Last month, on February 24th until 28th, we went to Solo and Yogyakarta, Central Java. In this report, I will talk about the activities that we did during the study tour.
We didn’t do anything much in the first day, the fun activities starts on the next day. But it was fun, anyway. We assembled at 2 PM at school, where our teacher gave us directions and a summary of the activities that day. We left our school around 3 PM, and we went to Gambir Station, Central Jakarta with a bus. There, we waited outside the station for a while before heading in, check in, pray, and have dinner with a meal from Hoka-Hoka Bento. After dinner, we had a photo session and a little quiz event, also a nice free time where we could talk with our friends, which us a little closer too. Then, around 9 PM, we departed to Solo with a train named Argo Lawu (yes, I somehow still remember). At first, I got a seat on the very front of the wagon with a teacher, but then she got swapped with someone who got a single-seat on the very back of the wagon. I’m glad I got her as a… chairmate I supposed? Well, we had a good time during our time in the train. What’s better is, she’s also my classmate and teammate, so our bond stayed good until now. The wagon stayed noisy until 11 PM, until the point where a teacher got mad at us, but I’m glad I already felt sleepy during that.
February 25th, the second day. In the morning, we arrived at Solo Balapan Station, located in Solo, Central Java. We went on a bus to our first destination, a rest area and restaurant where some of us took a bath, and also change clothes. After that, we went to PT. Gunung Subur Sejahtera, a tea and coffee factory that was established on 1951. This factory is known all over the world, mostly it’s own country, Indonesia, and Arab. I bought a lemon tea and jasmine tea there, the smell of it was quite nice. I’m pretty sure we weren’t supposed to have dinner there, because later that day we also got… a duck I think? That we ate on the bus. Then, we went to our next destination, Solo Technopark. We didn’t do that much there… apart from listening to the story of that place. Not going to lie, it was one of the most boring destinations in our study tour. After that, we went to De Tjolomadoe Museum. The museum was once one of the most prosperous sugar factory, that was established by the current ruler of Yogyakarta at that time. The lore of the factory was really interesting, I still remember the most of it (especially the tree that grew by itself), but I’m afraid it’ll make this report too long. At around 4 PM, we went back on our bus,on our way to a bakso restaurant near the hotel we’ll be staying at. Then, we went to our hotel, Jambuluwuk Hotel. Sleep Time!
The third day, February 26th, our first morning in the hotel. We had breakfast in the hotel’s restaurant, before heading to Kesatuan Bangsa Bilingual Boarding School. We got a tour around the school, before going to Tugu Chocolate and Ansor’s Silver. The boys and girls take turns to go in both, and we had lunch in between the switch. After going to both, we went to the infamous Malioboro Street and bought a lot of things. Well… I didn’t buy much, but a lot of my friends do. Me and some of my teammates was done earlier than our assemble time, so we hung out in front of a store while some others buy some more merchandise. My team’s mentor made a joke about wearing a local “bat dress” and it will probably be unforgettable for me… (Sir, if you’re reading this, I’m really sorry ^^; ). Then, we went back to the hotel, and we got quite a lot of free time that night. Some of us used the GoJek service, while others are chilling and vibing in their rooms, others, etc.
Moving on to day 4, February 27th! I have mixed feelings about this day… But!! I still had some fun anyway! In the morning, we did our usual morning routine, like pray, take a bath, and eat breakfast. After all of those, we got on a bus like usual and went to our first destination that day, Omah Salak. Nothing special happened there, even though it is eventful but nothing significant happened. Then, we went to the most waited destination in this trip, the Lava Tour near Merapi Mountain. We started with going on a jeep, which took us to Sisa Hartaku Mini Museum, then the Kaliadem Bunker. By paper, this might not sound fun, but the journey on the jeep is the best part. There was also some lore on each location. Fortunately, we went there when it’s still safe, because not long after our trip, Merapi Mountain erupted. After that. We went to Prambanan Temple and took some pictures. Finally, we went back after this chaotic day and most of us didn’t even go outside our rooms due to our depleted stamina.
Now… the last day… February 28th… the day where February was supposed to end but it didn’t because it’s a leap year. Anyways— We started the day with our usual morning activity, but now we also checked out of the hotel before heading back to our bus, loaded our luggage, and went to PT. Primissima, a clothing factory that has been active since a long time ago. We also got a tour around the factory. Then, we went to Omah Oblong, where we bought some t-shirts to bring back home as a souvenir. After going shopping there, I don’t know where the boys went but the girls went to a souvenir center, before proceeding to one of the last destinations… which is the Adisoetjipto International Airport. I’m pretty sure it’ll be the first and last time I went to that airport, since the airport will be closed because of the overflowing people going back-and-forth from the airport… but I had a great time there too! I bought an imported book titled “Your Name”, which was translated from a Japanese novel, “Kimi no Nawa”. Your Name was adapted from the infamous Japanese anime movie with the same name. It also has an Indonesia translation by Penerbit Haru and is way cheaper than the imported book, but I don’t care and I can also learn new words from the book. Moving on! We arrived at Soekarno-Hatta Airport not long before maghrib, I can’t remember precisely but we arrived at the airport when it was still bright, but got out when the sun is setting. The thing is… the moment we were waiting for our luggage and our bus… a famous Indonesian YouTuber, Jerome Polin, was also in the airport… I’m a big fan of him, but sadly I didn’t cross paths or even spot him in the airport… My chairmate back at the train was also a fan of him, so we both really regretted that we can’t meet with him…
After a long wait for our Blue Bird bus, we finally got on it not long after maghrib, and we’re on our way back to our beloved school, Al-Haraki Islamic Junior High School. Ah, I forgot to mention earlier- I really love the traffic in Yogyakarta and Solo. Unlike Jakarta, there is almost no congestion… so I was shocked when I opened google maps to see how long our trip will be, even though I expected it to be this bad… At the end, we arrived back at school at 11 PM, which was way off from the prediction. The prediction was we’re going to arrive at 8 PM, but no no no, Jakarta’s traffic just said “sike” at us. I heard that the boys arrived at school past midnight. After that, I immediately passed out in my mom’s car on our way back home.
Name: Aisyah Salvia Putri
Class: 7 Al-Kautsar
