Eid Mubarok 1437 H

Ketupat and its partners

We spent our Eid al-Fitr in Lampung. We decided to go there on the second day of Lebaran thinking that the traffic would be less crowded however I guessed most people had the same thoughts as we finally ended up spending almost ten hours from Jakarta to Bandar Lampung. I know it's not as horror as Brexit (Brebes Exit) yet it's still tiring and traumatizing (especially for the girls who kept asking, "when will we arrive, Ma?").

At the (old) Ferry

The things that I noticed during our mudik trip was the toll road from Jakarta to Merak was okay. Not too crowded, it's still smooth. Then arrived at Merak, we have to wait for the ferry for almost 1,5 hours. I remembered during 1990s when my father was assigned by his office to Lampung and I was so familiar with Merak-Bakauheni and the ferry. I got de javu feeling at Merak and Bakauheni since everything looked the same. Old ferry, crowded with people sitting at every corner of it while ordering Pop Mie. Even Bakauheni also showed similar feeling. Nothing new. Jeez...it's been more than 20 years but the facility are still the same. The different things that I couldn't find in the old days was now more and more people went mudik using their motorcycle. One family with lots of stuff and kids and sometimes even babies. Dear God. My thoughts and prays went to them.

Other big project is Sumatra Toll Road that is still on the making. It's planned to be launched next year. But looking at the great numbers of motorcycles and cars sales in Jakarta, I don't think this toll road will make such a huge difference for next year Lebaran. No, I am not being  skeptical to our government and such, but I am just horrified seeing the heavy traffic each day. If only the government focus more on providing a reliable and affordable public transport, I guess people will start to leave their private cars at home. Hopefully this is not just a dream. Jakarta and its heavy traffic are a very serious issue now.

Tired of asking questions

By the way, we stayed at The 7th Hotel and Convention Center Lampung. Quite a new hotel that was launched by President Jokowi end of last year. Nice and clean place, spacious room, affordable price for a-four-star hotel and our favorite is their rich varieties of breakfast. We're sure that this place is one of our favorite hotels in Lampung.