Ticket hunting season in full swing
Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Joko Saputro received the same answer at ticket counters of airlines, trains and buses over the past three weeks: "Sorry, all tickets for Nov. 11 and Nov. 12 are already sold out".
The 40-year-old security guard at a private bank in South Jakarta had thought of giving up his plan to celebrate the Idul Fitri holidays, which are expected to fall on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15, in his hometown Semarang with his wife and four children.
As his office has given only two days off before the holiday, he decided to take the fastest mode of transportation available so the family can arrive in Semarang on time to enjoy the five days holiday.
"I almost gave up ... the only choice would be to go to Semarang after Idul Fitri," Joko told The Jakarta Post on Monday.
But a neighbor came to the rescue, and offered Joko his car for rent for Rp 300,000 (US$33) a day.
"It was like a blessing. I will rent the car for five days and drive myself. I'm quite happy although I know that it will be very tiring for us."
For most Jakartan migrants, going home to celebrate Idul Fitri with the extended family, or mudik, is a must because, as Joko put it, "what we have done and saved in a year is meaningful only when we can share it with relatives and neighbors in our hometown".
The authorities have predicted that around 2.11 million Jakartans, a 10 percent increase from last year, will go back to their respective hometowns, in particular to Central Java and East Java.
The competition to get tickets home has started to heat up because most of them want to leave Jakarta during the same period: A week or at least few days before the big day.
National flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia spokesman Pujobroto revealed that all seats had been fully booked for flights between Nov. 10 to Nov. 14 since the end of last month.
"Although we have provided extra flights with 62,000 seats, all seats in our 200 flights are fully booked during the peak period. We will add flights until late at night during that period if the demand is still high," he told the Post.
He said that the busiest routes are from Jakarta heading to Denpasar, Surabaya, Surakarta, Semarang, Yogyakarta and Medan.
It is predicted that around 481,000 people will use planes, or up 25 percent from the same period last year.
Gambir railway station master Besar Susmiarso confirmed that holidaymakers sought train tickets starting on Nov. 5, with the highest demand for Nov. 12.
"Tickets for Nov. 9 until Nov. 12 are all sold out. In anticipation of the hike in passengers we have provided additional train cars ahead of Idul Fitri," he said.
He added that around 534,000 people were expected to use trains to get to their hometowns in West Java, Central Java and East Java ahead of Idul Fitri.