Bandung!

I am sitting in the airport hotel in Jakarta. I can't believe how fast the internet is!! Am I really still in Indo???
On Thursday morning we flew to Jakarta where we were met at the airport by our old friend Santhi and two friends of hers. We, and the driver, so that's 11 people, crammed into a 7 passenger van and proceeded to make our way to Bandung. It took us about 4 hours to get there because the traffic was insane and then to top it off we had to get off the highway at one point to get gas and to do that we actually had to drive a bit... Needless to say we were all a bit pooped by the time we reached David and Santhi's place. Well, actually, it's David's dad's house. It's a home designed by Frank Lloyd-Wright. Very spacious and airy and beautiful.
Then next morning we borrowed David's mom's van and driver and visited Ibu Tati, the lovely woman who took care of Marc and Brynne when we were in language school. The look on her face when she saw us made the entire trip worthwhile! She was sooo excited! She gave us all a bottle of pop and fed the kids chips. Pop is not cheap for people here so that was a special treat for us. Then we did some shopping. I was only able to find clothes for Marc and Brynne. Then we visited the kampung where we used to live and saw our old neighbours. They were also very excited to see us. Unfortunately we ran out of time and couldn't visit our other helper. We spent some time with David and his family at a mall called Paris Van Java. There we lost Aidan and I was having visions of him being kidnapped and ransomed.... But he had just been distracted by a tv screen while we walked on and then he thought we had gone to the car so he went to the car, found we weren't there, and went back into the mall crying. David and Santhi's friends found him and brought him to us.... It was soooo time to go home. The next day we went to Bandung Electronics Centre. This is a crazy crazy place. I don't know exactly how many stories hight it is, maybe 6 or 7 and there are electronics shops galore on each level! At the top is a food court. Due to the fact that it was a long weekend in Bandung, the traffic was insane! The patience of our children was sorely tested. On Sunday we were able to worship at the church we attended for the entire year we lived in Bandung. It was neat to see the folks there again.
So tomorrow morning we are scheduled to fly to Vancouver. I am very tired and ready to get back into a "normal" routine again. It was great to be able to visit Bandung and our friends there again. David and Santhi and their parents hospitality was great! We are so thankful for their friendship. It was also fun to get to know their little boy Ethan.