Karimunjawa

Smiling kids lined the streets waving or shouting ‘hello’ from their gardens as we navigated our way around the uneven roads on our bikes. Small children, no older than 4, sitting on the fronts of their parents’ bikes waved and smiled too. Even the adults seemed enthusiastic to see us. Although we’d seen a couple of western tourists on the island, it seemed like foreigners didn’t frequent these areas often. Rachel and I, along with two close friends who we’d met in Korea, Andy and Ruth, were possibly the first Westerners they’d seen in a while. The asphalt road quickly turned to sand and dirt on narrow paths, while low-lying tree branches threatened to clobber us if we took our eyes from the road for even a second. I...