After Singapore

I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more

Category: indonesia

Public Transit Trip with The Kids

With my status as an employee as well as running a family business, I don’t that much of holiday. Especially after COVID-19 pandemic, December is the time for my mostly Christian employees to take leave, hence I have to back them up. However, I had a few days before 2024 to go with the kids to Jakarta to visit my parents. I am blessed with the kids who have strong interests with public transport, hence not really costly in terms of carbon footprint (costly in monetary value, though).
We started our journey with the Feeder train that brought us from Bandung station to Padalarang Station.
In Padalarang station, we waited about an hour before the high speed trains arrived. The train only stopped for less than 5 minutes to board passengers.
The kids really loved it, though it was not like an ordinary train trip. It was a smooth ride unlike regular trains, and you can’t really feel the speed except by looking at the informational running text.
We then arrived at Halim high speed train station. It was interconnected to the LRT station, with about 500m covered walking distance. The LRT station felt hotter, or maybe just my feeling because they put several large fans there. There was no driver on board the train, all controlled from the command center.
After arriving at Dukuh Atas, we had a small snack then continue our journey with Commuter Line train and Airport Line train. The Airport Line train final destination was at the Soekarno-Hatta airport, but we could alight one station before, where my dad picked us up.
Dad picked us up and we visited mum’s clinic, where Desmond got one of his teeth extracted. He was scared so we offered him a lunch at Bornga, a rather lavish restaurant. After deliberate consideration, he agreed.
In the evening, Daniel went by and the kids were playing games together.
The next day, we started our journey by taking a cab to Bintaro Xchange shopping mall. This mall has an underground connection to the Commuter Line. We took another Commuter Line, followed by TransJakarta bus and MRT to get a lunch and sightseeing.
We stopped at Blok M MRT station, and took a lunch at Lucky Chin, an American-Chinese restaurant I knew from a tweet. Their meal package included fortune cookie, whose message was more suitable for adults (“If you’re feeling adventorous, go for it!”).
We took a Blue Bird cab for our way back home. The next day, we went back to Bandung by taking a regular (Argo Parahyangan) 3-hour train to Bandung.

April 27, 2024
Coffee, Bento, Running and Wedding

You may have known from my previous post Visiting The Dead that I have a relatively big extended family. This time one of them got married in Kelapa Gading area, Jakarta. I was happy because it’s also served as an excuse to leave the kids with their Popo (grandmother) and have me and my wife Y travel to Jakarta without the menaces.
I still had zoom meeting with some friends in the morning, but shortly after drove to Jakarta. It was a smooth journey to Jakarta, but horrible in the Kelapa Gading area. Traffic jams delayed our trip, but we finally made to our first stop: Kedai Kopi Oke. It’s a kopitiam (coffee shop) owned by my uncle. This shop served coffee from various parts of Indonesia, but the most interesting part was that the coffee was served using a huge mokapot. Mokapot is a tool originated from Italy, normally used to make espresso. A single espresso is roughly 30ml, roughly 1/6 cup. This huge mokapot serves 2 cups, hence 12 espressos! That’s way more caffeine than deleting a production database!
A cup of cofee and a huge mokapot
We had a nice long chat, then had to say goodbye to my uncle. He gave me two angpaos (red envelope containing money) for our kids at home. It is customary for us parents of Chinese descendants, to give angpaos to the kids as symbol of good luck.
We went to the hotel and took a break. I surveyed the swimming pool, but it was drizzling outside. We preferred to stay in the room, and watched Men in Black at the cable tv provided.
At night, we went out for dinner. We walked to a nearby food court called Sagoro. It had a nice view of a river, but there were not many interesting food stalls opened. We also walked carefully, as the floor were slippery due to the rain that fell before.
We walked toward the other side and found a nice Japanese restaurant called Hanaguni. It looked upscale but the security convinced us to just look inside first without obligation to have a meal there. We went inside, took a seat, and provided with the menu. We were surprised that a bento costed around Rp200.000,-, whereas in Hokben (famous Japanese food chain in Indonesia) a bento costs roughly Rp50.000,-.
Me and Y having the dinner sets
It turned out that they had another menu, simple rice packages and pastas that have on-going promotion: buy 2 get 3 for roughly Rp100.000,-. Still more than our usual budget, but at least we got 3 portions for the same price. We came back to hotel with full stomach and called it a day.
Early morning the next day, while Y was still sleeping, I headed out for morning run. With two kids at home, it’s difficult to reserve time for morning exercise, so this was a good chance. I targeted 5 km run, but was tired enough near LRT station that I was tempted to take the LRT instead for my way back. So I took the trip, followed by motorcycle taxi (ojek online) for the last mile.
Picture of LRT coming in to the station on time.
We then prepared ourself for the main event: the wedding. It was held in Angke Restaurant, within the Mall of Indonesia complex. It was on Sunday morning so it was very crowded on the entrance. I was busy meeting people I forgot to take some pictures, as well as being in the picture.
Family picture, without me. Photo by my cousin-in-law Rina.
After an hour or two there, I drove back to Bandung, as I had to work the next day.

