Mbah & Atok go to… tour of Java - Day 4

Mbah & Atok go to… tour of Java — Day 4: Cirebon - Jakarta

Tuesday 16 July 2024

Cirebon was meant to be a short stop for the notable mosque visit yesterday. So we had an early start for Jakarta today. And we started the day with a surprise, or rather Mbah pulled one. 

Maybe it was Mbah’s conscience in response to the old man’s offer, or in the spirit of travelling, that we took the beca (trishaw) to the train station. Mbah thought we could both ride in a beca, but I proved her wrong by filling one all by myself (it was tiny!); so we took one each. 

The ride was only a fraction faster than the 10-minute walk it would have taken us but it was a window to local life. According to my driver, thanks to Gojek and Grab, people rarely take the beca anymore. On a good day, he could make around IDR60,000 (approx USD3.70). As life progresses faster, it is sad that some are inevitably left behind.

Mbah arriving in style

The Indonesian train history exhibit at Lawang Sewu yesterday made me appreciate the train station today (and other stations in subsequent days). Train stations in Indonesia feature some individual designs to make them slightly distinct from one to another. They also put effort into repairing and preserving the original Dutch-built main station, with modifications and suitably styled new extensions to fit modern trains and today’s passengers’ needs. A positive approach, in my opinion. In Malaysia, we tend to let old stations go to ruin, then demolish them clean to construct utilitarian new builds that look the same everywhere.

The train may be on its way, but work is already here

What we especially liked was the availability of waiting rooms or areas where comfortable chairs, sofas, benches to lie down, massage chairs, and even worktops complete with power sockets were provided. In Cirebon station, there was even a children’s reading corner designed as a playhouse. 

Exiting at Gambir we found a small koi pond in the middle of the station — a calm oasis amidst the city’s hectic bustle. This is turning out to be a train station review. Let’s get back on track (please excuse the pun 😊).

High praise to Indonesian train stations for availability of public working spaces

Today we didn’t get out much. Jakarta is a city we have visited before and have explored all that interests us. We are not much into cities anyway. 

Besides, some pertinent work has caught up. The two stations we were at today provided clean, airy and comfortable working areas. Public transit providers could do well to emulate Indonesia’s example. Digital nomads and mobile workers often look for conducive work spaces whilst being on the move. In our previous excursions we often scour cafes and restaurants as our mobile offices. But sometimes, usually in high traffic areas, we would get the uncomfortable “death stares” from those who thought we should not be occupying the table if we were not eating. So we try to minimise it by checking into our hotel as soon as we can. 

But in Gambir station we were the only ones using the public work space. After almost three hours we uprooted for our hotel. Then off we went to explore the surrounding area for dinner. We found a nice park but it was about to close for the night so we promised ourselves to check it out tomorrow morning.