6/2

6/2

I'm gonna try and do my best to remember everything that happened in the last 2 days, I broke it up by date, because I tend to get a little long-winded.

Saturday I hung out at the house till 4pm, when Fajar picked me up to go camping. "We go by train"... He picked me up on his motorcycle, we jetted to his house, and picked up his gear, then walked to the station. "Watch out for criminals" was his warning. This was not a particularly nice train station, crowded with vendors, normal people, and beggars. I put beggars in their own category because, well... I'll tell you later. The fare to Bogor is Rp. 1,500 for economy class, This is economy class in Indonesia. People crowd into the trains, some ride outside on top. "Boss, careful of your wallet, and put your backpack on your front. Beware of hypnotist. And let me know if anyone is watching us."

Slightly alarmed, I pressed him on the hypnotists. He said that people may try to talk to you, and distract you while reaching into your pocket and stealing your wallet. Thankfully, nothing bad happened on this trip. Vendors walked up and down the train, selling everything from stickers and cigarettes to fried tofu, oranges, and cold drinks. It started pouring on the train, and since it was economy class, the doors and some of the windows couldn't close. So we arrived in Bogor, ran to the station, and walked through and caught an angkot. We had to change angkots to get to our destination. It was prime rush hour, so we weren't moving at all. It's hot, and we're breathing exhaust fumes, it was terrible. We got as far as we could, and Fajar asks me, "Ok boss, we take ojek halfway, or walk?" We took the ojeks. It was slightly treacherous, washed out roads, we bottomed out a few times. Indonesians don't say oops or whoa, they say "Aduh!" So we got up halfway, took out our flashlights, and started walking. It was a full moon, so it wasn't too dark, but the cloud cover kinda hid the moon. After a little while, he stopped and lit his lantern. I remember it being very hot and humid, and you could see the steam rising off yourself. Fajar told me that you have to ask the forest for permission to take a whizz in the woods, or else be cursed. So I did... It was a long hike uphill, at least 2 clicks (km), and we were both sweating when we reached Sukamantri.

Formerly a WWII Japanese fortress, Sukamantri is now a campground. The exact location is 06 deg 40.533' S, 106 deg 45.093' E, according to my gps, about 33 km due south of my place in Depok. We set up camp, made some Indomie, Fajar played his guitar, it was cool. The next day is better...