Imlek-Seollal 2014

 

It's January 31st and it's a holiday. Yes..the whole nation was celebrating the Chinese New Year or Imlek as we call it or Seollal in Korea. Though we're not Chinese, but the hype of having the holiday was in us. Since it's a long weekend...we're able to meet other relatives who turned out to be coming from other cities: Cilacap, Balikpapan (Kalimantan), Jakarta, Bogor and others... 

It's more like Lebaran or Muslim Celebration since we also had snacks on the table...and all. Okay..this one, our sister-in-law and brother-in-law also came all the way down from Bogor and Jakarta to Jogjakarta. Oh, my classmate, Nina--who's also principally my wife's best friend--also paid a visit to our home. Yep..this Imlek felt more like Lebaran to me. 

A communal feeling we treasure is one of the strengthening factors that glue and tie us together. 

Happy Imlek & Seollal 2014. 

Tanjung Tabalong, Kalimantan

..it took me about 16 hours to get to Tabalong from Jogjakarta. well...we left Jogja at about 8.25 heading for Surabaya for a 4-hour long transit in a small and damped Juanda airport. The truth is that....Juanda is bigger...than Adisucipto Airport in Jogja. The reason I got this cramped feeling over the trip was simply the lack of entertainment and things to do in the airport while waiting for that long. nothing to do. just sitting and doing nothing.

It was lucky that I managed to buy a local newspaper just to kill time.
It didn't work.
It helped a little.
Even I got to scrutinize every bit of small-ads on the paper just to make myself amused.
gosh...
but then...the time for boarding a plane heading to Banjarmasin came.

for about 45 minutes the planed landed at Syamsuddin Noor Airport in Banjar Baru (NOT Banjarmasin as I had thought before).
so...instead of going downtown..we were going further away away from the city.

I thought the trip to Tabalong would take about 4 hours or so. To my surprise..it took me almost 9 hours just to get through a 247 km long distance.
Not to mention the conditions of the rugged roads and the traffic jam that unfortunately seemed like to welcome me on board:)
hehe...well..I can smile now.
BUT I can assure you..that I didnot even pun a smile even a grin on my face. I was crooked and shagged.
nothing to do.
bored and stucked in a car.

that was what I felt during almost an hour of traffic jam right in the middle of nowhere...
it was a good thing that I am a kind of person who could do the impossible in enjoying small and trivial stuffs. :) true!

I tried so hard to find myself some amusing facts and scenes I spotted along the way to Tabalong irrespective of its being dard outside.

The car that took me all the way down to Tabalong had a few stops in between. we had some drinks. stretched our legs...and dinner.

I happened to be a vegetarian and I found it hard to adjust myself to the food. Meat Meat and Meat. or Fish Fish and Fish....grilled fish....baked fish..olala...

no worries.
for I could always soothe myself for something else...

at about 11 pm or so...we finally arrived in Tabalong.
a city full of surprises...
what are those?
well...I will blog them out in my next blogs...
hints: coal mining. big trucks. oil mining. kids. schools. water. air conditioners:). heat. food. shopping. mandau. and stuffs...

but one thing left me speechless....IT WAS indeed a marvellous experience..despite its shortcomings...

I did enjoy my trip to Tabalong.