The first thing everyone wants to know after you get back from a vacation is "So, how was it?". The usual (expected) reply would be "Great, fantastic, awesomeness". I wish I could say that about our family vacation this year in Yogjakarta straight off the cuff. But I hesitate becoz that's not really how I feel about it.
How do you describe a holiday where things happened which aren't supposed to happen or conversely what's supposed to happen didn't? How do you even start to talk about a holiday where you are up practically the whole nite before you are due to leave, having to deal with a personal crisis at home? I felt like a wound-up spring, trying to dam up a heart already totally 'exhausted'. But..since a holiday is supposed to relax and recharge, I choked back the emotions and mentally 'threw' all my burdens to God, trusting that He would be faithful to sustain me.
And He did.... He messed up our holiday sufficiently to make it...different. First off, we discovered our family event planner didn't know her geography too well, since she had booked a change of hotel at a place 2 flights away, coz she never noticed that the 2 mountains were spelt differently - one was Gunung Merapi, the other Gunung Marapi. So there goes my money...thank God there were tons of hotels to switch over to where we were at. She had listed down an impressive itinerary of things to do and sights to see but none of us expected Yogyakarta to be so big a city. So much of our time was spent on the road, getting to all the usual touristy places every day, coz they were spread out, north south east west of the city proper. A fair bit of physical activity was required, and it ranged from as diverse as climbing mountains and ruins of ancient temples to riding horses across a volcanic plateau to battling giganto waves in the ocean.
I had always thot of volcanoes as forbidding aloof mountains, spouting fire, belching smoke and lava...well, thats how they are always portrayed in movies, right?! But the one we travelled to (Dieng Plateau) was amazingly well populated...all the way up the winding road, we passed prosperous villages which dotted the hillside. At the top was an even bigger surprise ...there were horses for hire to trot tourists to the crater. Of coz typical tourists that we were, we couldn't resist the temptation! The only animal I have ever ridden on before was an ostrich. Comparatively riding a horse this round was easier to manage, tho to be honest, it was the trainer who did it all. We just held on for dear life, even tho it was just a short ride up to the volcano crater. Standing at the edge and peeping into the boiling smoking crater of a live volcano (a small one but it was a live one alright) wasn't what I expected at all. Instead of red hot fiery waves of lava, it was all a grey swirling bubbly mass of gooey stuff. The only thing that matched my expectation was the smoke!
From the mountains down to the sea was another adventure in itself. Quite unlike our M'sian beaches, the one we went to was situated literally behind a mountain (ya, now I remember my geography, Indonesia is all mountain territory), and I wouldn't call it sea, more like ocean, becoz the waves were gigantic. The first beach we stopped at was supposedly the newest discovered. The waters were indeed very clear. It was however low tide, still the gang decided to test the waters. So I volunteered to jaga the barang. I could see them struggling to walk out to the deeper parts, but I didn't think much of it until the 2 youngest returned limping. Apparently the shallows were filled with prickly corals and live sea urchins. The boy got cut the worst, with wounds on both hands and legs, the skin of his sole literally torn off and bleeding. Some more one of his slippers had to break right then. The uncle slipped and fell headlong into the water , and but for the cap he was wearing he would have cut his scalp. That cap is probably floating its way round the world now.... I shudder at the thought of what could have been a major disaster, and can only thank God for the angels surrounding us. My heart was somewhat uneasy, what kind of holiday is this turning out to be? But having come such a long way -2 hours to be exact - we just had to have our share of the sea, so despite all that, we insisted to go to another stretch of 'swimmable' beach.
Well, the next one turned out more 'rollable' than 'swimmable'. Where I was watching I could see the waves come crashing in and over anyone and everyone who stood with back facing the open sea. It was a fascinating sight, and it looked fun too....as usual I was the last in. And when the first wave hit my back, I knew the meaning of being literally knocked out of breath. I was sent tumbling forward and somersaulted underwater...such was the power of the waves. It was sheer panic for the first few moments as I grappled to stand up. For a fleeting moment a ridiculous thot crossed my mind as the water tugged at my swimsuit, what if it gets ripped off!! But the strange ting is after the first taste of being slammed by a wall of water, you kinda wanna get hit again.... Must be some inborn sadistic tendency in all humans?? And so I got up to be whammied again. I would have continued but I knew it was time to stop when I felt myself being dragged out further and further by the invisible undercurrent. It was more than panic this time; it was fear. And made worse when I saw my no. 2 girl struggling a little way off from me. Someone was shouting, hang on, make for shore or something like that. Instinctively I reached out to grab her outstretched hand. But the next wave was already upon us. I gripped her hand tight as we went under. I pulled her as we struggled to get up on our feet. We had but taken 2 steps when we were hit by another wave and this time, I lost her, as I took another somersault underwater. By the time I got up and looked back, she was being swept out even further from me. I tried to run to her, but who can run on water? In a split second, I relived again the horrible fear of losing a loved one that I had felt 10 years ago with my husband. In my heart I cried out Jesus, the only name I knew who could save. An oncoming wave swept her towards me, and I grabbed again at her hand. She held on. I pulled and dragged with all my strength. The waves were still coming in, but had grown smaller in force. And finally we collapsed gasping in the safety of the shallows. What can I say?...Fom where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth....the One who created and walked the waves.....as I recall the words of that old song..."When the oceans rise, and thunder roars, I will soar with You above the storm...Father, You are King over the flood..."
