A Travel Journal

A Journey In The Afternoon

It was 1600 hours. Me and a friend/colleague left the office building to reached our own destinations: home for me, and a rented room for him.

We walked outside, the building, both of us chewed on the cheese bread that I brought with me since Thursday, two days before. We continued our journey after closing the fence of the house which masqueraded our office from excessive tax payment.

On the way out of the housing complex, we passed on outside of a complex which house two religious places for different religion. We saw the people: police, other public servants organization and the local citizens, most of them are wet. Some people have their pants rolled up and pulling a rubber boat. Above the water transportation are people who most likely children, women, or elderly with their belongings. They are being pulled passing the river that for a few days will temporarily drown the two temples.

We knew the situations beforehand, because one of the colleague already inform us the situation. Right now, we confirmed the situations, say WOW, make innocent comments and walk away. It maybe sounded cruel, but quoting cliche words: our journey was still far from over.

What we know from our situation was that although most places are now have the water level lowered, the opposite happened to the area of our office. It was proven when we move furthered east in our attempt to get on a transport vehicle. On the way to our current checkpoint, we passed on a new 'swimming pool', it started with an ankle depth then going deeper when we were closer to the mall where we were going to search for a transport.

In the intersection located between a mall, bank, university and a hospital, we found food stands, camps, news truck from a news channel and more importantly our transport vehicle. People evacuating, police, firemen, marines, and reporters gathers there. On the road going south, which was usually our next route covered in water. There were people travelled with boat or using cart to transport themself and their belongings.

Both of us got into our red minivan, paying four times the regular fee because the route is now going through the highway. We waited for a while inside the transport, waiting for the minivan to be filled with a dozen people, not including the driver (Paying four times the fee was a rip off, they should have enough profit, by just doubling the price if they waited for a dozen passengers).

Our transport finally moved when it got it's last passengers. Unlike the regular route, which was south, it went west, retracing our paths before entering the highway. On the highway, the mini transport filled with people squeezing their butt (including us) in the the two row seats parallelled with the car took the large turn to the south. We looked at the conditions of our northern and western part of the capitals from above. Large buildings was obviously apparent, but green liquid below them contained with miscellaneous items and sometimes people walking or swimming was more eye-catching.

Anyway, we reached the end of the transport route. We went down from a highway and landed on a dry land, but our next destination which was marked by a mall across a university was still far away albeit visible by naked eyes.

We started to walk south, with the green pool with asphalt underneath on our right and the actual river on our left. We took the small path which was exclusive for a special bus on a regular situation and finally went up to the pedestrian sidewalk. We went up towards flyover together with the mass, ignoring the offers of cart or bike transport and went crossing the flyover on foot. The path was quite a work out, before reaching the flyover, we used the sidewalk which was suffice for one adults but there were also people coming from the other side. It was a difficult balance test, not to mention my friend reminded me in an annoying deep voice to not falling to either way. I couldn't swim at that time (still can't for now) but I desperately didn't want to get wet because of the weight in my back, my laptop (which is used to typed this) and other electronics how my friend's bag which contained only dirty laundry. After a few minutes walk, and dropping our body from the flyover in an effort to avoid muddy path, we reached the front of the mall.

We went north a little, moving into the middle of the flyover that we just passed but underneath it. There were different types of public transportation, but not one of them going south directly to the place that we wanted. We wasted some time there thinking the route that we should take. Though, the sweat underneath my socks, gave me the itch, I smiled and proposed to get on one of the bus that went south then do something later. On the other hand, my friend told me to wait as he intensely looked at a bus in front of the flooded road on the east.

When the aforementioned bus seemed to gonna crossed the road, we quickly run over and got on it. The reasons? Simple, the closest available terminal of bus that was connected to major roads in the capital was also in the direction. We took the front row seats and payed double the regular fee. Though it was not an amphibian transport, the bus cruised over the water like a boat in a river, a dirty one. We passed on people getting their belonging in a cart, cars which engines were going to need replacements and children swimming.

We finally reached the end of the bus-boat route. Again, in front of a mall because in the capital, mall is the most simplest obvious landmark. Continuing to the terminal, we get on the also easily found flyover. We bought some fried food, making a stop in a 24/7 convenient store to get a bottle of drinks then moving on to reached the terminal. On the way, the rain started to pour droplets that packed quite a punch even through my water resistant jacket but we made it to the terminal.

Although it was very anticlimactic and definitely not a touchy sobbing story, we were glad just because we were able got out of the office, an area which was one of areas that were still flooded in the capital and get to our home to rest.