Adventuring Religiously!

“Keeeerrrkkk… keeerrrkkk…”
The bus made that funny sound again, as if a chicken was being strangled, but no, that sound came from the clutch that the bus driver tried to “play with” while he was also pushing the accelerator wholeheartedly for the last couple of minutes. “Oh no. Not again.” I murmured in depression as my paranoia came to live for the second time. Instead of moving forward, the bus moved backwards because it could not handle the road’s steepness.
I was on a road trip to Dieng, Central Java, Indonesia , a rural area in Indonesia famous for its beautiful idyllic highlands where everything you see is just… scenic. Air is so fresh and clean, weather is a bit chilly, and all you see are rice fields, plantations, hills, mountains, and valleys. You know, the usual mountain view. I signed up to camp in a valley, dreaming to wake up to a very beautiful lake view in front of me.
But along the way, there I was, stuck on the road in a bus that almost fell down the cliff… TWICE.
The first time our bus slid down, I was chanting “Our Father” for over 10 times, because I thought I was gonna die. We all had to hop off the bus first so it could go on again. We then hopped on to the bus again and 15 minutes after, it happened again! I then decided to hopped off the bus again and just walked. I begged the chaperone for that. Thank God, 30 minutes later, we got a new ride: a pick-up truck! In Indonesia, a pick-up truck is not only used to bring hard ware, but also animals, like ummm… goats. Out of desperation and exhaustion from 20-hour bus ride, we hopped on to that truck, stood on the trunk and had the most interesting and exhilarating truck ride of all time! Very roller coaster-ish as the road was bumpy and meandering, but we had so much fun!
But there was something else I remember specifically about that ride. Something special. As I enjoyed the wind blowing my face, the pity laughter we shared on our “interesting” travel experience, I took a few minutes to look back at the view we were leaving behind, and then there was… a painting came to life. The almost-perfectly-orange sky was laid out in front of me, casting its shadow onto this one hill with a few trees on its left side. The green plantations it turned slightly orange in that brief moment. A perfect mountain-view sunset. It was as if God was drawing it especially for me… and it was enough to close the day.