Travelogue.

Why do people travel?

Humans are essentially animals: They are nature's dynamic half. Try sitting still. Try not to move. At all. For a long time. You'll have problems.

For one, there is this term 'wanderlust' which coins the need for us to travel, the yearning of being in a place we've never been. Others travel to work, to meet other people, (ironically) to relax, or perhaps to reconsolidate their immortalized memories and scraps of nostalgia.

I had bits of every single one of these as I travelled to Bali and Surabaya for the past week. I relaxed, attended a wedding, met a friend, finished two books, set out on a culinary adventure, recovered from my flu, thought, reflected, and meditated during the trip.

It struck me that Jakarta, Surabaya, and Bali are all distinctly Indonesian, but with differing characteristics. Of course, you'd argue, that the heavily collared CBD workers of Jakarta would contrast with aloha-and-shorts tourists laden in Bali; That the rustic, seemingly pre-colonized scatters of buildings in West Surabaya would be starkly different from Bali's cornucopia of resorts laid atop of infinite white sands.

You'd be very right! However, I discovered these differences behind the wheels of the car I was driving. Bali is abundant with pleasantly long and winding roads which are sandwiched by pleasant sceneries on the sides, but mostly are single lanes.. thus making overtaking a slow car a difficult if not impossible feat. In Surabaya, drivers are a little bit more rushed than Bali but more relaxed than Jakarta, with the characteristic one-way roads and detailed signposts (I think it is the only place I've ever been with a sign under the traffic lights that read: "Turn left according to the circumstances ascribed by the (traffic) lights"). And oh, Bali had a highway built on top of the sea. Yes, a sea, but it hasn't been opened as our mr President hasn't officially cast his blessings on it.

They say people remember roads better when they actually drive the car. I have a hunch saying that I am driving past these roads too quickly, but hopefully they'll remain by my romanticized nostalgias..

I've to stop soon. Good night:)

Truly Indonesia's Finest.