January 18, 2024
Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh, Yes

When the high-speed train started operating, many Indonesians were excited to try. That includes me and my parents. Therefore, I asked my parents in Jakarta to come and visit us in Bandung.
On Saturday morning, my family drove me to Tegalluar station, located at the eastern side of Bandung. We took the toll road, passed the newly built residential area “Summarecon”, and nearby the relatively famous Al-Jabbar mosque and Gelora Bandung Lautan Api stadium. I took the train to Halim station, where I would meet my parents and helped them checked in into the train. My son D was envy of me but we managed to calm him down. The Tegalluar station was relatively remote and not fully built. There were no cafés or shops opened yet. Parking space was limited, but there were many blue bird taxis waiting there, ready to drive you to the city.
Check in was smooth, and the train was on time. Despite the euphoria, taking the train itself in my opinion is nothing special. It’s just like taking MRT/LRT trip, only further. The 350km/h maximum speed can only be confirmed by looking at the running text display. If you look outside the window, there is actually not much difference compared to running 100km/h. What’s interesting yet disturbing, is that every announcement made, it ends with their slogan “Whoosh Whoosh Whoosh,… Yes!”.
At exactly 10.30 AM, I arrived in Stasiun Halim. I was hungry so I ordered two pieces of lunpias (definition) and an americano. Shortly after, my parents were also arrived at the station, and we checked in and traveled to Bandung.
We stopped at the Padalarang Station, then took a feeder train that went to the city. Transfer from high-speed train to the feeder was not so smooth, with 500 passengers (rough estimation) had to pass through 3 gates within only a few minutes.
In Bandung station, my wife Y was just in time to pick us up. We then had lunch at the Lotek Mahmud restaurant, a hidden culinary gem in Bandung. After lunch, my mom (kids’ Oma) did some shopping at a cosmetic store nearby “Toko Mahmud”, also a hidden gem. We then went to the hotel, checked in, and took some rest.
Around 4 PM, Opa was eager to walk out to find some coffee. We then walked around the hotel and had a light meal and coffee at Circle K. My daughter P was feeling unwell, probably because she was playing in the bathtub too long, and got masuk angin (cold). I went out with Oma and my dad (Opa) to have chicken rice dinner together outside at Olly Hai, inside Haji Mesri alley. The main road was very crowded, so walking was not very fun. However, it’s faster to walk than to drive because it’s a one way road, and, well, very crowded. I ta pao-ed (take away) 3 portions of food for people at the hotel.
That night P couldn’t sleep well, so did I and Y. In the early morning, D was already woken up, so I brought him to Opa and Oma‘s room. Opa wanted to walk around, so I left D at Oma‘s room, watching YouTube videos. We walked through some alleys, heading to the GOR Pajajaran (Pajajaran sport center). Despite the fact that it’s a sport center, in the morning it’s a culinary heaven. I and Opa had porridge for breakfast, and I bought steamed kuo tie (dumplings) for the others.
P was still feeling unwell, but we had to have breakfast anyway. My car was all cleaned by the hotel staff, so we drove to a nearby Rijsttafel restaurant for breakfast. After breakfast, I drove everyone back to the hotel. I and Oma continued walking to a nearby Kartika Sari snack shop. It was inside an alley but very packed with tourists.
Finally, I drove Oma and Opa back to the station, for them to take another Whoosh trip back to Jakarta.