One would have thot that after all this 'adventure', we should have had enuf. But that very nite, the 2 girls were off on a midnite climb up Mt Merapi, joining in with a tour group. It would take some 4 hrs up in time to catch the sunrise and another 3 hrs to get down. It's strange that for a family vacation, we were all doing our own thing except when travelling from place to place. Whilst the gals gallivanted away, the rest of us were snoozing. (Mountains are not my cup of tea, i have climbed hills before, and my conclusion is I don't fancy my heart literally bursting and my knees buckling under the agony of a seemingly never ending ascent, just to catch fantastic views of this, that or the other whatever. I figure the sun rises beautifully anywhere anyway)
In the morning, the boy continued snoozing, the uncle had taken off for an early round of golf somewhere else, and I spent 2 hrs doing something I have never done before overseas - I had my hair cut and colored; all done nicely for a song in a small shop by the roadside. Then I decided to do some city exploring on my own, took a beca to some Sultan's Water Palace, which was a huge enclosed area, built up with 2 big 'swimming pools', where apparently his 40 wives and numerous other princesses took their baths...there was still water in the 2 pools, but my imagination fails me at this point... Besides changing rooms, there was a private 'viewing gallery' (obviously for his eyes only) accessible through 3 flights of narrow winding staircases, which accorded a very nice view of the pools from the top. Next was a walk to the current Sultan's palace grounds which housed several halls converted into mini museums featuring everything you need to know about the royal family. I am no history buff, but there were some pretty nice stuff to gawk at on top of the 'live' traditional orchestra playing their style of music.
Talking about music, first time in my life I see so many street buskers plying their trade in the city.Over 2 nites as we sampled the local cuisine at the roadside stalls, sitting on the ground eating from low long tables, we had no shortage of 'entertainers' serenading us during the meal. The one who 'tagged' us could even do a rendition of Teresa Teng's famous "The Moon Represents my Heart" number. On the artistic trail, we also watched the dance story of Ramayana, seated on stone terraces in an open air stage enclosure for 2 hrs, which didn't do my back bones any good at all.
Whilst I was out walking the streets, the girls had returned from their mountain climbing. My no. 2 princess apparently gave up after huffing and puffing 45 mins, but to me, it's ok, she will conquer other mountains in life, I am sure. My eldest the most gung-ho one, capped it all by (almost) conquering Merapi at the second-last pit stop before the pinnacle at 2600++ m . For all the sweat or rather shivering as it was apparently very cold up on the mount, she got full emo satisfaction of a feat accomplished, (certainly something to be commended considering she is a first time novice at climbing mountains) and indeed beautiful shots of the sun rising. The cost - excruciatingly achy legs even after 2 days.
So how was our holiday?... different for all of us. Unlike me, for once the girls didn't do much shopping at all, but I know they enjoyed themselves, so did the boy who was content to stay put in the hotel room resting his feet and using their wifi. Me... I discovered that I don't have to do everything as planned, I don't have to climb every mountain just becoz it is there. I don't have to clamber over ancient ruins just becoz they are classified as world heritage buildings. I don't have to dip my feet into the clearest most fabulous waters. So what if I miss out the 'must-do' 'must-see' stuff? I guess that applies not only to taking vacations but equally well to living life. I don't have to take on any and every challenge that comes my way becoz I don't need to prove anything really, either to myself, to others or to God. I am secure in knowing there is a God who loves me perfectly, not becoz I am perfect, but becoz He is love. So there are some battles in life I don't need to fight; I can walk away without any shame becoz I only need to take on whatever He deems it necessary for me to take on...and for that He will give me enuf strength to conquer....even killer waves....
And oh yes, I found out that a holiday doesn't take away the burdens in the heart, tho I can 'park' them away in 'kiv' for just that period. But the good news is God sends angels just at the right time. Like the time we spent at the 2 beaches in Yogjakarta, like the morning after our return... When I was at emo breaking point, God sent a human angel with mooncakes in hand. But it turned out she brought along more than mooncakes...a couple of years ago, I was the one who'connected' her to the God of all comfort in her hour of need. That morning the tables were turned around as she comforted me with the same words that I had used to encourage her back then... how true it is the God of all comfort....
" ....comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God..." 2 Corinthians 1:3-4
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