Its a funny thing about life, there is so many twists are turns in it. We all make plans and even when they are set in motion, the results can sometimes surprises you. I try not to make plans here in Jakarta. I have started living my life day by day, waking up in the morning to a day full of surprises. That was the reality of my last trip to Bandung. With no expectations life is open bring many experiences that I never would imagine. This is the story of a road trip people. When at times it seems like we have written the script for what is supposed to happen, life comes along with white out and makes little changes that forever sculpt unforgettable experiences.
We left our kos kasan bright and early last Saturday morning. I have adjusted my internal clock to Indonesian time (where 7:00 am really means about 7:30). Z, Yuna, Tika, and myself jam into our car and zoom on down the toll road towards Bandung. Traffic, is to say the least, unique in Indonesia. 100% of the time there is a traffic jam, and unless you drive like a F-1 racer you are going to be stuck behind a hundred motorcycles as people cruise to their daily routine. Thank god for Tika's driving. See I used to be scared of cars, and Tika is by far the craziest driver I have ever seen. Dodging in and out of traffic, driving on the opposite side of the road, even off road and into the shoulder is the only way to reach your destination in a moderate amount of time. She does all this while still holding a conversation. Now I never had much faith in god, or the will to prayer, but times like these call for some hail Marys. In the end, her aggresiveness is the only way we would have made it there in one piece. Nice driving Tika!Along the toll rode it is tradition to jump out of your car and take pictures of the beautiful agricultural landscape. Tagging along with the gang, these pictures turn in to professional photo shoots, with each of us striking a pose Vogue style. As traffic zooms by and people honk and yell, here we are four friends having the time of our lives taking random pictures of the side of a busy freeway. Problem being is that while most of everything is perfectly legal in Jakarta ("No problem!" ~Donny) apparently stopping your car on the side of the road is not.
"Back to the car!"
Polisi in this country don't like people making spectacles of themselves. We dart back to the car in what has become a high speed chase to ditch the patrolman. So much excitement and we haven't even stopped for lunch. Oh Sate Merangi, best place on earth to grab a quick bite to eat. A truly memorable meal.
When we arrive in Bandung the fun really begins. Bandung is known around Indonesia as "Paris van Jawa." It is a holiday town where people leave the busy life of Jakarta to go shopping and sip coffee in cafes. They also have some incredible fruit stands and juices that are locally produced. Nothing is better than the strawberries from here. As you can see, I can hardly even wait to pick them from the vine from the House of Stroberi. See it is this place, the House of Stroberi, where this trip turned upside down. This was supposed to be a very relaxing, easy trip to Bandung. Shopping here... eating... I can be so naive. This was when the Water Ball incident happened.t
Now we see here is a gigantic beach yeah? This my friends is a water ball. The thing about this wonderful invention is that you are actually supposed to get in the ball and sprint across the water. We have the fantastic idea of actually doing it. So Yuna and Tika get in their ball, roll off the deck, and Boom! immediately fall flat on their faces. Z and I laugh a bit... get a little cocky... step into our ball.... roll of the deck... and Boom! fall flat on our faces. We stand up for a second then Boom! on our faces again. Now you should know that I am not built for this country. I can not fit inside of some stores, tables, chairs... you name it. But I was especially not built for water ball. As me and Z go tumbling through this pool falling on our faces, I finally land flat down on the zipper of the water ball. Pop! Water comes pouring in and their is only one thing to do! "Jump inside the nasty toilet poolwater!" Splash head first I go diving out of the water ball only to find that the pool is about a foot deep. Head to toe I am soaked in some of the most polluted water I have ever seen. My wallet and cell phone are drenched to the bone. Z had his blackberry on him, and yep you guessed it: broken. See now water ball seems fun in the concept. Step in the ball, walk across the water like a Jesus gerbil, nothing but good times! But great times happen when you break the water ball. A crowd of locals come running to watch as the tiniest of Indos and the largest bule you will ever see now are wrestling in the water. See we make the most of our time here... when life takes you one way... roll with it...just don't fall down flat on your face more than three times... you will end up wet. Water ball was a great time!
Until you are forced to sit in the back of the car... with no change of clothes.
Later on after shopping around in the Distros (Indo outlet stores for little people) and finding a pair of jeans that actually fit me; we headed to this beautiful little cafe called Congo. It is this gorgeous cafe up on the peak of a mountain by Bandung. It has this view of the town that you could only imagine. Total desktop wallpaper type of view of the town. Its this nice little cafe with live jazz music playing Michael Jackson covers and terrific coffee. But here goes my next mistake of the trip. See I made the mistake of bringing the game of Cheers Governor to Indonesia. Y'all know the drinking game that we used to play in college... and well since we were not drinking it resulted to another form of punishment... Lipstick. Here we are sitting in this nice classy cafe, with the letters U-K-F-C written across my face and neck while others look like cats and clowns. Being this my game, I thought that I would have no problem cruising through without looking like an idiot. I was wrong like I always am. Word of advice: do not let Indonesians play drinking games with you. They will win every time.Oh and another weird experience to share! So the next day we went to this little water park. While we sat there and ate some food, watching families enjoy the beautiful weather of this town, my friend Ardi suggest that we try something called Dr. Fish. Maybe you have seen this on the travel channel or some other bizarre show, but Dr. Fish is a way of relaxation. It involves sticking your feet or hands in an aquarium and having a thousand fish eat whatever is on your skin. That's right... my feet are feeding these fish for the day. Imagine having leeches (no they are fish but imagine) sit there on your feet eating away the dead skin cells. It tickles, its uncomfortable, its disgusting, its not relaxing, it makes you tingle up on the inside, but after you settle down, it is amazing. Its like sticking your feet into a pool of vibrating water. If you can ignore the fact of these big suckers trying to tear off your toes... oh that feels nice! Caution: do not try this at home!
Okay so there has to be a reason why I share this trip, the deeper side to things. I have a ton of experiences in Indonesia that are hard for me to convey through words. I can not describe the mentality, the experience, the inner feelings I have here through a blog. But they said something to me that means a lot to me this trip. They have started calling me "Ngarep Indo." Now my friends get a kick out of making fun of me. I love it. Its exactly what I would do to my friends. See I try my hardest to adapt to life here. When in Rome right? See Ngarep Indo means "Indonesian wannabe." I might stick out like a sore thumb here in this country, I might never feel as if this place will truly accept me as part of their culture. Well hell I am not. But the people around me have noticed my efforts in trying. That's all I ask for. Now if that's makes me a wannabe then yep that's what I wannabe.
Indonesia has become part of me in these two short months. It has opened my eyes to life outside my comfort zone. It has shown me sides of myself that I never knew existed. It has shown me that the concept of myself is actually a very fluid thing. I think of myself no longer as a "laid-back" person but someone who is adaptable. It just takes a baptism through murky water to show that. Thanks life... whats next?
