Oft-overlooked part of East Java province, Indonesia

by Mahasiswi Immawati (Indonesia)

I didn't expect to find Indonesia

Kediri to most people is that oft-overlooked part of East Java province nestling far far away from the metropolitan crowd. No, I don’t put it that way. “I never knew Bekicot satay tastes like this,” Said said as three of my other friends Rani, Aulia, and Erlan enjoyed other meals. Not like them, I sipped Arang coffee before anything else. The evening walk was beaming with satisfying food stalls of East Java. And as I was in approximately one and a half hours away from Gumul, under the starry sky setting, I fancied leaping into Simpang Lima Gumul Kediri tonight, which was downright impossible since we had itinerary started by tomorrow morning. Either way, everything is fine. The cuisines helped a bit. As if our tummies weren’t feeling full enough, we dropped by to Tempoe Doloe to enjoy supper and get immersed with the locals. “Oh, you must try Kediri Soto and Tofu, Buddy!” Rani remarked as we settled into a table by a window overlooking the darkening street. “The taste is unbelievable.” The next two hours played out like a highlight reel of our constant friendship: It did not occur to me that I could be friends with these new fellas. We barely met one another, let alone thinking that we could get along very well. But that day, we lost all sense of time. I never knew that this city brought me to these cool people, it humbled me and somewhat crucial for my character. I was glad that I took some time off and enjoyed this such bucolic surrounding, being far removed from the hustle-bustle. Somewhere between our conversation, I recalled my wellbeing six days earlier. “You’ll meet my folks at the Kiaracondong train station,” my twin sister said as she popped another snack into my backpack. While myself though, a distant creature fear, started thinking about the distinctive terroir of the far removed east java province, what could it possibly have in store for me there? “Rani would also join the trip,” she added. Followed by her saying “Take care,” I headed off to the station and looked for the person familiar with the photos my sister gave me this morning. Tall, big eyes with that Matt Leblanc’s haircut sort of fella. “Where are you?” I kept searching that stranger's eye at the station. I saw him once, but at that particular time, I was not quite sure I could recall his face. Shortly after, I did not know how that stranger found me among these gaggle of crowds here and there. “Ci?” he asked. “Oh, Aulia? Me, responding to him as he smiled at me because he thought it was funny seeing his best friend in another human body. He was my twin sister’s best friend. He then started to laugh like a little kid. Three other folks also arrived, following his arrival. “There are two of our friends who are already there, we’ll meet them as soon as we take off. “ Growing up with lots of train accident news on tv, I had always been feeling reluctant to go on a trip by train. But there I was, sitting on the train. I stared at the windowpane, the bushes ...the trees...even the cloud passed me by. They kept moving. One vanished, another one appeared. Followed by another, and another, and another. All the benches ...the bushes of this so-called Kembang city were drifting by like the feeling of love that slowly disappeared with time. And “Strange” was probably a word I could apply to much in our ride. “Are you ok?” Aulia asked. I reassured him I was fine while silently bottling up my fears. Not until that day I could muster up my courage to go on a trip by train. I was always afraid that there would be something terrifying. But Aulia’s fun and outgoing personality got me feeling cool about the railway thingy. In general, though, it is worth remembering that sometimes it is not the destination we are after, it is all about the journey and the company we keep.