Touring Indonesia Harmoni #23: A 15,000-Rupiah Rest at Pulo Gebang and the Old Bus to Medan

      We climbed off the bus while looking for a place to rest. This was my first time at Pulo Gebang Terminal, claimed to be the largest bus terminal in Southeast Asia. Security operated around the clock. The staff were busy asking passengers to wear masks. There was a mosque on the lower floor. The canteen prices were quite friendly to a traveler’s wallet. In short, we were very fortunate to have transited through this terminal. Toward morning, we began hunting for the ticket counter of Putra Pelangi, the company heading to Medan. After breakfast, we found the Putra Pelangi counter tucked into the corner reserved for buses bound for Sumatra. As it turned out, the counter had not yet opened. But an attendant told us it would open a little later in the day, and invited us to leave our belongings in front of the counter. That attendant informed us there was a comfortable transit room for prospective passengers in the building next to the terminal. We decided to search for the room he mentioned. After asking several staff members, we finally found a hall partitioned off by walls. Inside each cubicle was a mattress. The security officer said the price for one room for 24 hours was only 15,000 rupiah. We were astonished that such a good facility was priced at just Rp. 15,000. However, women and men had to be separated into blocks reserved specifically for men and for women. Even though we were a lawfully married couple, the rules at this lodging required us to enter separate rooms for women and men. In the end, we paid for two rooms.TrendingConsciousness 2045: From Artificial Intelligence to Artificial Consciousness and the Future of Humanity A rest room at Pulo Gebang Terminal, only Rp. 15,000.