The Public Bus Exerience: Jakarta - Cianjur

Thank goodness Yudi e-mailed me with the following Indonesian phrases- Otherwise I would have never made it...

SAYA MAU KE TERMINAL KAMPUNG RAMBUTAN
I would like to go to Kampung Rambutan Bus Terminal.

TURUNKAN SAYA DI LUAR TERMINAL TEMPAT NYETOP BIS KE CIANJUR,SUPAYA NGA NUNGGU LAMA.
get me off at the bus stop outside the terminal to CIANJUR

SAYA MAU KE CIANJUR
I would like to go to Cianjur

TURUNKAN SAYA DI TERMINAL PASIR HAYAM CIANJUR
Please get me off at Cianjur,Pasir Hayam Bus Terminal

ABDI BADE KA ALAMAT IEU
I would like to go to this address
BTN GRIYA BLOK C 8 NO: 7
PASIR HAYAM

I wrote down all of the phrases on my trusty pad of paper/pen set (courtesy of my mom's good friend Barb) and handed the notes to people when I needed help. Getting on the bus from Jakarta - Ramutan bus station was pretty much the easiest part of the trip, and it was downhill from there. I got off the air-conditioned bus at Ramutan and entered Public bus station MANIA in a city of nine million people- which btw is the largest city in Southeast Asia. There were hundreds of people milling about and taxis lined up to harass young white tourists like myself. Once I got past them, I had to try and find the right bus in the sea of buses surrounding me... I asked for help, and was guided to a dodgy looking bus with a few men smoking on it. The sign on the front said Cianjur, so I got on and waited... The Men were very aggressive and kept saying BULE (Boo-lay) BULE BULE and pointing at me and laughing... then they began harassing me saying Hello Miiiissssss, I make you a Mrs.. and stuff like that. Once I got used to those guys, a bunch of peddlers began boarding the bus trying to sell me stuff- shoving kleenex, fruit, toys, and water in my face and making me say NO about 25 times before they left. I was getting pretty anxious by this point and felt very unsafe, and uncomfortable- plus I had to pee- so I got off the bus and looked for somewhere else go go.

I asked for help again, and this time I was led to a much safer looking air conditioned bus with nobody smoking on it. I decided I would take that one, but had to go to the bathroom first... I asked the man to use the bathroom and he led me to a crappy cement hut with a man sitting out front. He said--> YOU. PAY.... I proceeded to pay 1,000 Rupi to piss in a hole. Thank god I brought the "Wiz eaze" pee funnel. Oh yah, and instead of toilet paper, let me introduce you to a dirty bucket of water with a ladle. ssssssvery nisssssse.

Once I finished that, I went back on the bus and waited for departure. There were still men on there gawking and saying BODA, but at least they weren't as aggressive as the others. We left and began our long journey to Cianjur... SLOW START would be an understatement. The traffic jams leaving the city were unbelievable. We travelled at less than 1km/hr a lot of the time and whenever the bus would slow down nearby a shanti town strip of markets, 3-4 street peddlers would jump on it and try to sell stuff.. Often they would go straight to the white girl with blonde hair and start hassling her... eventually I put my sweater on my head like the Muslims here do, and put on my sunglasses- this helped a little... but I still had one guy hop on the bus farther down the road and serenade me then ask for money... i declined.

Anyway, about 3 hours later, I had to figure out how to get off that bus and on a mini-bus to Yudi's house... by this time I was good and nervous. The bus driver's assistant helped me, and so did a few guys who had been riding with me for the past few hours. Eventually I was let off at the right place, and I began looking for a way to get from there, to Yudi's house. At this point, I could not find anyone who spoke english, so I gave some people the note I had, and they took me to a super dodgy van with the door wide open and two young men sitting in the front. They told me to get in, but I was so scared I could started crying... Then my saviour, an Indonesian man in his 20's who spoke english came running over to help me. He talked to the driver's of the van and told me to get in it. I trusted him more than the other guy, so I did. He looked me in the eyes and said "Be careful Miss" as we were driving away... this made me want cry even more.

Luckily, I was eventually dropped off at Yudi's house and his wife Tita came out to meet me. I was shaking with fear and very happy to see Yudi and have a glass of water and some fresh mango with her. She showed me my room, and I began to exhale after an experience I will not soon forget. Since then, my time here has been AMAZING!!! I need to go to bed now, cause I have an early morning tomorrow, but I will log on and update you all with everything Yudi has done for me while I've been here. I am so glad I came- despite the challenges getting here! Sorry to leave you hanging....

P.S. I have a new cell phone number for Indonesia in case anyone wants to call or text me while I'm here... It's +081 315 937 821 Apparently if you're calling from a landline you may have to dial +62 315 937 821 instead. Hope that makes sense.