Fulfilling a Long-Held Wish in Greece

This trip should have transpired a quarter-century ago. Soon after starting the new school year in the summer of 2001, my brother and I had secured coveted spots on a weeklong tour to Greece planned for that October. We were excited about the prospect of going with friends to a faraway land that had played such a major role in world history. The handful of Australian and Kiwi art teachers leading the group had put together a detailed itinerary covering Athens’ iconic Acropolis, more than a few museums, scenic and archaeological sites, and even the postcard-perfect island of Santorini. But then 9/11 happened, and, understandably, all overseas school trips were canceled.

Fast forward to 2026, and little did I know that geopolitical events far beyond our control would once again threaten to upend my travel plans for Greece. Bama and I had relied on the ever-dependable Qatar Airways for previous vacations to Jordan and Lebanon, and since it flies to Athens from Doha, the Gulf carrier was the obvious choice for a one-stop journey from Jakarta. That was until Israel and the U.S. launched their war against Iran 12 days before our departure. As disruptive as they may be, airspace closures across the Middle East are just the tip of the iceberg: the inconvenience pales in comparison to the terrible consequences for ordinary people wherever the bombs, drones, and missiles are falling. (We have watched in horror as self-serving Hezbollah has dragged Lebanon, a country we both adore, into yet another mindlessly destructive war with Israel.)

By then, Bama had already secured his hard-to-get Schengen tourist visa, valid for a single entry until early April. He quickly booked new tickets with Garuda Indonesia and KLM via Amsterdam Schiphol. A colleague later quizzed me on the choice of Schiphol as a transit point. “But aren’t you overshooting?” Backtracking from there was already the next best option: a return ticket on Turkish Airlines via Istanbul had skyrocketed to more than 4,000 U.S. dollars per person, while the cheapest alternative, flying nonstop between Singapore and Athens on budget carrier Scoot, was hard to stomach. Neither of us were keen to spend 11-plus hours crammed into a narrow seat with very little legroom, zero inflight entertainment, and almost no food and drink.

And so, we took the longer, more circuitous route through the Netherlands. If jumping on a 15-hour red-eye flight after a stressful day at the office was bad enough, the return journey from door to door took nearly 31 and a half hours with layovers in Amsterdam and Singapore. The air turbulence was especially bad over Hungary (the problem child of the EU) and Turkmenistan. During the worst of it, the sweet British woman next to me suddenly stood up and a younger male flight attendant ran down the aisle, urging her to sit down and fasten her seat belt. “But can’t I go to the loo?” she begged. Without skipping a beat, the KLM crew member responded with typical Dutch frankness. “Of course no!” Bama and I watched as the Brit’s mouth curled into a frown and she gave a little whimper before relenting.

Typing this from our dining table in Jakarta, I can’t help feeling a deep sense of gratitude. That we could still go to Greece and that we (and our luggage!) made all those flight connections. Bama and I are thankful Qatar Airways was willing to offer us a full refund; the airline even credited most of the payment within a few days of Bama making the request. And though the weather often didn’t play ball — the outer bands of a rare Mediterranean cyclone brought thick clouds and rain to southern Greece for most of our stay — we’re grateful there were brief windows of sunshine in Crete and the Peloponnese for outdoor sightseeing and walks to hilltop fortresses. I’m especially grateful for those glorious blue-sky days in Athens at the start and end of our trip: Bama agrees we could not have picked a better morning to book an 8 a.m. time slot for visiting the Acropolis.

Of course, going in low season has its pros and cons. Because museums and attractions were still on winter operating hours through the end of March, the great majority closed at 3:30 in the afternoon (some shut even earlier at 2 p.m.). We’d tackled the more than 900 steps up to Nafplio’s Venetian-built Palamidi Fortress to find the gate already locked. And the colder, dreary weather meant spending more time indoors. Coming from equatorial Indonesia, Bama and I were woefully underprepared for the March chill, with temperatures in the range of 7–13°C (45–55°F). Both of us had foolishly left our down jackets at home. Because of the rain, it was never truly warm enough to wear the shorts we’d brought along in our suitcases. Only on our final day in Athens could we shed our sweaters and genuinely enjoy ice cream outdoors. But Bama and I consider ourselves lucky to have wandered the ancient Minoan palace of Knossos and Nafplio’s picturesque old town in the absence of summertime crowds. We relished the opportunity to eat authentic Greek food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, and sniffed out local specialties made from farm-fresh Mediterranean ingredients we could never hope to find in Jakarta. I will miss buying flaky spanakopita or sweet Cretan cheese pies in the mornings from bakeries where the ladies greet you with a melodic yiassas! or kalimera!

Now that we are back in familiar surroundings and enveloped by Indonesia’s hot, humid weather, our Greek holiday almost feels like it was just a dream. But the long-awaited trip finally happened. We have thousands of photographs and some edible souvenirs — like vacuum-packed Kalamata olives — to prove it. Less tangible but no less meaningful are the vivid memories we’ve accumulated over the past two weeks, and the varied sounds, smells, and flavors of Greece that I will do my best to unpack in more posts to come. ◊

A view of the Acropolis from Athens’ Pnyx Hill

Lunch hour at a popular Greek-Anatolian restaurant and deli in Athens

Attic black-figure lekythos jugs on display at the National Archaeological Museum, Athens

The quiet street where we stayed in the heart of Nafplio’s old town

The well-preserved Ancient Theater of Epidaurus dates to the 4th century BC

A fabulous plate of fried calamari at a seafood restaurant in Nafplio

The city of Kalamata as seen from a lower terrace of its hilltop castle

Looking into the lonely chapel amid the ruins of Kalamata Castle

In Heraklion, we tried Cretan specialties like dakos — cheese and tomatoes with herbs on barley rusk

The 16th-century Koules Fortress guards the old Venetian harbor at Heraklion