34 Days around Java

Day 1 - Part 2

Around dawn, I finally found a masjid. I decided that I would rest a bit on its porch after I finished my prayer, since it was really tiring having to walk for hours. While I sat, I took out a small notebook and a pen from my bag. I imagined how boring it would be spending all my day walking, so I thought that writing would make my days more enjoyable. And it's better than mindlessly sitting. As I pondered about what to write, I ended up writing fiction stories that I never managed to finish before, back from square one.

Now that I had arrived in Serpong, and as there was nothing I wanted to do here, I continued towards my next destination: Balaraja. However, there were two things that I wanted to prepare, namely mosquito repellent and shaving. Thus, after I had refreshed enough in the masjid I went to buy the mosquito repellent in konbini (convenience store; konbini is the japanese name for it. It's also shorter to type), and from there I went to a barbershop. To be honest, this was my first time shaving in the morning. I didn't know they opened so early... or maybe this particular shop is just early.

After I shaved, I came across some bikers and asked them the way to Balaraja since I don't know where that is, and there were no street signs that suggest the way to Balaraja. They said that I had to take a bus from Kebon Nanas, and the bus was going through the toll road. I wanted to go there by foot, but I never see a person walking on the toll road. I mean, anyone would find it weird. Since I don't know any other way, I decided to take their advice and took the bus.

During the entire ride to Balaraja, I was asleep. Obviously, I was exhausted, so upon arriving at Balaraja (almost 10 A.M.), I immediately went to a masjid and took a nap there until Zuhur. I was still in the masjid even after prayer since it was raining a bit.

Here's my impression of Balaraja: it looks barren, despite the greenery. The part of the district that I saw kind of reminded me of Ciputat, but less crowded. Truth be told, I was disheartened, but since I did no research of the place, I shouldn't expect anything. That being said, I decided to move on to Cilegon, my next destination.

Honestly, I don't know which way is Cilegon from Balaraja, so I asked an ojek (bike taxi driver) about it. Speaking of ojek, it has been years since I saw stationed ojek. I mean, there were some that still operate traditionally around Jakarta and South Tangerang, but it was much less prevalent compared to the ojek in Balaraja. Due to the rapid development of online apps, those stationed ojek were slowly turning into online drivers over the years. Apparently it didn't happen that fast in Balaraja.

Anyway, the ojek said that I could take the bus from the intersection (I don't remember the name), so I went there and saw lots of buses and angkot (van-sized city transport). The traffic was quite crowded. I asked another ojek there about the way to Cilegon, and again they suggested that I take the bus which uses the toll road. Why did it feel like I was only given a default answer? I don't want to take any transport....

Since I don't feel like riding anything, I walked on a straight road for tens of minutes. At some point I learned that it goes to Serang, so I once again asked an ojek about the directions to Cilegon, and he said that I should take the bus from the intersection. God bless these ojeks for their unanimous answer. I think they didn't learn to give me any alternative besides giving me a ride. Fatigued from walking, I decided to take angkot that could take me back to the intersection, so I hopped on to one and returned in just about a couple of minutes! Compared to the time it took me to walk the distance, it felt unfair, yet convenient. Then again, that was the purpose of vehicles, I guess...

When I returned to the intersection, the buses were still lined up, waiting for passengers. I asked a stranger about the price to Cilegon, and he said that it was 30K rupiahs. I was reluctant, since I considered it to be quite expensive. I was traveling on a limited budget, so I had to save every penny from being wasted in vain. However, since I didn't know any other choice, I had to take it and proceeded to sit inside the bus. While I was waiting for the bus to start moving, peddlers were coming in and out interchangeably, a typical situation to see in Java's bus waits. A stray singer also performed inside the bus. It was horrible, but I would give him an extra point for bringing a harmonica. The bus moved soon after those money grabbers got their share of looking at the passengers.

Different from what the stranger told me, it actually only cost 20K rupiahs to get to Cilegon. During the trip I spent my time playing games on my 3DS (yes, I brought a 3DS. I had hoped that it would reduce boredom for a bit, but on later days it was proven to be quite useless for its need of electricity. I just couldn't bother to find electric plugs and wait for it to get fully charged).

I was dropped off at a fork by the driver's assistant when he said that I've arrived at Cilegon. There were only ojeks and angkots there, and they were offering their services. Since they were being annoying, I didn't bother to ask them the way to Cilegon. I took one of the two roads and walked a bit until I found a warung (small shop). I asked the shopkeeper about the way to Cilegon, but instead of answering the question he asked me back if I were going there by foot (I still don't get why he asked me that). Long story short, I returned to the fork and took the other road.

Cilegon has some sort of decoration on its border. Beside its name, the gate was shaped kind of like a wave, and a colorful one at that. (The place's known as taman kota Akur Sedulur, though I didn't know about it being a city park at that time). Upon entering Cilegon, the first thing I was looking for was a place to rest my leg (since it would be quite dirty and unusual to just sit on the roadside. The sun also shone brightly that time). I asked an Indomaret clerk about nearby musala, and he gave me directions. I went there and stretched my leg (the time was already past 3 P.M., but I didn't go there for prayer since I already did it back in Balaraja (Jama' Qasar)).

After I felt refreshed, I returned to the mainroad to go to my next destination, Anyer (Now that I reread and rewrite my journal, I was hit by the realization of my lack of research on the area. I practically didn't bother to visit any tourist spots, but at that time I was skeptical about those place's availability. It was corona season, afterall). I came across a crossroad and asked a random biker about the direction to Anyer, but then he suddenly stopped an angkot and told me to ride it. Things happened so sudden that I subconsciously hopped on it.

I told the driver that I wanted to go to Anyer, so he dropped me at Simpang and told me to take the silver-colored angkot. I thanked him and paid 4K rupiahs for the ride. I had no intention to ride any Angkot, but I didn't plan to get lost either, so I came up with an Idea: follow the route the transport takes to Anyer! How clever. Thus, I walked down the road, believing that I would get to Anyer.

The sky gradually became darker and darker as I walked. Eventually, the sun sets, and I get to do the prayer and rest. After that, I ate a portion of rice with gulai soup (Just the soup. It adds flavor without adding more money) on a warteg (food stall). When I was about to pay, it turns out one of the customers already paid for my dinner. Whoever that is, may god repay your kindness.

There were a decent amount of shops on the road to Anyer, and they were quite well-lit during the night. Because of that, I continued walking a bit more until I got tired. As I walked, I also looked out for a spot to sleep. It would be easier to settle on anywhere, but I thought that it wouldn't be quite healthy. Nothing can ruin the fun of adventure as much as disease. (In regard to selecting a spot to sleep, I made sure that the place's clean (to a bearable extent), not well-lit (it's hard to sleep with lights on), and also has a good distance from the road (it's noisy)). After a while, I finally found the front of a closed store that was good enough to sleep on, so I stopped there, put on mosquito repellent, then slept. (Since I had no sense of time, I had thought that it was already late at night, but turns out it wasn't that long around Isha prayer).