I feel so lucky to have parents that has different hometown hahaha... So, We can "mudik" to each hometown every year. Mudik, or Pulang Kampung, is an Indonesian term for the activity where migrants or migrant workers return to their hometown or village during or before major holidays, especially Lebaran (Eid al-Fitr). Although the mudik homecoming travel before Lebaran takes place in most Indonesian urban centers, the highlight is on the nation's largest urban agglomeration; Greater Jakarta, as millions of Jakartans exit the city by various means of transportation, overwhelming train stations and airports and also clogging highways, especially the Trans-Java toll road and Java's Northern Coast Road.

The motivation of this homecoming tradition is of course to visit one's family, especially parents. However, people might seek to come to their hometown during this period to attend a rare opportunity: a gathering of members of the extended family, the seldomly seen relatives that are normally scattered in other cities, other provinces or even overseas.

This year we go to Lahat, South Sumatera.

South Sumatra is a province of Indonesia.  It is located in the southern part of Sumatra Island, east of the Bukit Barisan Mountains.

So many place that you can visit here such as,

1. Musi River 

The river roughly flows from south-west to north-east, from Barisan Mountains range that formed the backbone of Sumatra, in Kepahiang, Bengkulu, to the Bangka Strait that formed the extension of South China Sea. It is about 750 kilometers long, and drains most of South Sumatra province. After flowing through Palembang, the provincial capital, it joins with the several other rivers, including the Banyuasin River, to form a delta near the city of Sungsang. The river, dredged to a depth of about 6.5 meters, is navigable by large ships as far as Palembang, which is the site of major port facilities used primarily for the export of petroleum, rubber and palm-oil. This river system, especially around the city of Palembang, was the heart of eponymous 7th to 13th century Srivijayan empire. 

 2. Ampera Bridge

Ampera Bridge is a Vertical-lift bridge in the city of Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia, which is the landmark of the city. It connects Seberang Ulu and Seberang Ilir, two regions of Palembang. It can no longer be opened to allow ships to pass. The bridge was planned during the era of Indonesia's first president, who wanted a bridge that could open and be a match for London's Tower Bridge.

3. Kemaro Island

Kemaro Island is one of most popular destinations in South Sumatera. This island is located in a smaal delta of Musi River, about 6km downstream of Ampera Bridge. Kemaro Island is lies in between the industrial areas of Sriwijaya Fertilizer Plant and Pertamina Oil Refinery in Plaju and Gerong River. It precisely located for about 40km from Palembang.

When visiting Kemaro Island, there will be a Chinese Vihara or Klenteng with 9 stairs, typically Chinese building in the middle of the island. This Hok Tjiang Rio temple was build since 2006 and becomes the signature icon in this island. Moreover,  on the island there is a Buddha temple that oftenly visited by Buddhists follower to pray or to visit the graves. This island becomes more crowded during Chinese festivals like Cap Go Meh or Imlek New Year. In front of Klenteng, there is grave yard of Prince Tan Bun An from Chinese and Princess Siti Fatimah of Sriwijaya. By their love story, this island is made up and popular to be Pulau Jodoh or Mate Island.

4. Mount Dempo

As the highest stratovolcano mountain in South Sumatera, Mount Dempo has rises above Pasumah Plain near to Pagar Alam. This mountain is close to Bengkulu province and it has seven craters around the summit. When visiting the mountain, there will be lake that founded at northwest end for about 400 m wide.  The latest activity from the mountain is happened in 2009, when it being small to moderate explosive that produced ash fall near the volcano.

Located right on the border between the provinces of South Sumatra and Bengkulu on Sumatra’s west coast, Mount Dempo lies in  Pagaralam, and it entirely surrounded by hills and mountain ridges. It takes some 7-hours driving to reach Pagaralam from Palembang, and then another 15 kilometers from the center of Pagaralam to Mount Dempo. The trip will significantly amazing, since you will be presented with fantastic scenery of cliffs and valleys accompanied by fresh, unpolluted air.