Tag: AKAP bus
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #32: A White-Knuckle Bus Ride to Surabaya and Reunion with Nyak Ver
I then suggested to my wife that we simply stay overnight in Pati to rest. But she was adamant about continuing on to Surabaya. For me, rest is the single most important thing on a long-distance journey, all the more so since we had already covered a fairly long stretch, from Padang to…
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Touring Indonesia Harmoni #31: The Grueling Bus Relay from Merak Toward Surabaya
On 8 November 2021 we reached Merak Harbor aboard the Sembodo bus. The clock showed 9:30 at night. During the trip, I had already asked the Sembodo bus crew to find us a bus heading to Surabaya. While on the ferry, it turned out the bus crew had coordinated with another bus bound…
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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…