Kuala Simpang: Day 2 - Hari Raya Aidilfitri

Eid-al-Fitr, or Eid for short, is a religious holiday where Muslims all over the world celebrate the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting.  They dress in their best and congregate together at a mosque to pray in the morning, then visit with family and friends throughout the day to exchange gifts, eat good food, and ask one another for forgiveness for any wrong-doing they might have committed earlier in the year.  In essence, it is a time to start fresh on a clean slate -- your sins of the year have been cleared. 

My sisters and I have never experienced the celebration of Eid in Indonesia.  This was to be our first.  However, we did not attend the congregation for prayer at the mosque.  It was that time of the month for me, and women that are menstruating are forbidden to enter a mosque.  We awoke early and waited for Kek Usuf to pick us up for an Eid breakfast at his house.  He said he'd be at our hotel after prayer ends around 9 AM.  Today was going to be a long day, so we dressed as comfortably as we could.  Today was also going to be the day we finally rid ourselves of that big, bulky, annoying, brown bag that we've been hauling all over Asia.  From that big, brown, annoying bag, we were finally going to give out the presents that we have brought from home.  This was going to be a special moment.

Breakfast at Kek Usuf and Nek Embok's house was delicious.  As soon as we entered, Nek Embok rushed out to wish us, "Selamat Hari Raya!" (Happy Eid-al-Fitr) and invited us to help ourselves to the lontong buffet she had set out on the dining table.  We wished her Happy Eid back, and were more than delighted to join them for breakfast.  It was such an honor to experience such a gathering on such a special day.  We got to see many more relatives too, many of whom we met for the first time on this day, and shared stories with one another before my mom came out to present gifts and money for all who had come.  Everyone was ecstatic.  Gifts from America?  Money?  Who wouldn't be thrilled. 

What you see in the clear glass bowl below is lontong, or circular rice cakes that have been boiled in banana leaves.  Instead of steamed rice, it is eaten with various side dishes, many of which were beef curry, roasted chicken in chili sauce, sauteed water spinach with shrimp and garlic, fried anchovies with peanuts, etc.  Lontong always replaces steamed rice on Eid-al-Fitr.  And Nek Embok's cooking was delicious as usual.

And this sponge cake, whose flavors I didn't recognize, was absolutely amazing!  I could have finished the entire bowl!

Saying good-bye, one of our cousins carrying her baby and a new hand-bag my mom gave out.

It was then time to say good-bye to Kek Usuf's family and visit Nek Neng and her family.  Nek Neng is another one of my mom's aunts.  My mom has three aunts from her mother's side.  Like my mother, my grandmother was the eldest daughter, and Nek Neng is the second daughter.  The two were very close.  After my grandmother's passing, Nek Neng fell into a deep depression.  She had lost her best friend in the world.  Nek Neng is a very animated and interesting character.  She talks and laughs easily.  She likes to share stories, and she loves to put on lipstick before bed.  When I asked her why she did this, her response, "So that I am pretty in my dreams."  She is also a bit melodramatic and enjoys creating a scene where all eyes are on her.  The woman loves to faint unnecessarily and feign unconsciousness.  She did this many years ago and she did it again when we went to visit Nek Yus' house.  

Nek Neng donning the beautiful top my mom gave her for Eid

Nek Neng and her side of the family were already waiting for us when we arrived at her house.  As expected, there were a lot of relatives and new faces to be acquainted with.  There was also more lontong to be eaten.  

Us with our second and third cousins

My sisters and me with Risa, my mom's mom's sister's daughter's daughter -- in other words, Risa is Nek Neng's grand-daugther, and the couple in the center is Risa's parents.

More lontong with chicken and beef curry -- good, but not as good as Nek Embok's lontong!

Our relatives admired us all.  They stared at us and asked us lots of questions, and talked about us as if we weren't in the room.  Nothing bad was said, but we noticed Indonesians like to observe you and call out all your physical features in your presence as if you weren't there, if that makes any sense.  For example, Nek Neng kept commenting on the fact that I looked Japanese.  Then about 15 minutes later, she told the room that I looked Filipino.  Someone else then commented on the pointedness of my sister's noses, which in the eyes of Indonesians, is beautiful as many Indonesians have flat noses.  Then of course, everyone turns around to stare at us some more.  We all couldn't help but smile and nod, and tried our best to start a conversation in a different topic.  We also noticed that once you bring the camera out, there was no going back.  We must have taken 20 photos of the same thing.  I'm not at all complaining.  It was just an interesting observation, and something we noticed throughout our travels in Indonesia among our relatives and locals in general.  