November 27, 2023
All Boys Trip

I am a proud alumnus of SMA Kanisius, a boys-only high school. Every year the alumni association held a reunion. I rarely participated in such event, but this year somehow I had a chance to do that. The idea was to bring my son D with me, also as a chance to introduce him to such school.
For a train that departed at 6.10 AM, I took a taxi from home at 4.30. My wife and son complained that it was too early, but I’d rather have a peace of mind. The train arrived at Gambir around 9 AM. We took a TransJakarta bus to Monas, continued to Bundaran HI, and took an MRT trip to Blok M Plaza.
There, I met my parents. We spent a few minutes in Taman Literasi Martha C. Tiahahu, a literacy-themed public park. There were a small library as well as children playing area. A (relatively expensive) cafés were also available there.
After playing, we walked to Claypot Popo. I knew this place from previous trip to Jakarta (see Off-The-Grid Wedding), and my dad indeed like it. D didn’t really like the menu, but he (as before) was very interested to see the kitchen.
After lunch, we took another MRT ride to Bundaran HI station, followed by taxi ride to the high school. I met many of my old friends, as well as new friends (as we were in the same batch but never in the same class). D met new friends and played simple soccer game.
I met many friends, too. Most of them were my classmates when I studied in this school. It’s fun to meet them again. Some of them became doctors, some founded successful startups, some enjoying normal life with family.
Around 16.30, D already complained that he wanted to rest. I said goodbye to some of my friends and headed to Sofyan Hotel, where I would stay a night before heading back to Bandung the next day.
We took a rest at the hotel, and headed out again for dinner. D wanted to take a Commuter Line trip, so we took a trip to Jayakarta station, looking out for Pontianak food at Jalan Pangeran Jayakarta. The food was relatively expensive for a road side food stall, but the value for money was quite okay.
After dinner, we took a bajaj ride back to the station, and another Commuter Line ride back to the hotel.
The next day, D woke me up early in the morning. I offered him to swim in the hotel, but the swimming pool was too small and nobody beside him was swimming there (it’s 5.45 in the morning!), so he got bored instantly. We took another Commuter Line trip to Jakarta Kota, for a nice breakfast in Glodok area.
Around 9 AM, my friend Paul arrived. He is also an SMA Kanisius alumnus, but couldn’t make it to the reunion the day before. We took a walk from hotel to a nearby café “Dua Nyonya”. I joked that one Nyonya (madam) is already exhausting. 6 pieces of fritters cost IDR 57.000 but the place was really nice for a chat in the morning. D helped to take a photo of us together.
We checked out, then Paul drove us to the train station. En route, he also showed me several nice places around the Cikini area. A nice tour in the morning.

