Nine years, three months and three days. Or for those part of the musical theatre community:

Four million, eight hundred sixty eight thousand, six hundred and forty minnnnnnutes

If you add nine months or round it up to the nearest year what do you get? 10 years! Or maybe not, I’m pretty useless at math without an Excel spreadsheet.

It was a decade ago (rounded up) that Lauren and I were married and during that time we’ve moved seven times across four different states, explored five continents: two stops in Africa, the Galapagos (twice) in South America, countless stops in Europe, Vietnam, Cambodia in Southeast Asia and of course our honeymoon in Indonesia, all while supporting each other through difficult times and deepening our love for each other. If anything, this blog is a trail of breadcrumbs that documents our most precious experiences over the past ten years (rounded up). What does this all mean and what does this have to do with anything? Well to celebrate ten years (rounded up) we’re back in Indonesia and not in typical fashion.

This time we decided to go to some of the remotest parts of the world but all contained within a region called Raja Ampat. Known for its limestone island formations and particularly for its vibrant underwater reefs, it’s home to some of the most picturesque landscapes and because of the diversity of its marine life, some of the best scuba diving in the world. So we decided to book the Pindito, a liveaboard for ten days to experience what this part of the world has to offer both snorkeling wise for Lauren and diving wise for me. Fair warning, content for this trip will be limiting primarily due to my unreliable and unremarkable underwater photography skills, not to mention a lack of internet access for the duration of the voyage. With any luck, I’ll have something to share that isn’t boring and maybe inspiring.

Travel/Post Details:

Post includes travel from December 19-22, 2025

Accommodations:

• Jakarta: Mandarin Oriental Jakarta

Other Notes:

• We left the states on Friday morning and arrived to Jakarta on Sunday night so with the time change, it takes about three days to get to Indonesia. Add in the midnight flight to Sorong and it’s like three and a half.
• We were fortunately enough to score an incredible deal for our overnight hotel stay in Jakarta. Most already know but we typically don’t stay at places like the Mandarin Oriental. Luckily it was a tenth of the normal price which put it in our reach. Unfortunately there was a Jehovah Witness convention going on that night which made the common areas exceptionally noisy. Also – Jehovah Witnesses have conventions?!  

Food Summary:

• Mostly disappointing plane food but as part of our deal with the hotel, food was included so we were able to sample a handful of local cuisines like Nasi and Mae Gorang in between naps. The food itself was fine but nothing memorable.

Flights:

• PHX > SEA Alaska Airlines
• SEA > NRT Hawaiian Airlines
• NRT > CGK Japan Airlines
• CGK > SOQ Garuda Indonesia

Featured Image: the Jakarta skyline from our hotel