We saved the best for last — three days on a private phinisi charter through the Komodo Islands, with manta rays, pink beaches, reef sharks, and the dragons themselves. And the person who we made this trip across the world for: my son Graham.

Most people come to Malang just to see Mount Bromo. We came for that too — and were completely won over by the city itself, from its extraordinary Hotel Tugu to the colorful villages that paint literally saved from demolition.

From a 2:30am wake-up call for Borobudur at sunrise to a drag cabaret on the floor of a batik shop, Yogyakarta delivered more than we expected at every turn. Here’s what the cultural heart of Java is really like.

A two-night Singapore stopover on the way to Indonesia was a great decision— extraordinary hawker food, a health scare handled brilliantly by Singapore’s public hospital, and a night at Gardens by the Bay that felt like the future.