May 29, 2023
Visiting The Dead

In 2020, COVID-19 hit the world. It was deadly mostly to people with comorbidity or senior citizens, including my grandfather of 100 years old. Due to safety reasons, he was quickly cremated and his remain was kept in a columbarium. Fast forward to 2023, COVID-19 was largely under control and there was plan to take the remain and bury it properly, in the same grave as his wife in Bekasi. The burial process involves proper praying ceremony with close family members, just like a regular wake.
When I heard the news from my cousin Reza, I was really excited to come and join, since it was also a chance to meet my relatives that I have not met for some time. I initially planned to travel alone using intercity train service. However, the train to Bekasi only run at certain times, and none of the times allowed me to arrive at the graveyard on time for burial. I then decided to drive myself. Driving round trip in one day would be too exhausting for me (I’m older now and I have two children fighting each other every time when they are not sleeping). Therefore I planned a one night stay at a hotel nearby. Since the kids did not have to go to school and my in-law agreed to take care of them, I asked my wife to come along. And finally, since I had an overnight stay planned, I also planned to visit my mother’s tomb a well.
Long story short, I headed out from home at 6 in the morning with my wife, to take a breakfast at a nearby yumcha restaurant. They had this promotion of free drink for each meal purchased. The kopi was really nice, plus it was served in this fancy classic cup.
Breakfast
At 7 AM, we drove to Pondok Ranggon to visit my mother’s tomb. We met Pak D, the person in charge of taking care of the tomb. We also paid him the yearly maintenance fee. Since three of my mother’s siblings were buried at the same graveyard, we also visited and prayed for them.
Graveyard
From Pondok Ranggon, we drove again to Pereng, the graveyard for my grandfather in Bekasi. We were slighly late, but still in time for the procession. Most of the relatives were there, but some others could not come due to incompatibilities. In Chinese culture, there is a belief that if people with certain Chinese zodiac signs are not compatible with the deceased, bad luck may come.
The altar
Around 11.30, the procession started. A monk lead us in chanting to deliver my grandfather spirit. Fresh food were served on the altar, while fake paper money and clothes made of paper were burned with the hope that the deceased can use them in his afterlife.
Documentary video by my cousin Devi
Right after procession ended, rain poured hard. We waited until the rain eased, then said goodbye to each other. Most of them went back home, while I and my wife drove to Cikarang to spend the night there. I chose Cikarang because it’s not too far from Bekasi, halfway back to Bandung, and close to Meikarta.
In case you didn’t know, Meikarta was an ambitious real estate project in Cikarang area. It was mentioned in the news recently because they could not deliver the promised units to its customers. Honestly, I found their TV ad fishy since the beginning, reminding me of Terminator’s Skynet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7psCeH5kKw
There was not much to see there (in Meikarta). Our hotel however, is located more of at the Lippo Cikarang area. It is more of an industrial complex (that are marked with thick yellow cells, if you play Sim City), where many factories were built around that area. When we arrived, we saw what looked like a Korean chatting with the security guard. A tourist, we thought.
We then checked in, took a shower (we were drenched in rain) and take a good nap, before heading out in the evening for dinner. The food in the hotel were relatively expensive, so we walked out a bit and had dinner at a simple Indonesian restaurant.
The next morning, we had early breakfast at 6 AM. It turned out that 90% of the guests eating breakfast were Koreans! Most of them bought their safety helmets, a sign that they work in civil engineering and their employers provided this hotel for their residency during their work in Cikarang. Even the hotel served a Korean menu. At 7 AM, we drove back to Bandung, as I had to work again.
But first, a selfie.
Marhaban Ya Ramadhan!

March 28, 2023
Long Weekends Part 5: Pocari Sweat Run

I woke up probably 4AM in the morning. Having prepared everything the day before, it didn’t much of hassle for me before A picked me up at 4.45. A and his wife D drove a car, picked me up in front of my housing complex, and drove us to the Pocari Sweat Run venue. This was one of the biggest running events in Indonesia. I participated in their 5km run back in 2019, but then stopped participating due to pandemic. In this 2022 event, there was no longer 5km run; only 10km or longer. Offline event only available for those submitting the ballot, got lucky, and willing to pay IDR 600.000. It was pretty expensive, but it also helped to push me to train harder because such expensive finisher medal was only given if the runner finished within 1 hour and 45 minutes.
We arrived at the venue somewhere around 5.15. A lost his pins to attach the bib to his shirt. I shared two of mine, so we both can run easily without holding the bib all the way. We took a selfie and another picture of those special runners tied to some baloons. They were the pacers, who would run at specified speed so that other runners can measure their own pace by looking at them in the vicinity.
Me and A doing selfie before run
The pacers
6 AM sharp was the flag-off for 10km run. West Java governor Ridwan Kamil was there as the frontmost contestant. For the rest, runners were divided into three groups, to disperse crowds. I and A were in the last group, and we decided to wait until the crowd dispersed even more before started running, due to fear of COVID-19.
We had a nice easy run at first, mostly because there were many runners around us. After running for half an hour, half of the runners were already behind us, and we could paced up. A was relatively fitter than me, and for the last kilometer, I asked him to run first and not wait for me. Fortunately, nearing the finish line I managed catch up and we finished almost together.
Finished in one hour eighteen minutes
D waited us at the finish line (but outside the area reserved for runners). After taking our finisher medals, I and A went out and look for her. It was not an easy task, since there were many people around to see this event. I and A took a chance to take a picture with our medals.
Me and A holding the finisher medals
Afterwards, we had our (second) breakfast at Toko You. This was a hidden gem located near Borromeus hospital. It was a relatively cool place with trees around the corner. Inside there were also some antiques like old motorcycle and circus bicycle. A and D recommended me a beer, and it was not disappointing. Just look at this beauty below.

