Idols on Vacation: Mudik Episode

Mudik is annual custom in Indonesia that follows the fasting month of Ramadhan . “Mudik” that means homecoming is rooted from “Udik” that means upstream, the source of a river. In this special occasion, many people who live and work far away from their source, i.e. their hometown, take some chance to gather with family, relatives and friends back home. Our beloved ones are of no exception. Let’s check where and what they do to spend their vacation in this special occasions.

Most members seemed to decide to stay in Jakarta. In this particular time, the usually crowded with traffic jam Jakarta turned into a deserted metropolis. Most members who stayed spent most of their time with family and friends; a luxury that they can’t easily enjoy in other time with their hectic schedule of school, practicing and performing. Some of them decided to go to some places around Jakarta for some refreshment.

Sonya, for instance, spent her time with family at a villa in Puncak , a mountainous area 72 km south of Jakarta. It is a popular holiday area famous for its fresh air and tea plantation scenery. Indonesia Safari Park is situated within this area. Stella and Sonia made a visit to this park on their way back after a short trip to Bandung. Stella even took her turn behind the wheel.

Most members whose hometown is Bandung chose to come home and spent their time with family. Bandung is the third largest city, and the second largest metropolitan area in Indonesia. Located on higher altitude than Jakarta and situated on a river basin surrounded by mountains making Bandung has cooler temperatures than Jakarta. Established as settlements for tea plantation owners under Dutch colonials, Bandung evolved into resort area and was abound with luxurious hotels, restaurant, cafes, and European boutiques. Hence the city was nicknamed Parijs van Java (“Paris of Java”).

It is now the capital of West Java province that – together with Banten province nearby – is the home of Sundanese ethnic, the second largest ethnic group in Indonesia from which the majority of Team J originated. Members that originated from Bandung seemed to spend most of their time with family and relatives, participating in local customs related to Eid al-Fitr / Lebaran celebration, and less traveling around like members from Jakarta.

Beside Stella and Sonia, Jeje and Gaby – for instance – also made a visit to Bandung from Jakarta during this occasion. Meanwhile Yona traveled to the farthest east of West Java and took chance to visit Pangandaran , a beautiful beach 220 km southeast of Bandung.

Some members decided to travel further east to Central Java and East Java regions. These regions are home of Javanese people, the largest ethnic group in Indonesia. Being the source of such large ethnic group, it’s not hard to imagine that the route to this regions are among the most crowded during Mudik season.

Cindy Gulla, for instance, took a total of 13 hours on wheels of her 24 hours journey including some break for short visit to her relatives in Pemalang – hometown of Ayen – to finally arrived in Yogyakarta. Ni-chan who departed earlier to visit her relatives in Wonosobo arrived earlier and made a short visit in Yogyakarta before continuing to the other relatives. Viny arrived shortly after Cindy; it is around Viny’s arrival that a quake shook and can be felt in Yogyakarta.

Yogyakarta itself is the capital of Special Region of Yogyakarta, and was once the capital of Republic Indonesia. It is called special since it is the only province whose governor is not elected but appointed from the latest descendant of Yogyakarta Sultanate: the Sultan. Thus Yogyakarta is a place of traditional court culture and historical inheritance as well as a city with many higher education institution.

One might think that Yogyakarta have many things in common with Kyoto in Japan. The truth is, Yogyakarta and Special Region of Yogyakarta have sisterhood relationship with Kyoto and Kyoto Prefecture, respectively. Cindy, took opportunity to explore Malioboro – a major shopping and tourism area – and visit Kraton – the Sultanate Palace. She also took a trip to the slope of Mount Merapi , the most active volcano in Indonesia.

Further east, Ayen and Noella arrived at Surabaya, before visiting their vacation destination nearby. Surabaya is the second-largest city in Indonesia and the capital of East Java province. It is in this province that the capital of former Majapahit Empire located. While belong to Javanese ethnic, the people of this area speak more egalitarian Javanese dialect, in contrast to those closer to Central Java whose dialect contains hierarchy of high, low, and medium level.

East Java also hosts a significant population of foreign ethnicities, such as Chinese , Indians, and Arabs. Ayana visited her relatives from father side in East Java. She spent 28 hours on wheels to cover almost 1 000 km distance from Jakarta and spent most of her time there around family and relatives, as well as participated in customs related to Lebaran and Eid al-Fitr . She traveled back to Jakarta by plane, taking only one and a half flight hours. Nobi is the last to depart from Jakarta. After several delays in the Airport, she finally departed and arrived in Bali just across the Bali strait from East Java.

Meanwhile Kinal the Captain seems to take long trip across land and water. There is no clear clue where she headed for, but some of her tweet clearly sent aboard a ship. And off course, we can’t just forget the one who took the longest trip: Haruka. She who came far away from Japan to entertain us here in Jakarta, now has a chance to spent her time with her family, friends, and – probably – fans back home.

Traditions of homecoming exists in many society across the world, like Obon Matsuri in Japan and Thanksgiving in United States. Beyond any faith, it is more important is to keep connection to the root of our existence, and by gathering and strengthen the bond with the closest ones, we open ourselves for wider and better relation with everyone else.

Meanwhile Cindy, after spending 24 hours on wheels of her 36 hours journey back, finally arrived home. While Ni-chan seems to have to spend more time on wheels trapped in traffic jam of the reverse flow of Mudik.