The second trip-up was the phone call Nina got from her dad, saying he had a business trip in Surabaya & wouldn’t be back until Sunday! I tried not to smile… Nina was sorely disappointed. She was enjoying the paternal torture prospects I think. I was looking forward to meeting her dad actually. He’s a big part of her life.

We missed the bus- but not to worry,,, in Indonesia there are many forms of public transportation. We called a travel office & registered for a door-to-door van ride. Several people heading in the same direction hire a professional car-pool,,, essentially.
For about $6 each, we got a 5 hour ride from Yogya to Cepu (on the border between Central & East Java) with two stops in Solo & Ngawi.

The driver was a funny guy,,, and so happened to have gone to grade school with Nina’s dad way back when. No karaoke microphone needed in this ride. He was happy singing acapella the whole way,,, including the high notes in the Celine Dion songs. Ha ha.