The Perfectly Imperfect Journey

“I am no longer afraid of becoming lost, because the journey back always reveals something new”
Billy Joel

Sometimes, we take time off from our job and plan a long holiday journey. How many of it ended in a disaster? I try my best to avoid one. However, when a disastrous holiday happens, it is always nice to have something good coming out of it.

It started with, "I missed the train!".
I was about to go back to my village in Gobang-Lebak when I got to the station 5 minutes late. The train had left at 3.45 and apparently, there is only one train available everyday so I was officially stuck there for another day.
It was Syawal, a good Islamic month for pilgrimage journey to the tomb of Banten Monarch. I was never been in one so I decided to visit it during my 3 days holiday. I took the train and arrived at Karangantu station at 12. Karangantu is taken from the words 'karang' (corals) and 'hantu' (ghost). The name piqued my interest, however nobody knows why it is named that way.
I took 'angkot', a public car. After 15 minutes, I stepped on to what is left of The 'Kasultanan Banten'. Standing in front of me, a beautiful white coloured Masjid Agung Banten, the symbol of Demak Kingdom. It was built by the first Sultan, Maulana Hasanudin. What's interesting, the shape of the tower is similar to Chinese Pagoda. Later on, I found out that it was designed by a Chinese man, Tjek Ban Tjut.
The masjid was huge. It took 1 1/2 hour to walk it all. Despite of crowd of thousands people, there was these calmness that was hard to describe, a spiritual calm of a sacred place.
I continued my walk and went to the museum where I met Mr. Bangkong, who had worked there for 10 years. We had a knowledge-opening chat about Banten Lama and was so into it when I realized that I almost late. At 3.30, I said good bye, ran as fast as I could, and caught the 'angkot' to go back to the station but it was too late.
Fortunately, Mr. Bangkong offered me a ride to Serang, a city nearby, to find a place to stay. It was so nice of him, he also took me to the other historical sites that quite far. The Surosoan - Spellwijk Castle, the first Avalokitesvara Vihara, and The Kaibon Palace are the places that I would missed if I didn't stay. The ride was so fun that missing the train weren't even a bother. We ended the journey with a nice dinner at the street food stall, eating Empal Gepuk', a specialty from Banten Lama.
I guess, Billy Joel was right. The journey back did reveal something new.