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Jogja Trip Part 1

Have you ever hated someone so much you want to disappear from the world so that you don’t have to kill him? It’s exactly what I’m feeling right now!

Looking at Aldi’s straight face – my husband – really makes me want to throw a hard object at him. To prevent it, I can only yell and express every annoying fact that he’s done.

I don’t know how long we’ve been arguing. We arrived in this Rp90.000 RedDoorz hotel at midnight. Now my throat is getting husky for talking so long. I guess it’s been more than an hour but we still haven’t got any conclusion nor the solution.

I just want him to feel sorry and admit his mistakes. Even though he’s not fully wrong. I know there’s the part where I’m wrong too. But I just won’t admit it. Not that I agree with the term ‘women are always right’. We just don’t admit our mistakes. We want men to feel sorry and that’s it. There won’t be any more argument. Our heart will melt just like that. But I know that men sometimes are stubborn.

The point is that I’m too chill. I don’t like being in a rush. I do everything in an instant. A bit procrastinating. It isn’t good, I know. But he’s too stiff. He wants everything’s done on time or in time. He arranges everything based on a fix itinerary. There are advantages from this I’m sure.

But he gets angry when his-so called-perfect-plans are ruined. Aldi blames me on not being able to take Genose test before our departure to Jogja.

“If only we left house at eight pm just like what I told you, we’d find another place other than the station to have the Covid test. And we’d be on the train to Jogja by now.” He keeps saying. These words make me even angrier.

“We left the house at eight ten! It was only ten minutes late and none of us knew what time the medical test’s closed. You didn’t even spare time to research about it. I asked my friend and she said it’s twenty four hours so I didn’t bother. And now that it’s happened already, you’re still talking about the past?! Like we could turn back the time?!

Why don’t you focus on the present?! Think about the solution! Maybe it’s all God’s plan. What if we got into that train and there would be an accident or something?! Can you think about the positive things behind all this instead of blaming me?!”

And finally, we fall silent. My body is exhausted after walking for kilometers to reach this hotel. After reading a book for some pages, I fall asleep.

Getting Through Covid Test at The Station

My-4 o’clock-alarm wakes me up. It feels like my body won’t leave the bed. I want to sleep all day. But on the other side, I also want to travel Jogja. I force myself to sit up. Aldi wakes up too. I’m still angry and so is he. So we prepared ourselves in silent.

At 5.30 we leave the hotel. To think about walking back to Gambir station has already exhausted me. But I walk anyway. Carrying my daypack. Aldi walks behind me with a carrier on his back. I told him to borrow the station bicycles that are parked nearby. But he says to take the TransJakarta instead. I agree.

We stop at the bus stop near Balai Kota. The TransJakarta don’t pass through Gambir Station. Or we just don’t know. We rarely use public transportation. Almost never. Especially in the center of Jakarta like this.

There are some public bicycles parked across the stop. I go straight there and scan the barcode in the hope of finding how to use one. The link leads me to a questionnaire about the bicycle as the public transportation. After answering the questions, I figure out that I’ve got the wrong barcode.

There’s another one on the bicycle. When I clicked it, it says I have to download an app so that I can use the bike. Aldi says just skip it. I say no more and we walk again. There are a lot of people having a morning ride or walk around here. No wonder because it’s Saturday morning. Time to have exercise. Just like us.

The difference is only on the purpose. Ours is to catch the Covid test before getting in the train at 8.30 am. The walk feels so long. My body’s sweating. And finally, we arrive at the station at 6.30 am. We go straight to the Covid test area. There are a lot of people queuing already.

I take the queue number and wait for my turn. It’s the first time I’ve taken Genose test. It’s so cheap. Only Rp30.000. Too bad it’s only at the station and only for passengers who have tickets. It’s written that we are not allowed to eat or drink 30 minutes before taking the Genose test. I didn’t know before but luckily I haven’t done neither of them.

It’s so fast. I only need to exhale 3 times and let my breath gets into the transparent plastic bag. I think it’s the best Covid test. Not painful at all and cheap. After that, I and Aldi go to Alfamart to find breakfast. I guess everything is good now between us. He talks to me like usual but I don’t. I still speak short.

The Genose test result feels like forever. We keep checking on the website link that’s on the paper. We wait and wait until around 8. When we see ‘negative’, we then go to have our tickets checked.

