Escaping Purgatory
I have always said, “Being engaged is being in purgatory. Get married as soon as you can.”
Son, Chris and fiancé, Sophie did just that. After finding out that our other son, Jack, wanted to get married in September as well, Sophie and Chris, decided to get married sooner rather than later. For a number of reasons, they decided on a micro wedding in Bali, Indonesia. Parents and siblings, a party of 12, would attend in early July.
From Chicago, Bali is far, 22 hours of flying, 12 hour time difference, crossing the international date line and the equator far. It’s also exotic and beautiful. And, as I have mentioned in a previous post, Sophie’s family is a joy to be with. Despite the distance, we really looked forward to the trip. We stayed at a jungle resort next to a waterfall that was luxurious and beautiful with the friendliest of staff. The cuisine was delicious with the opportunity to eat local dishes. Finally, there was a great lap pool some 30 meters in length.
In addition to the wedding day we spent some time as tourists. If you’re going that far then you should extend which we did. Bali has lots and lots of temples, mostly Hindu, monkeys and waterfalls. The whole wedding party enjoyed it immensely despite some inclement weather, rain.
The wedding itself was intimate and warm. Ben, Sophie’s brother in law, and Jack, Chris’s brother, conducted the ceremony. We were all invited to give blessings. Dinner with toasts and dancing after followed by a late night swim. It’s a really beautiful way to have a wedding.
It turns out that that Komodo National Park is only a few major Indonesian islands away from Bali. Just a quick two hour flight and our family less Chris and Sophie were in Labuan Bajo, Flores Island, Indonesia. It is farthest I have ever felt from home. Tourists are almost all Chinese or Indian and the few Americans there are young free spirits. Indonesia has thousands of islands to police so the rule of law is tenuous.
Zak and Emily planned out our adventure. We hiked up to a cool promontory, snorkeled at a pink sand beach with the best coral I’ve ever seen, and yes, we took a guided walk and saw dragons.
I have a low bar for weddings. Did they successfully get married? Sophie and Chris did way better than that. They brought two families together and started a wonderful life for themselves. They did it in six months from engagement to wedding escaping purgatory quickly!
R1T Tour 