Category: Premium
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #30: Boarding the Ferry from Semarang to Kumai, Kalimantan
This former terrorism convict recounted what he had been doing all this time, namely helping friends who had once been terrorism convicts return to a normal life in society. For them, stigma and economic need are crucial problems for those who have only just been released from prison as terrorist inmates. For that reason,…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #29: A Dissertation by Zoom in Cirebon and the PCR Scramble in Semarang
Our journey can be watched on the channel: Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad As it turned out, Dr. Tabrani had coordinated with the Cirebon City Police Chief to book a hotel in the City of Cirebon. So we had to stay in the City of Cirebon, not in the Regency of Cirebon. Once again, we needed to…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #28: Across Java from Merak to Cirebon and a Welcome from BNPT
Our journey can also be watched on the YouTube channel of Kamaruzzaman Bustamam-Ahmad After riding from Banda Aceh on 28 July 2021, along the western route of Sumatra, Nyak Ver finally reached Merak on 5 August 2021 after crossing from Bakauheni. Once we arrived in Merak, we had to travel for three hours to…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #27: The Central Sumatra Bus, Mistaken Honeymooners, and a Swab-Test Standoff
Once we arrived in Solok, we were joined with the passengers who had boarded the Sembodo bus from Bukittinggi. This time, the route taken was the Central Sumatra corridor. So over the course of this tour, we had now traveled the western, eastern, and central routes of Sumatra. The distance from Padang to Jakarta…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #26: Back to Surabaya to Fetch Nyak Ver, Grief and All
The news of Brother Syamsul’s passing also spread widely in Banda Aceh. While we waited for the steady stream of guests, we also received word that there was a Proposal Seminar at UIN Imam Bonjol that we had to attend. That event was held on the 3rd to the 5th in Padang. In…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #25: Racing Home to Say Goodbye to My Brother
In the end, my wife ordered food through an app. We had planned to eat a Palembang specialty, empek-empek. Before long, our meal arrived. We devoured it right there inside the bus. Soon after, the bus set off toward Jambi. This time, the hot air stung once more throughout the cabin. Some passengers…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #24: Crossing the Sunda Strait and the Slow Bus to Palembang
After that, the bus moved on toward Merak Harbor. As usual, the bus stopped at an eatery that had a standing arrangement with the company, for meals and drinks. Here, passengers rarely want to eat at the designated restaurant, because the prices are naturally not very friendly to the wallet. Meal prices are inflated.…
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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…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #22: The Emergency Bus Journey Home to a Dying Brother
So concludes the story of Touring Indonesia Harmoni across the island of Sumatra. It must be admitted that this route did not present any truly significant obstacles. But it should be added that we also once traveled by bus, from Java back to our hometown of Krueng Mane, and by bus again from…