Been planning to post something about my journey to Pekalongan since few weeks ago, but turned out I didn't have much time to do it. At the moment, only a little time I have, so let's get down to the business...
I was not actually planning to go home (Pekalongan is my hometown). And it was only my sentimental reason. Christmas 2008 would be the first christmas for me and my family to spend in our new home. Yet, since my mother got stroke (again), I thought it wouldn't be sensible of me not to pay her a nice visit. So, there we went, 12 hours on our blue Karimun from Surabaya to Pekalongan... in which we found that road between Juwana-Pati was still as terrible as it was few months ago *bah*.
When I stayed in Pekalongan, I wasn't too sure I would meet some friends, unless I went there during Lebaran holiday. Mostly my friends went out of town to spend their christmas holiday with their fam and friends. This time, I insisted my hubby to drive by myself when we needed to go around in town. He already refused to be replaced by me on the way to Pekalongan. And since I drove our car by myself to several spots in Pekalongan, I just realized how disorganized, how lawless most becaks were. And I also noticed, parking a car could be a nasty business if you need to get off on narrow lane. I did not see it when my dad drove ;( because usually I just got off and left him to park the car by himself.
Anyway, a group of becaks normally took nearly a half of the street, so if you drive car, you have to be very carefully, otherwise you will hit them. And once you hit them, you've got to be prepared to spend your extra fortune or their friends will hit you back (no, I'm not exaggerating, welcome to Indonesia, anyway). One or two becaks could be crueller when they crossed the street without paying attention whether there were other vehicles passing the street or not. You could possibly imagine it, couldn't you?
When the evening fell, I still could see warung-warung standing on the left and right of the street where Pasar Banjarsari building stands. Which of course, could be advantageous for those who indeed walk to look for a place to eat some food, but annoying for those who pass the street by car.
First day in the morning, I planned to eat soto Pekalongan with tauco (have you ever tasted it? it is veryyyy nice!). My husband loved it as well. When you one day reach Pekalongan, have time to eat this special food. And it was still as nice as I had before (months ago). Culinary days were on! Beware! Not all of the spots which displayed SOTO PEKALONGAN or SOTO ASLI PEKALONGAN do not always provide nice one. The famous one is called SOTO BANG DUL, open in the morning till afternoon and it is in the left side if you drive from Batang (a small city, near Pekalongan). I never know the name of the street, but my brother told me it is jalan Raya Kalibanger, Batang.
What made the visit so special was our family (from my mom's fam) reunion. My uncle and his fam came from Jakarta. My cousins came as well from Surabaya and Denpasar, Bali. My auntie and her fam did too from Surabaya. So we had lunch together and took some pictures of it. It was so memorable! Been ages not to meet them. I was close enough with the cousins from my mom's fam. For your information, my granny (my mom's mom) had nine children (5 males and 4 females), one died years ago. The eight children gave 19 grandchildren for her and the grandchildren (who got married already) gave 15 great-grandchildren. Whoaa.. what a big family it is! Unfortunately, at that time only few of us gathered. But still....
Food that we were after in Pekalongan included Megono (young jackfruit with coconut and chilly - spicy yet nice), fried noodle and noodle soup ala Kustiani, Pecel Yu Mas (in front of my primary school), bakso pak Dullah (not far from it), RM Prima - specially crab (really really nice) and es durian Jalan Merak (they displayed our beloved vice-president coming over to taste their es durian). One addition item you have to grab when you're in Pekalongan is tauco. The taste is different and will be delicious to mix it with your cooking (when you should cook food with tauco, of course).
Coming home to Pekalongan gradually has made me feel like a stranger. I almost cannot recognize people I should have known during my childhood. The kids I knew years ago are now tall and dangling and change. They said I'm changed too (cuter, perhaps? or prettier? or slimmer? or more mature? whoaaa.. as if!). I am recognized no more than Lilik's (my mom's name) daughter who now live in Surabaya. And I have to be ready with repeated questions like "kapan pulang? (when did you come home?)" or "sampai kapan disini? (how long will you stay here?)". Moreover, I sometimes notice that several buildings had been broaded, the streets that could be passed by car now can't be done.
Oh, well... all in all, Pekalongan is still my hometown, anyway. Where I was born. Where I grew up. Where I found first love.
Thursday, 15 January 2009
3:16 pm
To my brother: I was so sorry you could not spend the holiday with us. I hope you got as much as you expect after all your hardwork.
6 komentar ajah:
Jes, jauh amat seh mkn sotonya? Kl aq biasa seh dkt mana tuh yaa.... yg ada pos polisi truz ada taman raksasa ntu, tauk d apa nama jalannya. Tp bole jg ne tips2 t4 mknnya hehe.... trakhir mkn d prima ga enak lho. Kl es duren jg aq lbh sk d Blimbing. Lbh bersih aja rasanya t4e.
Bakso yg enak tuh pak dullah ntu? soale kaga tau ne. Doyannya yg d padang pasir hehe..
Yg plg aq benci dr pkl neh kmana2 mesti ada parkir. Capeee d! Bl roti bakar aja nunggu d dkt motor aja dmnt parkir. Payah!!!! Ama kl bt pas weekend ga ada t4 hiburan hix hix..............
Yah, mei, kan yang enak disitu. Pos polisi? Taman raksasa? Alun2 bukan? Sotonya pake tauco ga?
Emang ada gitu es duren di Belimbing? Kalo soal tempat yang di jalan merak itu mah emang gitu deh dari dulu. Udh biasa, hehehe.
Yaaaa itu! Itu yg kemaren kelupaan aku masukin di blog.
Di Pekalongan, di jalan yang sama, dalam jarak beberapa meter tukang parkirnya bisa beda. Jadi ya udah bisa ditebak, bayar parkirnya bisa lebih dari sekali.
Kalo pas weekend ke Guci aja, Mei. Ato linggoasri. Coba tanya your hubby.
jessie...kayanya baca ceritamu tentang pekalongan bikin aku pengen pulang juga. pengennya imlek pulang tapi belum diapprove cutiku hiks hiks. iya bakso pak dullah dan es coklatnya enak ya..tapi kalo ke sd pius gitu kebanyakan yang jualan udah ada dari kita sd ya. kita udah kemana2, mereka tetep setia jualan di depan sd pius.
Bikin ngiler aja Jes :)...nyesel juga dulu gak nyobain soto tauco *gak gitu doyan tauco* ama nasi megono hehhe..kalo es duren yang di Merak sih gak gitu doyan :D
to Kristina: Hehehehe... ya begitulah kerjaan kalo pulkam. Wisata kuliner.
Kamu imlek-an mau pulang ya... aku ga mungkin pulang lagi. Selain jauh juga lagi ada kegiatan di kantorku.
Kris, dirimu ternyata bisa mello juga, hehehehe. Iyah mereka tetep setia yah. Bikin kita tetep kangen mereka juga. Hubby aja kesengsem ama pecelnya yu mas.
to c'Surti: Ngiler ya, ce??? Aku aja kalo bayangin lagi bisa ngiler lagi.. hehehe. Nasi megono udh pernah nyoba jg? Beli yg dimana? Kalo enggak yang di gang pesing memang kurang enak, ce.
Justru nyesel dulu gak nyobain karena pas liat bentuknya kok gak menarik ahhahha *judge the book by its cover :D*
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