Purbalingga

Purbalingga is a town approximately 5 hours away from Salatiga. We had the privilege to visit Dina’s family in this town last weekend. We had a blast and we were glad we made the trip before saying goodbye to her. We left Salatiga at 4:30PM and we got there at around 9:30PM. Though it was tiring, the long ride in the bus didn’t stop from having fun on our way there.

Tired, feeling dirty and hungry, Dina’s mom became our savior when she served us the delicious Soto Purbalingga for dinner and tempe mendoan on the side. It was yummy! The first night at the house was great but in the morning we woke up pretty grumpy, especially Abbie, because there were some noisy children screaming around. We found out that there is a Kindergarten school right exactly across from the house.

Pita made the morning a bit different. She woke up earlier than most of us and took a bike ride around the market and rice field. She took some pictures of it. The misty morning of Purbalingga is beautiful.

The adventure began when Dina took us to the water park 30 minutes away from the house. We took an angkot and then a bus to get there. It was interesting because there is a pretty big water park in such a town like this. We’re happy that not many people went there. We really enjoyed the park, swimming in the pools, sliding, did some crazy stuff and got hurt, and flying fox. That was fun.
Pita found a guy who do sketching for living. It wasn't bad at all.The lunch was reserved for the infamous Soto Sokaraja and Durian Ice. Soto Sokaraja was excellent but for some of us, the Durian Ice was a struggle. I love the Durian Ice and for once I must agree to Dina and Maria that perhaps it was the best Durian Ice in Indonesia.

Saturday night is a fiesta time for the people in Purbalingga. The center of it all is the town square. We walked for 30 minutes to the square and it was packed with people, motorbikes and food vendors all over the place. We hang out in there for a couple of hours, talked to people, took some pictures and ate dinner.
On our way back, we stopped by at Maria’s parents’ house. It was exciting to meet with them and listened to their stories about life and their children.
The next morning we woke pretty early for church. We all felt sore from the swimming but it didn’t stop us from wanting to praise the Lord. Anyhow, we struggled to stay awake throughout the church service. Many of us had to fall asleep during prayer time. Forgive us, God. Back in the house, Dina’s mom served us a hearty breakfast that we enjoyed so much. We then hang out and talked about random things.
It was a long and short trip but we all enjoyed it. It was good to getting to know Dina from the other side and listened to her mom’s story about being a single parent raising three children. I thank the Lord to have this opportunity to getaway during the weekend and experiencing Purbalingga. It was cool to see His work in providing us with protection and blessings.
Thanks Dina for being such a wonderful HOSTESS! ;)