Personal Favourites: Most Memorable Visit to Indonesia

Before I visited Indonesia recently, the last time I was there was like 21 years ago in 1989. Then I was travelling with a group of new found friends to Hawaii and made a 1-night stopover in Jakarta. Last year, on the invitation of another new found friend, I visited Jakarta again. I totally have no recollection of what is was like at all. However, this time round, it was really memorable.

The one place that I will never forget is the park in which sits the National Monument (Monas). It is a huge park and is so full of activities throughout the evening. Families with children, couples, groups of young people, students, hawkers all come to share the tranquil surroundings. So peaceful and yet full of life.

My friend then brought me to Ancol which is like a seaside holiday destination. We travelled on the interesting bus network from downtown Jakarta to Ancol. They have dedicated bus lanes and the stops, similar to mrt stations, are situated in the middle of road dividers.

Ancol has developed into a very happening place, with theme parks and rides. When I was there in 1989, I remember vaguely Dunia Fantasi, a small amusement park with the most frightful Viking ride. But now, there is a water park, children's park, cable car rides and boat rides. You can spend the whole day there soaking in the sun and the sea. It was a fun day out.

Another memorable experience was the trip by ferry to Lampung. We left Jakarta by coach travelling to the western tip of Java island and driving onto a ferry that brought us to Sumatra followed by another journey on the same coach to the town of Lampung. The entire journey took about 7 hours.

Lampung is the hometown of my Indonesian friend. It is not a very large town, and very leisurely. We visited the traditional market place where you can buy dried and salted fish, crackers (keropok) and try all the local hawker fare. My favourite is still the fruit salad (rojak).

I also visited my friend's family home in the hillside suburbs of Lampung. Very nice family living in a very simple brick house with no windows. I felt very honoured to be invited to lunch with them, having assam sayur, ikan asin, omelette and rice.

Then my friend brought me on a motorbike ride up the mountainside and we even found a roadside surian stall where I managed to satisfy my cravings.

Then we celebrated my birthday with a fabulous seafood dinner at the Gubuk Emas Restaurant. The food was inexpensive and really quite good. In the end, my friend even went on stage to sing a song for me.