> Personal Blog: ''Have you ever?''

For my writing class at Direct English... on December 2011

How do you define a memorable trip? Is it when you experience a wild adventure? See breathtaking scenery? Get acquainted with a handsome fellow traveler? Dive at the deepest sea? Stay at a grand hotel? Meet an endangered species? Or climb the highest mountain?

candi tinggi, at muaro jambi

For me, a memorable trip doesn’t have to be a visit to a beautiful place or an experience of wild adventure. My definition of a memorable trip is simple; it is when friendly local people let us be a part of their lives and when a true friendship is born. The ingredients for this particular memorable trip are temples, local people and mosquitoes. This one trip eventually leads to another three trips back to the same place. Some memorable trips indeed.

singing and playing music

It all started on June 2010 when my friend and I went on a business trip to the city of Jambi for about 10 days. On one weekend during that 10 days period, we took a tour to Muaro Jambi. Muaro Jambi is a village one hour away from Jambi. The tour is mainly a walking tour around the Muaro Jambi temple complex and a night spending at a farmhouse in the middle of a durian farm in the village. It was a total of 14 km walking tour. First, we took a small boat to Muaro Jambi, it took us about one hour to get there from the city, then we started the walking tour. We saw many temples which were made of red brick, unlike temples in Yogyakarta and Magelang which were made from stones. We also learned about the history of those temples. In between the walks, we had lunch at one of the houses in the nearby village. Homemade local food is the best meal when you are traveling.

riding bikes in the morning

In the afternoon after half of the walking tour, we took a bath and had dinner in one of the houses in the village. Then we became ‘’wedding crashers’’, watching a newlywed and the whole village celebrate their day. The newlyweds celebrate their happiness not just for one day. They organized a one week event. During the whole week, guest can come to their house and congratulate the bride and the groom. Almost all the people in the village get together and organize the event. They cook, eat, sing and dance together. They celebrate the wedding. They celebrate life.

durian party.. all u can eat : )

 After that, at the farmhouse, we were accompanied and entertained by a group of young man from the village. They played some music and some Malay songs. They made some jokes. We laughed and we chatted and we drank many cups of the best local coffee until midnight. They even made us some sticky rice and some grilled chicken. There was no electricity and television at the farmhouse. Just us having fun in the middle of a durian farm. That night, friendships were born. Unfortunately, something happened that night, we were attacked by mosquitos. I can still remember vividly the buzzing sounds of the mosquitos flying and the itch feeling throughout my skin. Even the mosquito repellent surrendered itself to the mosquitos that night.

family picture : )

That was it, a walking tour, several cups of local coffee, the sound of laughter mixed with the sound of music, hours of endless conversations and the atmosphere of togetherness, creating a wonderful and memorable weekend. We made friends that night, with those young men who entertained and took care of us during our visit. Their sincerity is one of the reasons why we keep in touch with them. After the first visit, we promised ourselves to visit this place again. We did, three times. One time just because we missed them, one time was special for the durians, and one time to attend a wedding. I once saw this sentence on an advertisement of a certain place: “Come as a stranger and leave as a friend”. That’s what we did. Those strangers at Muaro Jambi became our special friends, even after one and a half years have gone by. Have you ever experienced something like that? 

For the complete pictures of our jambi trips, please click here