August 20, 2022
Long Weekends Part 4: Pesantren

My wife drove me to UNPAR that morning. We stopped at McD for me to buy a quick and easy breakfast, and I arrived at UNPAR at 6.30. Some students and other lecturers from International Relations department arrived one by one. This was a Program Pengabdian Kepada Masyarakat (some kind of corporate social responsibility) headed by the International Relations Department in cooperation with Faculty of Information Technology and Sciences, to teach a pesantren (Islamic Boarding School) students in Sukabumi, West Java. We started our journey at 7 AM, driving all the way to Sukabumi. We had simple lunch at a Sundanese restaurant in Sukabumi, and drove again to the pesantren.
We arrived at Pesantren somewhere at 13.00. It was still in semester break, so classroom was empty, as in the room was dusty and no chair for students inside. Lucky we had many personnels to clean the room, bring the chairs, and prepared it for class. The chairs were relatively heavy since they were made from real woods, whereas modern chairs in the city are usually made from lighter materials such as plastic or aluminium.
About an hour later, students coming in one by one, and when enough people were there, Mas N started his presentation about Japanese culture and the environment. He told a story about Japan’s journey, from when the people did not care about the environment, up to the era where stuffs are reused again and again.
We took a break and then my turn to perform the workshop. I taught the students how to use WordPress app to write blog posts. It was fun yet challenging. There were no computers, but almost all students had a smartphone with internet connection (I provided free wifi, though). I asked them to download the app from Play Store and write the post using the app. I was lucky too that this event was held in July, one month after the pride month. I can’t imagine how to explain why the WordPress logo is colored rainbow, let alone the LGBT+ movement to the Islamic students. It also made me ponder, how app developers can have large influence to people in other countries.
A picture of me teaching to blog
At 17.00, activities ended. Students did their prayer and went home, and we traveled again to our hotel in town. Midway, we stopped at another restaurant and had porridge for dinner. Why porridge? It was one of a few meals that is still within the price limit enforced by the university. After dinner, most of us took rest in the hotel, while I ordered a spagethi from the hotel since a portion of porridge was not enough.
The next day, I arrived in the restaurant earliest for breakfast. Without my colleagues around, I had a coffee while writing blog posts (mostly the previous parts of this Long Weekends series). Teaching blog to the students triggered me to regularly write blog posts again, just like I did many years ago. Stay at home due to pandemic limited the ideas, and family responsibilites reduced my time to write one.
We then traveled again to the pesantren. In that morning the activity was painting on tote bags, led by Mas K. Students were asked to paint with the theme of environment, and tell a story about what they painted. I served as one of the judges, and painted one, too. We had mini games afterwards, and lunch. Lunch was served by the owner of that pesantren himself, with the most delicious gepuk (meat jerky) I have ever had.
The girls seem to buy my random explanation about the painting
At around 14.00, we waved goodbye and returned to Bandung. Traffic was much worse than when we departed, and we arrived in Bandung somewhere around 20.00. I took a taxi back home, and get a well deserved rest, before the next morning when I had to bring my kids to their first day of school.

