Twenty four hours on the road to get to Solo

Abdul Khalik, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta/Solo

After waiting for almost six hours, 59 passengers traveling on a back-up bus finally departed for Solo, Central Java, from the Lebak Bulus bus station at 4.00 on Sunday afternoon.

"I have waited since 10 in the morning. How could they sell tickets to us when the bus hadn't even arrived?" complained Mujianto, 42, one of the passengers.

He looked very upset but tried to keep calm, with his two daughters, Wiwit, 2, and Wulan, 4, nestled in his arms in the three seat row. His wife Ngatmi, 35, arranged their baggage on the overhead rack. The two girls, however, looked very excited and tried to break free from their father's grip.

"This bus doesn't even have a sign referring to the bus agency referred to on our ticket. This is not supposed to be our bus. But we have no choice but to board it," said Mujianto.

Most passengers initially complained about the circumstances but quickly adjusted as the bus moved smoothly along the highway. All they could think of was arriving in their hometowns. They forgot the desperate struggle for tickets, the long wait for the bus and their uncomfortable seats.

The economy-class bus passed the Cikampek tollgate without difficulty but when it reached Subang regency -- especially in the Pamanukan area along West Java's northern coast -- trouble struck. There, the bus moved inch by inch, taking almost six hours to pass through the area because of the severe traffic jam.

Several babies started to cry from hunger and due to the stifling heat. There were five babies on the bus and their crying became a chorus that interspersed the passenger's talk. The five mothers were continually occupied with trying to calm down the babies.

Wiwit and Wulan stayed silent and ate whatever their mother gave them while watching a mother in front of them, whose husband helplessly watched, trying to keep her three-month old baby calm.

"We thank God that our daughters have stayed calm so far. Usually, they will do so if we provide enough food for them. Last year the traffic jam was even worse in this area," said Mujianto while trying to use a newspaper as a fan to produce cool air for his two daughters.

The family have returned to their hometown every year since Mujianto first tried his fortune in Jakarta, in 1995 as a street vendor selling fried chicken in Kebayoran Baru, South Jakarta.

"I can make between Rp 50,000 (US$6) to 100,000 a day, depending on the customers. With this money, I can feed my family and put some aside to bring home every year. Maybe I can buy land and build a house there," he said.

After some time the babies all fell asleep. The bus was temporarily quite, most adults also too tired to make a sound.

The bus passed the border between West Java and Central Java at 12:30 a.m. and stopped for half an hour at a restaurant in Losari -- a border town that separates the two provinces -- before the bus headed toward Tegal, a regency in Central Java.

Here, the first engine problem occurred. Several passengers helped the bus crew to push the bus. The passengers paid little attention to the delay, considering engine problems a usual occurrence during such a long journey.

"I am aware of the difficulties of going home to Solo but we just have to do it. Our pride, as a family who makes a living outside our hometown lies there. Besides, the enjoyment to reunite as an extended family at our parents' home, as well as the satisfaction of giving something to our parents, are things that money can't buy," Mujianto said.

However, the travelers had not seen the worst of the journey. The bus had to stop three times in a row due to engine problems, almost every kilometer thereafter. So, they took two hours just to get to the next regency, Pekalongan. It was already 3 a.m. and the bus had to make another restaurant stop for half an hour, to give the passengers a chance to have their last pre-dawn meal for the fasting month of Ramadhan.

"I knew from the beginning that something would eventually go wrong when they supplied us with this back-up bus. We were supposed to get here by midnight at the latest," said Karnadi, a passenger who was traveling alone.

Before reaching Semarang, the capital city of Central Java, the bus stopped for another two hours, again due to engine problems. The passengers were really frustrated with the situation, the babies were starting to cry once more and the older children screaming with rage and boredom. Many passengers were wondering if they would even reach Solo at all.

"We thought that the biggest obstacle to our trip would be the traffic jam, not the bus," said Mujianto.

The bus managed to pass through Semarang at noon. But the peak of the journey's trouble hit in Salatiga, a town mid-way between Semarang and Solo, when the driver announced that the bus could no longer proceed because the steering wheel wasn't functioning. He was willing to transfer the passengers to another bus but said that he had no money and the passengers would have to pay for themselves.

The frustrated and furious passengers gathered around the driver and the bus crew, threatening them with violence.

"Just burn the bus together with these guys," yelled one passenger in the crowd.

"Break all the windows and tie them down," another passenger shouted.

At last, the passengers accepted the transfer as long as they were not charged extra. They reached the Solo bus station at four in the afternoon, all looking exhausted but relieved that they had arrived.

"We have to take another bus to go to our village in Northern Solo. It will take another two hours to get there," said Mujianto who was busy grabbing his families baggage.

That night, Mujianto's village, Jabung in Sragen regency, was filled with the sound of takbir, the recital of praise to God. Mujianto's extended family -- including nine grandchildren from the five couples gathered in front of their parents in the living room -- were busy talking about their experiences. No sign of tiredness was apparent. The happy moment had washed their exhaustion away.