We then left Nek Neng's place for Nek Upik's house.  Nek Upik is my mom's youngest aunt, and my mom's closest friend growing up.  Nek Upik just so happens to live across the street from Nek Neng.  Nek Upik is the exact opposite from Nek Neng.  Unlike Nek Neng, Nek Upik does not like to be the center of attention.  She is a woman of few words because she is shy and would rather watch from the sidelines than get involved in anything.  She is, however, very sweet and patient.  

Nek Upik with her son Denny, her daughter Suci (in the doorway), and Gigi (seated)

We were given a plate of timpan cake, coconut or durian-flavored rice cakes in banana leaves -- Yum!

My mom (center) with Suci (left) and Ibuk Ilin (right) in front of Nek Upik's house

We spent the least amount of time at Nek Upik's house as it was the smallest, not all of her children were there, and we were being rushed to Nek Yus' house.  So we went back to Nek Yus' house to celebrate Eid.  This was the fourth family's home we visited, and the day was far from over.  We were of course, offered more lontong and by this time I wasn't sure if I could eat anymore, I was so full.  

Back at Nek Yus' house, we visited with Om Zendri, my mom's cousin and one of our favorite second cousins, who unfortunately had a stroke not too long ago. He's only 32.  He lost all memory of who we were.  :(

Nopal (aka the happiest kid in the world) and a cousin we just met whose mother died two years ago from a heart attack

My sisters and me with Suci, Nek Upik's daughter.  The last time we saw her she was just 5 years old!

Once we bid Nek Yus farewell, we were driven to Ibuk Ilin's house in the city of Langsa, which was a 40-minute drive north of Kuala Simpang.  Ibuk Ilin is Nek Neng's eldest child and she had been asking us to visit her at her house for years.  We had never been because she was always at Nek Neng's house in K. Simpang, so this time we agreed.  Nek Neng, Nek Upik, Kek Usuf, Risa, Ibuk Ilin and her youngest son all came along for the ride as Ibuk Ilin's husband, Om Jol, drove the van.  It was a medium-size van, but with 10 people in one vehicle it was a tight squeeze.  We stopped for iced cold beverages and roasted corn on the cob along the way.  I chose not to have any corn because a) I still wasn't hungry, and b) corn on the cob never fails to get in between your teeth.  No thanks. 

Ibuk Ilin gnawing away on her spicy roasted corn on the cob, while my sisters and I enjoyed Sosro Teh Botol (iced tea).

One of the things I like about Indonesia -- there are plenty of road-side stalls to keep you going on both short & long road trips.  Noodles?  Satay?  Rice cakes?  Sure! Just pull over and park.

We also made a stop at my grandparents' and great-grandparents' graves before we continued on to Ibuk Ilin's house.  We were not in Indonesia when my grandfather and great-grandparents passed, but we were fortunate to be here when my grandmother passed.  She died on August 5, 2000 at the age of 56 to cancer.

We arrived at Ibuk Ilin's colorful home to a beautiful spread of assorted cookies, both butter and coconut, roasted salted peanuts, banana chips, kolang-kaling, or candied palm fruit that comes in an array of colors, and other goodies.  And this was just the appetizer.  We then dined in her kitchen on her version of lontong, which she presented to us on a Lazy Susan.  Regrettably, I forgot to capture this moment in photos. 

There were so many snacks!  I think I had one of each.

It is not uncommon to sit on the living room floor at an Indonesian's home. If your host is on the floor, you must be too. Otherwise, it's considered disrespectful.

My sisters and me with Ibuk Ilin, our hospitable host at her pretty home

My sisters and me with Ibuk Ilin's daughter, Risa, who was to marry on Sahara's birthday in September 2012.

After everyone's stomachs were full, we said our good-byes to Ibuk Ilin and her family and were driven back to Kuala Simpang, this time Om Deddy, Nek Neng's eldest son, at the wheel.  My mom had asked that he drop us off at her sister, Ibuk Ati's house.  My mom and I had seen Ibuk Ati and her family late the night before while Sahara and Gigi were fast asleep at the hotel.  It was an unplanned, brief visit but we promised we would see her again the next day.  Ibuk Ati's home would be the sixth house of the day.  And the night was still young.