Remember the two ladies who made a cameo in my flight-to-Jakarta narrative? Well, they stayed in the capital of Indonesia while I took a train to Yogyakarta. I thought the story ended there, but to my wonderful surprise, I bumped into them again a few days later. After spending four days in Yogyakarta, I went back to Jakarta for the tail-end of my trip and ended up staying at the same hostel as those two lovelies. They answered to the names Tania Gonzales and Carmel So. I was downstairs at the hostel lounge working on my laptop when I saw them come down; I almost fell out of my seat and just froze. I heard them talking about eating in a Korean restaurant before they walked out the door.
Accidental Tourist Buddies in Jakarta | Indonesia
A Coincidental Reconnection
I thought that was a fleeting glimpse again, thinking they might come back at midnight, and by that time I might be sleeping on my bunk bed, so I kind of shrugged off the inanities of that series of coincidences. An hour later, I heard giggling from two women, and there they were, taking a seat in front of me to use the hostel's computer to web check-in for their flight the next night, which was incidentally the same as mine. Words cracking as they came out of my mouth, I told them that I was on the same plane flying in with them, and a small conversation ensued.
From there on, I realized that they were very friendly and the opposite of the snob bunch I mistook them for when I first saw them. If I only knew, I would have pitched to them the idea of going to Yogyakarta instead of them just touring Jakarta—but who was I to attempt tinkering with their travel plans? Our conversations took us from the hostel's lounge to the rooftop area, where we were later joined by Jin, the South Korean I first met at Edu Hostel in Yogyakarta; he was also staying at the same hostel in Jakarta. It was a small world for all travelers alike, I guessed.
Exploring the Capital Together
Since our flight back home together was on the next night, we agreed to explore the city of Jakarta the next morning. Because it was so hot that day, we only visited a nearby park that looked like Quezon Memorial Circle and the Istiqlal Mosque, said to be the biggest of its kind in Southeast Asia. (I would write a separate post for that). In the afternoon, we went to the batik market where I bought my brother one long-sleeve batik polo.
In short, we spent the whole day together getting to know each other's travel habits. Fresh from traveling to Yogyakarta and not having to share the wonderful experience I had at Borobudur and Prambanan with anyone, being able to explore Jakarta with new friends provided me with another traveling high.
You know what they said about time passing by quickly when you were having fun? It was true in that case, as the day went by like a blitz, and soon we were at the airport waiting for our flight back. I imagined how cool it would be if, instead of flying home, we were just flying to another city. I bade them goodbye at the airport and had only reconnected via Facebook since then.
I guessed we were not meant to meet in a conventional way; maybe in the future, I would cross paths with them again—in an airport lounge, on a train, or by the sidewalk of a faraway city. I hoped our trajectories would intertwine yet again. That day in Jakarta, even with the scorching sun and the Manila-like traffic, time burned up wonderfully. Terima kasih to my accidental tourist buddies, Tania and Carmel.
