01 July 2016•Update: 02 July 2016
By Ainur Rohmah
TUBAN, Indonesia
More than 26 million Indonesians are expected to travel by road, sea and air over the weekend to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr holiday in their hometowns across the world’s most populous Muslim country.
The annual massive surge of travelers known as Mudik -- or pulang kampung (homecoming) -- sees Indonesians wrap up the holy month of fasting, Ramadan, by embarking on hours-long, grueling journeys to unite with their families.
This year’s Eid al-Fitr -- known locally as Lebaran -- is expected to fall next Wednesday, but the religious ministry will announce the holiday Monday depending on the sighting of the moon in accordance with the Islamic lunar calendar.
Ahmad Halim, a 51-year-old furniture salesman, told Anadolu Agency on Friday that he and his wife will travel more than eight hours by motorcycle from Tuban regency in East Java province to visit his in-laws in Boyolali in Central Java province.
They planned on departing after dawn at around 4 a.m. (2100GMT Thursday), in hopes of arriving in time for the fast-breaking iftar meal before 6 p.m.
"We have to take frequent breaks in the middle of the journey. Sometimes in mosques and rest areas," he said, adding that he and his wife had decided on traveling by motorcycle as it was more flexible and less costly.
His wife, Wardah, underlined that a motorcycle was also convenient “so that we can buy more gifts for our parents there."
The ministry of transportation predicts that as many as 5.6 million of the 26 million people expected to embark on Mudik will prefer motorcycles this year.
The government has undertaken various measures for the safety and convenience of travelers, including securing roadways and arranging a number of free Mudik programs for those with limited resources.
President Joko Widodo announced Friday that the government was ready for this year’s Mudik season.
"Based off the reports that I have received, everything is ready," kompas.com quoted him as saying as he wished citizens a joyous holiday.
Junnik, a construction worker who like many Indonesians uses one name, said he had returned from Malaysia after struggling for months to find affordable tickets to travel to his hometown in Sepeken Island, north of easternmost Java.
Upon arriving at a port in Java, the 36-year-old ran out of money and could not buy a ticket for a ferry ride that would carry him to his hometown in 12-14 hours.
He was, however, able to benefit from the government’s free Mudik program -- even though he had to jostle with hundreds of other passengers on board.
"Thank God, finally I got the ticket to go home. My wife is already waiting in Sepeken port," kompas.com quoted him as saying.
Latifah Fitrianti, a 28-year-old government employee, told Anadolu Agency that she had to spend her monthly salary on airplane tickets to travel from Jakarta to Pasuruan in East Java province.
She said that although tickets would become more expensive as Eid approaches, she nonetheless bought them “because this day [lebaran] is a victory day for everyone."
Imas Permasi, a 28-year-old teacher in the Central Javan port city of Sarang said she would take a 13-hour bus ride to celebrate the holiday at her grandmother's house in another province for the first time.
She told Anadolu Agency that even though the trip would be tiring, "my grandmother is sick, so I and all my family members will gather at her home."
More than 150,000 police officers will be deployed across the archipelago in coming days to provide security during Mudik.
