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YOGYAKARTA - It didn't last another five minutes again before I felt the first rain coming down. And it wasn't water thrown up by the tires of trucks and buses but rain. I assumed that I drove too far for the passing rainstorm, but that was an illusion. The real situation was much more wet than those few drops of rain, but it would only be clear later on. Since the rain was intensifying I decided to take a break somewhere along the road - no idea where - to drink a glass of hot jeruk hangat (hot water with a small orange squeezed in it) and a Sampoerna cigarette. Just to get oversight about the situation.
That 'little while' soon became much longer. The rainstorm didn't seem to be moving in the direction of Jogja anymore, but was just intensifying rapidly. At some distance there was lightning as well, nice lightning behind some clouds through the light rain. Thunder in a shower creates a nice performance regularly here, but it is also a clear indication that it's not just a small shower. More rain was on the way and it was coming some time very soon.
De main road seen in the direction of Yogyakarta. In the background a dark sky. Skies like these are often a clear sign of approaching bad weather. File photo. © indahnesia.com
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When my glass of jeruk hangat was almost empty I already saw the clouds getting closer. I could not make anything positive from this anymore right now. All of a sudden I realized that it could last a whole lot longer than just a glass of hot water with some flavor. I should give it a try to get home and got on the motorbike to see if it was possible to make some speed during rain. I wanted to get to the city in the first place, because there it would be more easy to find something to eat and drink again. This shower had turned into a rain zone and it would not be dry before I wanted to be home.
I do not like driving in bad weather, let alone when it is dark as well. Entirely against my principles I drove on a motorbike without any serious protection against the rain except for my helmet, in the dark during rain. I followed the cars in front of me as much as possible at places where there was no street lighting or where it was not in use. And that are not just small stretches of road here generally. Sometimes I needed to use the big light to find the lines on the road to find myself a way to the next stretch with working street lights.
Nice colored skies like thes can be seen at Magrib, sunset. File photo. © indahnesia.com
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No use at all. I wanted to be home most of all things, but not with endangering my own life for it. I realized that it was better for me to look for another place to shelter to wait for the rains to subside under a piece of orange plastic. That is what I did and before I knew it, I had a plate of steaming hot mi goreng in front of me. And why not, another jeruk hangat as well to get my body warm again. Fortunately there was not much wind but only heavy rain at times. Quite bad as well, because I am still not home yet.
It was several hours later, after my meal was long-finished and I had myself informed about all people at the food stall when I really didn't want to continue being there any longer and decided to end the conversation to follow the road back home. The rain had become light again and with the view on a nice shower at home followed by a warm bed - because it's cold on a motorbike in the rain, in the tropics as well, you can assume that from me.
However I arrived home during light rain, I was very happy that all my important stuff like wallet (however almost empty), STNK (ownership registration vehicle) and HP (haa-pee, mobile phone) found a dry place in the baggage holder at the back. How many times people joked about it to me that it didn't look good at a normal Honda motorbike, I can't count, but now my stuff is still dry. That I arrived home over six hours behind my planning is not important then. I had a nice day and the wet season seems to have kicked off.
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