August 8, 2022
Long Weekends part 3: FLS2N, Family, and Diocese Time

Next event was the FLS2N SMK (Festival dan Lomba Seni Siswa Nasional Sekolah Menengah Kejuruan, Art Competition and Festival for Vocational Students). I spent morning time still in Harris Hotel, since I had to participate in student’s defence online. Had a team meeting on lunchtime, then headed to Bogor station for Jakarta-bound commuter line, followed by another trips to Serpong.
I arrived at Hotel Grand Zuri around 4 PM, and H was already in the room, checked in earlier. It was a very lavish hotel, but I’d rather stay in Harris. Harris was a tropical themed hotel, so you could walk around using shorts and slippers. In Grand Zuri, all the staffs wore proper shirts, and some of them in suit. That night H briefed the judges on how to use the application that we made for grading students’ submissions.
The next day, I briefed the students on how to submit their art products, in Zoom. For the next few days, it was the judges who briefed students on producing the art, also in Zoom. On the last night, I took a photo with some of the judges, including Ibu Rita Matu Mona, the star of Ngeri Ngeri Sedap.
Wefie with some of the judges
The event was planned to end on Friday morning, so for safety I booked a train ticket for Friday afternoon. The only seats left were from Economic class, and those was the best option. On Thursday my parents visited the hotel to drop some oleh-oleh, but unfortunately I could not meet them because we had an evaluation meeting. Also on Thursday we received news that we would no longer have any more meetings on Friday morning.
Friday morning, my dad and his driver picked us up from the hotel, and drove us to nearest MRT station. From there, we took MRT trip to Grand Indonesia, followed by another taxi ride to the intercity train station, just in time for boarding. We boarded the train, and as I joked to one of the committee, there is no excuse for developers for not working as long as there is internet. That happened to H, who had to finish some work in the train.
H working with his laptop
We arrived in Bandung, somewhere around 18.00. My wife and the kids picked us up from the station. We got home, I finished some leftover work, then get a rest.
On Saturday, we visited a nearby cinema to watch another movie, Minions. My son D was the one who enjoyed the most, laughing all the way during the movie. Indonesian speakers may notice that some Indonesian words were said out inside the movie, such as nasi goreng and terima kasih. Further research after the movie revealed that Pierre Coffin, the voice actor for the minions is Indonesian descendant. Another research when I wrote this blog revealed that he was actually the son of NH Dini, a famous novelist who wrote Pada Sebuah Kapal and La Barka.
Family Time
Sunday, I attended a conference with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bandung, since I volunteered as the head Information Technology Bureau there. The bishop was there to lead the mass and during the mass he reminded us to stay happy during our volunteerism.
Meeting at the Diocese office
What a weekend.

August 4, 2022
Long Weekends part 2: NSDC

Read part 1 here.
A few days before, I made appointment with my former students, W, to meet. He worked in BSD so it was a good chance to meet. Since I had to travel again to Bogor later that week, I asked W to visit us for breakfast in the hotel.
Meetup with Warren
We had a nice chat, then walked a bit to DNArtworks office in Gading Serpong, just a few hundreds meter away. From there we supported the NSDC submissions that, like LDBI, happened during the day. D treated us with Thai food for lunch, and around 17.00 we prepared ourselves for a trip back to Bogor (Sentul to be exact).
This time, we took a cab to a nearby station, took a Railink (airport shuttle train) trip, followed by another commuter line trip to Bogor. From Bogor, we took another Go-Car ride to Harris Hotel. We arrived late at night and the buffet dinner was already cleaned up. We had no choice but to order an ala carte meal, a Rp100k per portion fried rice! We took a rest afterwards.
The next morning, we had our buffet breakfast, and I jokingly asked C whether the fried rice served at breakfast is as good as last night dinner. Fortunately the answer was “no”, so at least we had some extra value with the expensive fried rice dinner.
During that week, we also discussed potential improvements to the website that was used to collect submissions. We also made a trip to a local market Pasar Bersih Sentul City to buy oleh-oleh (gifts). The market turned out to be a hidden culinary gem as well, with many traditional meals available.
Since the FLS2N event was held a day after this NSDC event, I extended my stay a night in Harris. My wife mentioned that a promo was happening in Nanny’s Pavilon newly opened branch nearby, so I went there for dinner. It was about 1km long from the hotel, so I took a Go-Ride. It was buy 1 pancake free 1 waffle. I ordered extra salad to make me less guilty in eating too much carbohydrates.
Sinful