Thank God we make it in time this time. As the train leaves at 8.30 sharp, so does the tense that I’ve been feeling. And here I am, relieved. I hope there won’t be anymore drama on this trip.

Train is the best for out of town transportation I think. And the best time to be in this vehicle is when the sun shines the world. We can see beautiful scenery along the way.

Indonesian train has progressed well for the past years. It wasn’t comfortable at all when I first went to Jogja in economy class train wagon. I, my parents, and my brother didn’t sit on the seats but on the aisle instead. It was full of people and we could barely move. What a frustrating 8 hours!

But now, the seats are all so soft and comfortable. This time, I’m in the executive wagon. Even more comfortable with wide space between one seat to the other. The toilets are clean as well. Not as smelly as it was used to. I enjoy the journey even more!

Finally in Jogja

We arrive at 3.30 pm. Executive train goes an hour faster than the economy. We walk toward The Tugu and stop for a while to eat late lunch. We find lotek and gado-gado. The lotek is really delicious but the gado-gado is so so. But they’re very cheap. We pay for only Rp22.000 for both menus.

The hotel’s location is actually near the station but since we walk, it feels so long. And I still have that anger with Aldi. So I don’t talk much to him. I keep walking as fast as I can. I just want to arrive and let go of this heavy bag.

When we arrive, I take off everything and lie on the bed. Citra Dream Hotel room isn’t big. But enough for both of us. The price is also cheap. We spend only Rp625.000,- for 4 days and three nights.

Aldi takes a bath and I read on the bed. The air conditioning is so cold. It makes me lazy to take a bath. Aren’t I always lazy to do it? But I have a valid reason. That is to take a bath later after taking a walk around. I want my body to be clean before sleeping. But I sometimes don’t take a bath either before going to bed. Such a hard habit to change.

Night in Jogja

At 7 pm I and Aldi go out. We intend to find dinner and just enjoy Malioboro after dark. There are a lot of angkringan around here. And they’re all crowded. It gives me goosebumps to be in crowded place in pandemic like this. But all I can do is just keep the distance between other people.

Dinner’s done, and we continue walking toward Malioboro. When we arrive at the edge of the street, I’m speechless. It is so damn crowded! No wonder, because it’s Saturday night. But I’m just confused how the authorities take care of this crowd. Why do they even allow it?

“Let’s just go back and find another place. To the twin banyan trees maybe. I want wedang ronde.” I say.

“But to get there we have to pass this road. Let’s just go on.” Aldi says. I nod. We walk again.

I didn’t know that Malioboro is this long. I’ve been here several times but not on foot. It feels like I’ve walked for miles! I’m getting exhausted. When becak driver offers us a ride, we get on and continue the journey. I’ve just realized that becak has progressed. They used bicycles, now they use motorcycles. I think it’s a good thing. Because it means that the drivers don’t have to pedal by feet. That must be really exhausting!

The Twin Banyan

By becak, our journey becomes so fast. We spend Rp30.000 from Malioboro to the south side of Kraton Jogja. It isn’t as crowded as Malioboro. I can still enjoy the ambience. I’ve been saying to Aldi that I want to try odong-odong, a car with colorful lamps that makes it so attractive. But when we ask how much it is, I cancel my plan. It’s not worth it. Rp50.000 for only circling the field once?!

“Let’s just take pictures there.” I say, pointing at the twin banyan.

The air is just so cool. But I’m sure it’s so hot during the day. I take out my camera and ask Aldi to capture my photo. He walks a little further from me. Since the lens is fix, so it’s kind of hard for us to take full body photos. But it doesn’t really matter though. The results are always satisfying.

I stand and pose but suddenly, a man come to me. “Clear this area please.” He says with a stiff face. I didn’t notice his presence at first. When he speaks twice I nod and go to Aldi.

“Damn! We are casted out.”

“But I haven’t taken any picture yet. I was still trying to set the focus.”

“Just forget it.” I take the camera and put it into the bag.

I lead Aldi to wedang ronde stall. One of the food (or drink?) that must be enjoyed when visiting Jogja. And the old man explained that the field area where the twin banyan stand has to be cleared at 9 pm everyday. Thanks to the filthy Covid-19.

But I guess the regulation doesn’t work effectively. After 15 minutes, the field is crowded again while the authorities are gone.

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Teaser

Second day in Jogja…

“STOP! JUST STOP! PULL OVER!” Aldi yells to me with a tensed face. I panic and my heart beats so fast.

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