Going to Surabaya by economic train is an unforgettable moment. It is always be like that. Actually, it has been a long time for me to commute by train since I have got married. I found some different situations.

First, the ticket price has increased double than before. Now you can go to Surabaya with 100.000 IDR, while two years ago it was only 50.000 IDR. I think it makes sense.

Second, the train has had double track rail since last year. Therefore, the train has no more "crash" on the middle of the track. It makes the schedule for departure and arrival are more accurate. It is also more safety. Awesome!

"They were yelling aloud and sometime made me shocked. Moreover when I fell asleep"

Third, cleanliness is a must! Even the train is not as sophisticated as Hogwarts express, the cleaning service crew gave the best service. They clean every part in the train. They control every hour for swapping the floor, taking the garbage, cleaning the bathroom, and spraying air freshener in every corner. I think, they are the biggest part of the changes.

Last but not least, we can not find traditional merchants anymore. Traditional merchant was a person who moved around at the train. Their existences disturbed the passengers. They walked and offered their stuffs directly to passengers. They were yelling aloud and sometime made me shocked. Moreover when I fell asleep.

However, the situation is different nowadays. They have been extincted by the new rules. That is why, we can buy food and drink only at" restorka" (a train for food) or we can buy at the station's merchants. Like what I did at Lempuyangan, Yogyakarta.

After 5 hours on the track, I finally arrived at Lempuyangan. My eyes focused at the right corner of the station. There was a woman yelled about what she sold. Yes indeed, she sold gudeg! That's what I really wanted. I ran through the crowd as fast as I can just like a hero in Bollywood movie. The scene is a man run into his lover, LOL. Afterwards, I bought it only for 12.000 IDR. It was very cheap compared with the food which sold in the "restorka" (for about 35.000 IDR).

When traveling, we should eat their specialist food. Gudeg is the special culinary from Yogyakarta. It is made by traditional recipes. That is why the taste of gudeg was so delicious. It was presented by chicken, noodle and completed with sambal. Maknyus!

Gudeg at Lempuyangan

According to National Geographic Indonesia article, gudeg was begun at Mataram Kingdom era. They cut lot of jackfruits, coconuts and tangkil trees to build the kingdom. Therefore, they got a lot of material which can used for make a working class food.

One of process making gudeg was called hangudeg. Hangudeg was the process which the chef should blend all of the ingredients to become one. That is why the name of gudeg taken from this process. Hangudeg is become gudeg. Let's try it!