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I arrived around noon, but my host had to work until 18h. I had contact with another couchsurfer who picked me up from the airport and took me for lunch. I am a bit more familiar with Indonesian food, so when I saw satay on the menu, I had to try it. It was so delicious! And as you might guess, eating it in the country of origin instead of my home country, it was the best I had ever tasted.
The guy was also super kind and wanted to bring me to the place where I would meet my host, but when we left the restaurant, it was too late for him to enter the city. Apparently they have a system in Jakarta, that there are certain hours, only odd numbers on one day and even numbers on the other day may enter the centre. This is to reduce the traffic that even with this system is still ridiculously busy. He then got me on a bus that would take me to the place that wasn't that far but took 2 hours because of this traffic! The closer to the city, the more pact the bus got. I wasn't 100%
sure where to get off and kept asking people if it was my stop until I finally reached Gambir station, where Oscar was already waiting for me.
After dropping off my stuff at his place we took a walk and ended up grabbing a bite. Since there was no cutlery, I had to practice my eating-with-chopsticks-skills.
The next day was labour day, so it was super busy in the centre. Oscar took me to a museum that used to be a Dutch city hall, from the times that the Netherlands colonised Indonesia. In the museum there was a lot of information about that time. Ofcourse we learned about the time of the VOC when we were in school so it was really interesting to walk through this museum. A lot of things were written in Dutch too, so Oscar asked me to translate. That was quite funny too. When we left the museum, we walked over the main square and past the oldest coffee house, then to a "ophaalbrug" (a type of bridge). From there we went to a Dutch cemetery, where there were lots of white crosses with all Dutch names on them. Being on the other side
of the world, this was very strange to see. Somehow I kept watching if I saw our family name on one of them, although I didn't remember anyone telling me I had a family member who fought in that war. When I asked mama later, she told me her uncle fought in that war, but returned alive, so I wouldn't find a white cross with his name on it. From there we walked through an Indonesian cemetery that was right next to it. Where we just had to enter through a big gate to get to the Dutch cemetery, this one had no gates or fences at all and a small road that was used by bikes, scooters and pedestrians walked right through it. Because of labour day, many people came to visit the graves of their beloved ones. Where we are used to silence, no touching the grave, leaving a flower and go. These people came in groups, bringing food, chairs, sun umbrellas and more to probably spend all day around the grave. It's interesting to see such different customs. It also didn't feel like a sad place, even though it wasn't as colorful as in for exemple Mexico
and Guatemala. People making parties on a cemetery totally changes the ambiance.
Back at Oscar's place I decided to book my flight to Bali for tomorrow. Unfortunately that meant I would have to skip a few things on my list such as the Borobudur temple, but I made some calculations and since I'm really starting to run out of money this was the best choice to avoid traveling and entrance costs. Anyway the temple won't run away if I would decide to visit it someday. Plus I really wanted to go back to the ocean again.
The next day I prepared my backpack and stayed at the pool with Oscar when mama called me to come home. My dad was taken to the hospital and she was afraid he wouldn't come out. He struggled with cancer for almost 2 years but it was never really clear how long he would have.. One time they would say at least 6 years and the another time they would said it would be less then 3 months. They kept changing which made me decide to go on with my travels eventually. I got an insurance so if things would get worse
I would be able to get back home. I called them immediately and I was surprised how quick they all handled it. The same evening they got me a flight to Amsterdam and train tickets to Eindhoven.
At first I was sad I wouldn't make it to Bali, which I was looking so much forward to. I only heard good stories about it and it would be the best ending of my trip. I also booked with my last money a course to become a SUP yoga instructor. When I got aboard my flight I was angry with myself for even thinking that! How could I be so selfish?! The rest of the flight I tried not to cry, wishing I would be able to see papa before it would be too late.
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