Not sinful

Sinful
It was way too much for dinner for one person. I then decided to walk back to release the tension in my stomach, but with not much result. I enjoyed my night time relaxing at the tropical-themed hotel alone, since C has already gone back to Bandung.

July 30, 2022
Long Weekends part 1: LDBI

It all started on end of June. I and team were responsible for the submission system for national high school students debating championship, which required us to stay in a hotel with the other committees. We were responsible both for the LDBI (Lomba Debat Bahasa Indonesia) and NSDC (National School Debating Championship) competition. The submission period happened on Saturday, where I and C also had to perform a trip from Bandung to Jakarta. Since we had to be standby for technical solving problems that might arise, I decided to take a public transit trip instead of driving my own car. We took an intercity train, followed by commuter line service. Sometimes we had to stop for a while and open our laptops in odd places, including a crowded KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken) restaurant while eating our lunch.
C working with his laptop on a commuter line waiting area
We arrived at Hotel Grand Savero after lunchtime, using an overpriced Go-Car service. That was the time when startups starting to stop crazy promotions and try to make money. For the rest of the day, our job was mostly done. Then submission data was passed on to the judges, and we were there for the next 5 days mostly for opening ceremony and support in case of problems or questions.
The next day was Sunday, and I offered C to take a stroll around hotel. The hotel was located near Bogor botanical garden, but we didn’t know earlier that there was an entrance near our hotel. Therefore, we walked along the perimeter of the garden, all the way to Suryakencana street, which was famous for its culinary adventure. There was a funny occurrence on the street, where I found signage that separates lane for pedestrian, people with wheelchair, and cyclist. However, the last two lanes were obstructed by poles and trees.
Confusing design
At Suryakencana, there were plenty of options but we decided to take a (non-halal) mixed rice for breakfast, just across a church.
Mixed rice
Suryakencana itself is Bogor’s Chinatown, newly renovated, oriental style decorated, and filled with messages about inter-religious tolerance.
An alley in Suryakencana
For the next days, we simply did a WFH (Work From Hotel), but at one night I asked C to watch a movie in a nearby cinema. The movie was entitled Ngeri-Ngeri Sedap, and it told a story about parents in Sumatera who really wished their 3 sons to come home from abroad. They faked a fight so that their sons would come home, but eventually became a real fight leading to potential divorce. I intended to watch this movie because I knew one of the cast (Ibu Rita Matu Mona), and hoped for funny story because it was made by Ernest Prakasa, one of famous comedians in Indonesia. I found Ibu Rita in the movie, but a bit disappointed because the movie contained more drama than comedy. It turned out that the movie was made by a production house founded by Ernest, instead of himself directing the movie.
On the last day at Grand Savero, my parents picked us up from the hotel, and brought us to another hotel, Fame Hotel, in Gading Serpong. We moved to Serpong because there will be another competition, NSDC, that was planned to be held in a hotel in BSD (Bumi Serpong Damai). Therefore, staying in a nearby hotel seemed like a good idea. Also in that day I received news from another client that the committee for vocational students arts competition (FLS2N / Festival & Lomba Seni Siswa Nasional) will be holding a socialization event, also in BSD. Although a bit sad that I will stay longer without my family during the school holiday, I am relieved that it seemed that I would stay in the same area for the rest of my trip.
Or not. That night, I received the formal invitation for the NSDC event, and stated in the invitation that the NSDC will be held in Hotel Harris Sentul, which is close to Bogor but far from Serpong!
To be continued.

July 23, 2022