Frozen in Mt Prau; A Turning Point Story

The background of the story began when I had coffee with my two new friends; Amar and Dip. Amar is a candidate of a very cool job: digital crime analyst, Dip, on the other hand, is a not less cool, a geologist. 

They are in fact different, but in some cases they are the same; they are obviously younger than I am, they are both funny, and they are both ridiculous. However, the story the I am about to tell is not about the coffee thing, it's about something else. 

We were having coffee talking something that mattered and talking shit as well; we talked until morning. From those two buddies, I got a brand new horizon of thinking. Although they are technically younger, they have some sorts of thought that are Incredible. There was at least a point that I really remember; Amar said that I had to write because I said actually I liked writing. He suggested, furthermore, that I wrote in English emphasizing about my travelling experience.

Well, Thank to them, finally I have courage to write although it turns out I wrote rubbish since I wrote anything in my mind.

Enough with pointless introduction, It won’t go anywhere anyway. I myself sometimes felt fucking confused what to write here frankly.

It was not so easy to write travelling experience as a piece of cake. I myself demanded something different from my writing which sometimes it sent me to a dead end. In that point, I felt utterly frustrated. I thought that I was suck. Then, I just knew, I didn’t travel enough. I said that it was my passion but I spent too much on my bed. I said that I loved but I didn’t struggle enough. What a holy crap!

I dare enough to say that I love travelling since it always thrills me when I pass a new place either on the bus or on motorcycle. There is always something very refreshing there. Indeed, the experience is not always a “happy” happy but I still love it. I don’t stop hiking mountain although I ever got lost.

Well, finally I got idea what to write after listening a whole album of Alicia keys, My Piano and I. Like what I stated previously I had ever got lost. It was actually a bit funny, although it was not funny “ ha ha”. It was silly because I got lost on a not-so high mountain, Mt. Prau, which is located in Dieng. You may laugh.

At that time, Mt Prau was newly opened for hiker. I went with the only hiking partner and we both hadn’t been there before. We were very confident though. We just hiked Mt. Semeru in the previous month which is much higher than Mt. Prau. Since it was new, there were not many hikers there and we didn’t get a map as guidance. However, the base camp keeper directed us before we reached the first post. The thing that my friend and I kept in mind was that there would be a small landmark in a form of a meter-high tower. I and my friend remembered what he said; we had to turn left after arriving at that spot.

With that basic knowledge, we hiked. The base camp keeper kindly accompanied us passing through the residence of Dieng because he knew it was our first time.  After He re-explained and he said “see you”, we were on our own.

It was 19.00, it was dark, and it was cold. It was still alright until I realized that we actually had walked too long and we didn’t find any fucking sign to turn fucking left. Then we decided to turn left on a potato farm path. 

It, however, led us to a very confusing path since there were too many “cross-section” paths. Finally, it was 21.00 and we hadn’t found a sign of the first post. The path was like a mad maze. Every turn that we took led us to the other cross- section paths, over and over again.

We were just like walking around and around. My friend started being anxious because it was getting darker and darker. Man, finally my friend and I were terribly hopeless.

After trying so hard to find the real path, then finally we found a small hut. We were so happy because we were frozen and we thought that we could sleep in the hut. We already gave up for the peak since it was 23.00 already.

Unfortunately, the hut was locked. It was kind of what  the hell, literally.

There was no point of being dramatic; so, we decided to stay there in front of the hut, turned the stove on, boiled the water, made two coffees, and Indomie. It was a point that illuminated me when to stop. I was not completely giving up. I was just waiting for morning to come before continuing the journey. However, it was still very ironic because we got lost in Mt Prau. It of course led us to burst into laugh realizing how arrogant we were.

When the morning came, I found myself very grateful. It was the first time I really realize how priceless to be alive. I was not being exaggerated at that time to feel so. The idea of being overwhelmed seeing the morning came was because at 03.00 I felt frozen due to sleeping on the ground without sleeping bag.

I was thinking that death was very closed to me which was very unlikely. It would be very sadly hilarious imagining there would be news about that an amateur hiker dying in Mt. Prau, not in Everest, due to hypothermia. It would be a headline perhaps, and the rest of the world would keep mocking me instead of mourning. I would be famous for being stupid.

I didn’t wanna die in that stupid condition though. I struggled to keep my body warmer. I suddenly realized and I didn’t know why there were so many pictures of the things I hadn’t done nor finished.  It was cliche but I promised to myself that I would be a good boy if I still had a chance, finished my untouched thesis, got a good job, and made my parents happy.

