him put on the awkward sandals, but within minutes he had kicked them off. “I’d rather go barefoot.”
Indah and Steve, aka babu, with guide Hariyanto, on the top of Borobudur
Indah inside a candi, or temple, in Prambanan, Central Java
My dad has forever been my up-for-anything adventure buddy—until my husband entered the picture seven years ago. Before this trip through Java and Borneo, our last just-us trip was prior to my marriage and kids and Covid, joyfully marooned together in
with my sister and her newborn. His frequent globe-trotting, including
and Zambia, belies his age, but still, he’s based in Atlanta, I’m in
Once common one-on-one opportunities are now precious. But here was a rare one I’d devised for us: a cultural voyage through ancient Central Java and an orangutan-focused mosey through Borneo’s Tanjung Puting National Park on a 16-foot-wide
riverboat. His eldest granddaughter, Indah, would join us, her early bedtime allowing us leisurely nights of conversation during the bespoke week beautifully designed by experiential luxury operator and
. For a deeply sentimental, family-focused nature lover and avid waterman it wasn’t a hard sell.
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