Since his White House lease expired in January, the ex-president has vacationed at a friend’s house in Palm Springs, on Richard Branson’s private Caribbean island, on David Geffen’s private yacht in French Polynesia and in a Tuscan hamlet purchased in its entirety by John Phillips. Obama appointed Phillips ambassador to Italy. He turned the old town into a private luxury estate.
Now, after a lengthy private jet flight from Hawaii, Obama’s back home again in Indonesia for nine days with a large family entourage, including wife Michelle and half-sister, Maya Soetero-Ng, her family and, of course, Secret Service agents. If you’re walking through Times Square later this week, watch the moving billboards as Indonesia’s Tourism Ministry plays off the Democrat’s trip seeking to attract other foreign visitors.
The Obamas are reportedly staying in a $2,500-a-night set of suites in the Four Seasons Resort on Bali and making several excursions to cultural and heritage sites. Last weekend the Chicagoan was photographed walking among rice paddies. Obama is also scheduled to give a speech next weekend in Jakarta, capital of the world’s most populous Muslim nation.