You can imagine how stupid I was for being unprepared. I truly realized for being a little reckless arrogant unprepared inexperienced bastard. It became a turning point that I shouldn’t have underestimated anything, especially dealing with nature; there was no bad thing for being a prepared person. If I’m not mistaken, there is a saying stated “prepare for the worst”.

It was not cute experience of my travelling story, but I don’t give up travelling. For this reason, I think that it’s my passion. It gives me a lot of things that I can’t have by staying on my bed.

When I’m writing this silliness, Sade’s song, Kiss of Life, came across to my mind. Back then, I still felt very grateful that life still embraced me.

Well, forgive my bad words and see you.

  

Watukodok Beach: A Journey for the Past towards the Future

If you forget me, don’t look for me, for I shall forget you (Pablo Neruda).

I tried to mend my heart and cope with the messed up mind that was spinning around like a cloud of mountainous village. A Wiseman ever said that to cope with the past, we should turn back to the past. I had done it by strolling memorable places which somehow led me to the bittersweet memories. It was frankly utterly unlikely. Hence, the past is inseparable part of the present and the future. It is like a part of the unit of the book. It has been written and it is irresistible. 

I am not shy to say that at that time I just separated from the one I loved. It is, I think, just very bloody human. 

The stanzas I quoted from Pablo Neruda above is, believe it or not,  correlated with the thing that I am about to write. However, it is very possible that I force myself to correlate the stanzas with the thing I had been through. I simply interpret that we shall not try to forget something because the thing can be forgotten sooner or later without us realizing it. 

There are several factors that certainly lead us to forget things; it can be due to aging, timing, or being in amnesia. Well, timing, for me, is the best choice. I don’t want to expect to have amnesia nor being old and having dementia. The latter two probabilities are dreadfully terrifying. Although it needs some times to cope, but when it’s time, it’s time. By timing, I mean sooner or later the more important stuff will cover the least important ones. 

I personally believe that trying too hard to forget the bitter memories will in fact lead the person to remember more and more. It means coping is not successful; be cool is the very elegant way. There are of course many errands to be done, thesis should be finished, stomach should be fed, movie should be watched, music should be listened, and a new place should be visited. In short, broken heart is not the only thing that should be dealt with; Hell no. Wake up and move your ass on.  

After following the Wiseman saying about turning back the past, it’s time to open mind, step on the new path, and make a brand new story. It genuinely sounds what I call as fuckin’ amazing. The new stories will be more coffees, more books, more travelling, and more friends. 

What do you think, then?

The things that came true the first was friend. Like what happened beforehand, I got someone whom I happily declare him as a friend named Daniel Dip, a very crazy person whom I could have more coffee and more travelling at once. This person is typically easy going and not what I call as complicated person. 

The second thing after friends is travelling. The first place I visited was a beach called Watukodok. It was not the first choice though. It was a sort of impromptu that we camped there. The place that was actually planned to camp was a beach called Ngandong, a place recommended by one of the camping participants. However, due to  some technical problems, Watukodok, then, was the choice.

It was basically very coincidental because at that time I really longed to camp and somebody invited to do so. I agreed to have a camp together with several people that he invited. We both had been very excited; a tent was rent, foods were already bought, and time was already fixed. Technically, everything was well prepared, until one by one cancelled the trip and it was mesmerizing. In other words, it just remained us, the two of us. He was confused at first and asked whether it was okay with me. I simply answered that I even used to camp on the mountain just with a partner or two. 

On the d-day, at 15.00, it was, what the F, raining. It was of course depressing since the journey to the beach was a long journey.  Yet, show must have gone on and on but the thing was how. Well, it was the thing I liked; he didn’t mind it and we went to the beach like it was nobody’s business. 

The morning after, it was my first time waking up by the sea shore. Although it was raining the day before, it was surprisingly a sunny day.

I had a look at my watch; it was 05.30. The sun had risen. I sat on the white sand. Without being exaggerated, the air felt very different when I inhaled it. A moment after that, I turned on the portable stove, and boiled the water to make a cup of coffee. There it was; a cup of coffee, sunrise, white sand, sound of wave, and a good friend right after waking up. There was no way of being ungrateful. It was genuinely a perfect moment although my friend played Lana Del Ray song, Summertime Sadness. 

What the hell! But somehow I didn’t take a shit about that. It was my day and I didn’t mind it at all. 

It was very refreshing although I felt alienated a bit, but to be frank, I loved the idea of being quite for a moment. 

