Pulang Kampung - Back to Hometown

 What is 'Pulang kampung'? 

source; detik news

 You may translate this as 'back to hometown' but what is the big deal of 'pulang kampung'? As this post is posted online, we are in the month of Ramadhan or the sacred month for the Muslim, which is the biggest celebration of the religion of Islam. For a month, Muslim are doing a 30-days fasting which then will end after 30 days by celebration Idul Fitri or Eid al-Fitr Holiday. Idul Fitri is one of the most celebrated celebration in Indonesia, as Islam is one of the biggest religion in Indonesia, it is also one of the longest holiday! 

During Idul Fitri, it is very common for those who celebrate will go back to their original hometown or 'kampung' to celebrate it with their big family or relatives - like Christmas. However, most people will celebrate or pulang kampung for the period of 2-3 weeks! Some would even pulang kampung for a whole month! If you like to eat 'nasi padang', you should know that original Padang Restaurant would often close for a whole month during ramadhan month. 

So pulang kampung, though the literal meaning is quite simple which is going back to hometown, during this Ramadhan season it mean so much more! Usually people who wander to big cities to work would often pulang kampung by bringing new clothes, foods, or anything in the city that is not exist in kampung. This works as a souvenirs or gift to the family back home. 

During pulang kampung season like this, ticket are easily sold out and can be twice the price. Most people will buy their ticket (airplane, bus, train, travel) almost 2 weeks in advance to secure their seat. All road trip will usually also very packed, which is why some people will begin their pulang kampung journey about a week before Idul Fitri or 3-4 days before to avoid peak travel time. 

How about those who live in big city like Jakarta though? 🤔 You might know that Jakarta is very much well-known for its crazy traffic, but have you ever experience Jakarta with no traffic? Usually it will take about 45 minutes from Grand Indonesia mall to Monument National or Sudirman area during working days, but during ramadhan season? It will take less than 15 minutes! Yap, the road will be empty! As it turns out almost 75% of Jakarta citizen, are not originally from Jakarta! This is one of the rare moment where you can experience Jakarta with no traffic.