All the boys got packed and were ready for the long travel ahead to Central Java. We had our breakfast at Neo Awana hotel and everyone was energetic to get on the road for the next four hours.
Three hours into the drive we stopped off for a lunch at a local restaurant and a bit further up the road we came across many big rice fields along the road in too long and wet farms. We all got off the bus as an opportunity to get some cool photos and explore the rice fields, when I saw the fields I thought it looked really big and beautiful. After all this was done we returned to the bus and got back on the road.
With a local
train museum coming up it was a perfect chance for us to learn the history of
trains in Indonesia. We explored many of the old and retired trains in the
museum. The boys were able to see how the coal train has evolved to a train
that works with electricity and how our trains today are so modern compared to
the trains with no doors or windows.
After the tour of the museum we were back on the bus for the final stretch through Central Java and into Semarang. As we arrived in Semarang we got off the bus to explore a local village called kampung pelangi (rainbow village). This village has been colourfully painted with the help of the government. As we adventured up many steep hills we really saw how lucky we are to have many opportunities, as many people in this village lived in tiny box houses with no backyard and living on top of each other. We had reached the top and really saw how people live and the reality of their life, and what people must deal with. But it is funny as everyone we see in these villages all have amazing smiles on their face even with the little they have. At one point of the trip I saw this girl who was trying to make a living and sell some drinks out the front of her little house and so I went up to her and placed some money in her hands and said terima kasih. We headed back down to the main street where we got back on the bus to keep on going to the hotel. After the long journey, we reached the hotel “Aston Semarang,” settled in, went down to dinner and called it a day.
By Cooper Rogers (Year 9), with Matthew McLeod (2017 Graduate)
