Twist of Fate

Last Sunday, I attended a cooking demo organized by one of cooking community, Orange Kitchen, in Grand Indonesia. Since my son had badgered me for a long time for a ride in the Busway, I took my family with me to go there, not by car but by busway. So we went to Ragunan zoo to park our car there, and took the busway to Dukuh Atas and then transferred to the another busway to Grand Indonesia. My children were so excited about this. It’s no wonder, since they seldom travel in public transportation.

The journey from Ragunan to Dukuh Atas went smoothly but slowly (I don’t know why but our bus seemed to be slower than usual). There was one interesting moment when a young guy with a gimbal hair (d’you know what gimbal is? Like Bob Marley’s hair) went in and sit next to us. My children were gaping at him, but Thank God they didn’t say a word :D

The problem started when we arrived at Dukuh Atas. Adek Izza refused to walk (so I have to carry her) and after walking for a while across the overpass, her brother follow suit so his father must carry him. Oh dear. So while waiting for the bus that will take us to our destination to come, I reminded him that he was the one asking for the trip. After that, he didn’t complain much :D

We arrived at the demo place a few minutes before it started. I quickly took a seat, but my family chose to watch the water fountain show and browse around first. Later on, they accompanied me at the demo place. After attending the 2-hour demo, in which we munched on the many delicious samples of the demo result and then I won a pack of chili cheese that I have no idea as what to make of it, the kids begged us to take them to the amusement centre, and so we did.

By the time they’re finished, we were quite hungry again, so I asked my dear hubby what he’d like to eat. I offered him to eat presto duck (bebek presto-ind) in a restaurant near my office, and they all agreed (I have once bring it home for them, so they know how it taste). So we head to the busway stop again. When we walked across the overpass, my husband and my daughter walk ahead of me and my son, we saw some beggars on it. It was a usual sight for me (although I couldn’t avoid that twinge of pity whenever I saw them), but a rare one for them. There was a moment when we walk in the opposite direction with a little girl who was clearly a daughter of one of the lady beggars there. She looked at my daughter, Izza looked at her. They’re about the same age and height and they watch each other with the innocent stare of a child. At that instant, while watching them from behind, I thought that with a twist of fate, that little girl could be mine and Izza could be that poor little thing. We could never choose our parents, it’s God’s secret. It’s an unnerving thought.

After eating in the restaurant, we started our journey back home. It’s almost dark already. There were a lot more passenger than in the morning, and they were a lot more hostile. I mean, I traveled by busway everyday to and from work, but I’d never see such brutal attempts to get into the bus like that evening. Or was it because I never travel with children before? Mmmm… no, I think the crowd on Sunday was more hostile than on workdays.

On the bus, however, someone was good enough to give me a seat, so I sat with Izza on my lap. Reyhan was having difficulties holding on to the railing, so I told him to sit on my lap as well. I jokingly told him, “Lucky you only have 1 sibling, I only have two kids. What if I have 4 kids? Where would you all sit?”

Not long after, both my kids fell asleep. Oh boy, surprising how two little kids could be so heavy when they’re fast asleep. Fortunately, my hubby then got a seat, so he took Reyhan from me. And they keep on sleeping until we reach our destination, Ragunan parking drive.

So, that’s my weekend adventure, coursing through Jakarta by busway with my family. We even took some picture with patung Selamat Datang at Bundaran HI as the background (mind you, it was the first time in my life that I pose at Bundaran HI. We’re just like tourists!). It’s a very nice trip, albeit some minor setbacks such as the long line at the busway stop, long period of waiting for the bus to come and not getting a seat. And we were lucky ‘cause we were always sheltered when the rain comes down (it’s already stopped by the time we reach Ragunan). All in all, we enjoy it a lot, and my husband summed it up to this, “even though my car is old, it’s still much, much better than riding the busway.” Hahahaha…..

PS: I thought everyone has forgotten about the Bob-Marley-kinda guy. In the car on our way back home, Izza suddenly piped up, “Ma, di bus tadi, yang duduk di depan itu, di rambutnya kenapa sih?” Laughing, I tried to explain it to her, but I didn’t think she got it even though she said, “Ooooohh….” with a confuse look on her face :D.