25 Years of Friendship (Day One)

Ke Santi setahun sekali atau dua kali itu sudah wajib hukumnya buat saya.

Visiting Santi once or twice a year is a must for me.

Tahun ini maunya sih dua kali tapi yah.. bulan Maret saya sakit. Dua bulan buat memulihkan badan. Begitu sembuh.. eh kok jadi ga pede dan ga selera buat jalan kemana-mana.

I wanted to make it twice this year but well.. I fell ill in March. It took two months to recover. Once I got well again.. I lost confidence and mood to go anywhere.

Baru bulan Agustus saya jalan-jalan lagi (baca postingan saya berjudul Curug Bidadari, Angel Waterfall) dan setelah melihat dan merasakan fisik saya kuat diajak jalan menempuh jarak begitu jauh selama enam jam, rasa percaya diri saya bangkit.

I went traveling in August (read my Curug Bidadari, Angel Waterfall post) and after observing and felt I was physically well enough going on a far distance traveling for six hours, my confidence soared.

Jadi saya kontak Santi dan menetapkan rencana, saya akan berangkat dari Bogor hari Minggu, 11 September untuk menginap dirumahnya sampai Selasa, 13 September.

I contacted Santi and set the plan, I’d leave Bogor on Sunday, 11 September to stay at her place until Tuesday, 13 September.

*  *  *  *  *

Santi dan saya bertemu ketika kami kuliah di Perbanas, Jakarta tahun 1990. Kami sekelas dan akhirnya bersahabat.

Santi and I met when we went to college in Perbanas, Jakarta, in 1990. We were in the same class and we ended up being bestfriends.

Persahabatan kami berjalan terus walaupun setelah lulus kami terpisah karena bekerja di tempat berbeda. Jarak yang memisahkan kami semakin jauh setelah saya pindah ke Bogor tahun 1998. Semua tidak berpengaruh pada persahabatan kami.

Our friendship continues though work set us apart. The distance grew farther after I moved to Bogor in 1998. It all did nothing to our friendship.

Baru pada tahun 2013 saya memulai ritual mengunjunginya setahun sekali atau dua kali biarpun… Hadohhh.. perjalanannya bisa makan waktu hampir 4 jam.

It was 2013 when I first started the ritual of visiting her once or twice a year despite the fact that.. geez.. it can take nearly 4 hours to commute.

Ah tapi toh bahagianya bertemu sahabat yang sudah seperti saudara sepadan deh dengan capeknya..

Well the happiness to meet a bestfriend that has become like a sister is worth it..

*  *  *  *  *

Hari pertama (Day one)

Kerjaan kelar, makan siang kelar.. yak, jam 12.15 saya cabut dari kantor. Jalanan sepi. angkot tidak ngetem dan tidak jalan geleyat-geleyot. Terima kasih, Tuhan. Semalam sudah saya doakan supaya perjalanan lancar.

Work done, lunch done.. ok, I left the office at 12.15. There was less traffic on the road, everything went smooth. Thank God. I prayed last night that this trip would be a smooth one.

Hampir jam setengah satu ketika saya sampai di stasiun kereta. Wah, rame nih.

It was almost twelve thirty when I got at the train station. Wow, it was crowded.

Matahari cerah ceria tapi tidak gerah dan biar kelihatan rame, saya tidak menemui kesulitan buat dapat tempat duduk di kereta. Sekali lagi, Tuhan, terima kasih.. 

It was a suny day but it wasn't hot and though it looked crowded but I didn't get any trouble finding myself a seat in the train. God, thank you again..

Hampir dua jam kemudian sampailah saya di stasiun Kota. 

It was almost 2.30 pm when I got at Kota train station.

Perjalanan dilanjutkan dengan bis transjakarta.

Next is I went to transjakarta bus terminal.

Oiya, sekarang pintu keluarnya bukan dari tempat dibelakang saya ini. Pintu keluarnya ada di ujung sebelah kiri dari foto ini (kalau mau ke Museum Fatahillah, keluar dari pintu di ujung sebelah kanan). 

the left side exit gate

Oh by the way, the exit gate is not the one behind me. It is at the far left of this photo (if you want to go to Fatahilah Museum, you take the exit gate at the far right of this photo).

Untuk menuju terminal bis transjakarta kita harus lewat underground pass. Di sini saya kaget melihat ruangan-ruangan yang dulu sepi dan gelap sekarang ramai terisi oleh berbagai macam penjual makanan dan minuman. Ya, soalnya terakhir kali saya lewat sini itu setahun lalu. Banyak yang berubah.

now

then

We have to go to underground pass to get to transjakarta bus terminal. I've got a surprise when I saw the empty dark spaces in there was filled with food and beverages stalls. Well, it's been a year since I passed this underground pass. A lot things have changed.

Di jalan masuk malah ada dekorasinya juga.

back then it was plain and empty

There is decoration on the entrance.

Di pelataran bis sih biasa saja.

Nothing change at the bus platform though.

Bis-bis transjakarta sekarang semuanya keren bukan kayak dulu cuma yang jurusan Blok M yang bagus sementara jurusan pinggiran kayak Cengkareng modelnya butut, kusam dan berdebu.

the transjakarta bus today. Much better in everything. Thumbs up!

Transjakarta busses are now looks awesome unlike before which the ones serving Blok M route were looked good while others were old, dusty and ugly.

Sampai di halte Sumur Bor sudah hampir jam 3.30 sore. Aduh, capeknya. 

I was so freaking tired when I got at Sumur Bor bus shelter.

Santi datang dan kaget melihat kurusnya saya. Haha. Dia sudah lihat foto-foto saya di facebook tapi tetap saja dia kaget.

Santi came and was surprised to see me have lost lots of weight. Haha. She has seen my photos on facebook but still she was surprised when she met me in person.

Ah, ceritanya panjang deh, San.

Ah, it's a long story, Santi.

Hari itu saya terlalu gembira bertemu dengan dia dan keluarganya. Cerita-ceritanya nanti aja deh setelah ngos-ngosannya hilang.. hehe..

As for that day I was too happy to see her and her family. We could catch up on the stories after I regained my composure.. lol..


* to be continued to 25 Years of Friendship (Day Two)