Did I suddenly forget the shit? The answer would be NO. It was not like footprints which were faded away very easily due to the wave. The place, however, gave me clarity to think and figure out my forgotten dream. A moment like that truly illuminated me. By saying illuminated, in addition, meant that I should have gone exploring places I had been before. There was also a sincere feeling to let go like the breeze sweeping the dust away. Then, by the sincere goodbye, there was a whisper from the deep within to say hello. 

Goodbye my lover
Goodbye my friend
You had been the one 
I am a dreamer but when I wake
You can’t break my spirits 
-James Blunt: Goodbye my lover- after being improvised

TO BE CONTINUED.......

A Temple of Love: Plaosan

I still remembered vividly that I was fucked up those two days; I was brokenhearted which actually was not very terrible but it was a bit making me screwed up. Like what Incubus said, Love Hurts; Indeed it is somehow. However, I knew that the best way to grieve was not to grieve. Being in pain is inevitable but being sad is a matter of choice. Then, I picked a phone, called my female friend, invited her to visit a not so big temple called Plaosan which is located closed to Prambanan Temple.
It was somehow very contradictory because I visited a temple which is a kind of love-symbol temple when I was thinking "what is the fucking love?" ; it was built by Rakai Pikatan who was Hindu to his wife who is Budha, bloody romantic isn't it?
The idea of inviting my female friends to the temple was that I just wanted to talk. I figured out that I could share any single shit there, for the temple, as I know, is not crowded. I imagined sitting on the shady temple terrace and I began talking. The fact was, however, we just sat and enjoyed the temple. I didn’t want to ruin the moment. (Fuck brokenhearted. Go away!) It was genuinely a perfect moment and the twin temple is simply magnificent.  So finally, while we were walking around the temple, we just talked randomly about shit and anything that a bit matter. It was not tiring because the temple was not so large. Well, I was not tired but my friend was. So we chose a nice place to sit; it was in the terrace of one of the main temples, we ate snack, we drank, and we talked. It was very perfect though I had to say that it was not a date. It was simply sightseeing.
 I imagined how wonderful it used to be like. Well, compare to Prambanan Temple, this temple of course is smaller. It consists of two identical main temples in the center. They are surrounded by a lot of small temples. Then, at the very front part of the temple, there are some sorts of bell -shaped stupas which are likely found in Borobudur. However, most of the bell-shaped stupas were ruined. There are just two left if I’m not mistaken.
Honestly, I don’t really know much about temple, even I don’t know at all. I do believe, however, that it’s not simply a stone construction. There is a lot of information which is called as a history. It’s pretty interesting that after reading some sources Plaosan temple is totally different from Prambanan. Firstly, It’s a Budhist Temple while Prambanan is Hindu temple; it’s the very basic difference. Secondly, It’s said that the building technique is also different. Well for this matter, there must be a further reading and I haven’t found what kind of difference.
Well, learning the history, in my opinion, is very interesting for knowing the glory of the past. If there is a chance to go back to the past, I would like to register for sure. Yet, it’s simply impossible. The only way to go back is by exploring the old manuscript and trying to interpret it. The other interestingness and the thing that basically I like is the pleasure of the view from the temple. From the terrace of the main temples, we can look at the rice field on the west and the east side. It would be very beautiful if the rice field is about to be harvested. In the north side, there is Mt. Merapi which sometimes can be seen very clearly. For sunset lover, it’s very possible to watch the sunset and see the sky colour gradation combined with the silhouette of the temple and coconut trees.Certainly, You can sit a whole day there.
“You said that you would like to talk?” my friend asked
“err, no. forget it.”
It was a very sunny day; the sky was blue and the temperature was a bit hot. I enjoyed the breeze though. I got a snack and a bottle of mineral water. We sat on one of the main temple terraces which actually cannot be found in Prambanan Temple. It’s quite a high place so the views were clearly seen. I saw some teenagers taking selfies cheerfully, while some other adult walked exploring the temple. I was not sure what they did; it seemed they were admiring the architecture and the relics there.
Time went by inevitably and I remembered also that time is the best healer. I knew it’s not easy to move on but it’s absolutely not hard. Ex lover could go but I realize I at least have got a friend.
Then, the sun showed that we had been an hour there. I played a James Bay song, he sang "Let it go".

So come on let it go
Just let it be
Why don't you be you
And I'll be me

Everything that's broke

Leave it to the breeze

Why don't you be you

And I'll be me