Purwokerto Trip

Every year at around October or November we always take a family trip to Purwokerto where my wife comes from.  Its a time for the kids to visit their grandparents and for us to take a short break.  This time though I didn't stay long as I didn't have much leave days remaining.

Pukis, my favourite snack from the days I was still in Surabaya, on sale in a roadside stall in Purwokerto

We started the trip on early Sunday morning, leaving the house at about 5:30 a.m. for the 7:45 flight to Jakarta.  Unlike previous times where we would stay for 1 night in Jakarta, I decided to take the train immediately at 16:00 to save on my leave days as well as accommodation cost in Jakarta.

When we arrived in Jakarta it was already 9:00 when we cleared the immigration and got our baggages.  Then we immediately went for breakfast at Pasar Muara Karang for the scrumptious Bakmi Siantar.  Its a very hearty noodle bowl.

Pasar Muara Karang - pardon that car, it was just too crowded

And the oh-so delicious bakmi Siantar - a dash of sweet, savoury & peppery broth with al dente noodle, five spiced pork, soya sauce chicken & egg topped up with fried shallots

I guess I was famished as I finished one and a half bowl.  Then I dropped by my grandparents' house to visit them and let the kids have some time with their great grandparents.  Soon it was time to leave for my wife's uncle's house before we headed to the train station.

The trip started promptly at 16:30, Lincoln was excited as usual to get on the train.  Although this was not the first time he took the train, he only takes these kinds of train rides twice a year - 5 to 6 hours non-stop kind...

And the train trip started from Gambir

Soon at around 22:30 we arrived in cool Purwokerto - it was raining and according to my phone the temperature was 24 degree celcius.  I had a very bad headache which I suppose could be due to lack of sleep, but anyway I just gulped some paracetamol and slapped some balm before I slept.  The following morning I had a bad gastric pain.  Things weren't so smooth this time around.....

Anyway, my wife brought us to her favourite Warung Soto.  The shop is very famous, once inside you will see photos of celebrities with the owner, even previous presidents such as SBY and Megawati had been there.  I'm just OK with the taste as it was generally sweet (typical Javanese cooking style), but for some reasons my wife goes gaga over that.....  But I do admit that the taste is very traditional and authentic.     

Soto Jalan Bank

Very traditional way of cooking

The rest of the day was basically for relaxing until at around 18:00 when we took Lincoln to visit an old friend who is now a full time dentist to fix his cavity.  

In the evening we went for dinner at Lincoln's favourite fried chicken restaurant.  He really likes eating here.  On this visit he finished 2 pieces of chicken and a full plate of rice - that's the same amount I ate (haha!).

Ayam Goreng Kalibogor - best ayam goreng in Purwokerto

The owner has this clairvoyant abilities, sometimes dispensing advice while we chat with him.  He's quite accurate too mind you...

On the following day we went to another restaurant for a noodle brunch.  This is another famous restaurant that has been around for a very long time.  While I used to like the noodle, I found that the taste has somewhat deteriorated over the years - the noodle is very dry and rather bland.  But still enjoyable to say the least - bland means less salt and that is healthy, it is the dryness which is quite annoying.    

The restaurant - Cahaya Mas

Bakmi Cahaya Mas 

After the brunch we visited a local book store to buy some activity books for the kids.  At night, one of my father-in-law's friend gave us a treat, as I had done the same when he visited Singapore so he wanted to return the favour.  It was a very sumptuous Chinese dinner.

A normal chinese dinner at Meteor Cafe & Restaurant

After dinner we met with my wife's friend again who had earlier fixed Lincoln's tooth cavity.  We went to a cafe which is quite cool.  Well, only the place is cool, the drinks were way over too sweet in my opinion... And I definitely think the cafe can use more non-smoking areas to make it more family friendly.

The name of the Cafe - Headquarter, opposite GOR

And so day 2 ended like that..

On the following day we tried another noodle restaurant which is a bit further away, but it tastes very good.  So good that I think they may take the crown of the new noodle king in Purwokerto.

Mie ayam Jakarta - best noodle in Purwokerto now

After brunch we took Lincoln for his swimming lesson and headed back home.  I had an opportunity to walk nearby a friend's house and took a photo of his house - he had been the one who introduced me to my wife. 

This bread shop has more than 100 years of history but it might not last long as none of the owner's children are interested in continuing the business

Dinner was simple home cooked dinner which I don't mind after the rich dinners from previous days as I also had a bad gastric pain.  However I did make time to buy pukis - my favourite snack from when I was back in Surabaya.

I love the sight of those pukis!

After we got home, we basically waited for me to get ready to go to the train station.  I was going to take the 00:30 trip to Jakarta.  However it was really hard for me to sleep as I was afraid I would oversleep.

Then when it finally reached 23:30 I changed and left for the train station.   The train station had quite a number of people waiting to take the same trip to Jakarta.  The train arrived promptly at 00:30 and off I went to Jakarta.      

The train station at midnight - took this with X-T1 + XF 16mm F1.4R WR

More photos of the train station - taken with X-T1 + XF 16mm F1.4R WR

As soon as I arrived in Jakarta at 5:45, I hopped on a taxi, arrived in the airport at 6:45.  Checked-in and waited for boarding.  I had very very bad gastric pain... luckily I had a tube of Norit with me which I immediately took a few tablets and helped with the pain.

Waiting for boarding - Fujifilm X-T1 + XF16mm F1.4 R WR

And the plane took off at 9:15 promptly, arriving in Singapore at 11:45.  And that's how my extremely short trip this year happened.  I certainly miss my wife and the kids.....

Here's a closing shot for this entry.

The lane I was waiting at to board the train to Jakarta - Jalur 2 = Lane 2

 ~ Photos taken with LG G3, unless otherwise stated ~