For vehicular back-up, I asked Luke & Ririn to come along, providing a car in case any emergency cropped up, and we had to shuttle someone off, without depriving the rest of us the use of the bus for hours on end. (Jakarta traffic is ruthless enough for scooters & cars. For a bus? “Fahgeddaboudit”,,, double the time needed to get anywhere.) Both are Jakarta friends through my Yogya host-family.

Dunia Fantasi is located along the up-scale northern Jakarta neighborhood of Ancol, set among playgrounds for the more established: Jakarta’s largest golf-courses, Aquarium & SeaWorld, Dream World, private beaches & drive-in cinema.
We beat the traffic, arriving at the park right at 9 am. I jumped out with my signed & faxed discount letter and walked in the ‘group services’ office. They were ready. “Ah, you’re the embassy group right?” Yep! I paid Rp 2,540,000 ($278 USD), and got a stack of 46 tickets. (at least 5 of the kids were under 1 meter). We were among the first in the park today. No lines!!! (=

We parked the bus, I quickly passed out the tickets, and took a group shot of us before setting the fans loose on Fantasy World! (=

My USINDO friend Jeff Wolf sent a little donation to help me pay for some of this. Thanks Jeff!