Do people use the word rendezvous any more? I rarely hear the word being used these days. Has it become passé like many other words that I grow up with?
But I like the word. It has a nice sound and nuance. It suggests a planned encounter – with a whiff of anticipated excitement.
Anyway that’s what I had last week – a planned encounter with my relatives. Yes. A rendezvous at Pekanbaru!
Our nephew Diqy got married and the event brought about the reunion. We came all the the way from Bintaro, Bumi Serpong Damai, Dumai, Singapore as well as from the various nooks and corners of Indonesia. A bit of an exaggeration here. But they do come from the various nooks and corners of Sumbar! We came to celebrate the marriage.
Thanks Diqy for getting married. You provide us with an excuse to roam around Pekanbaru. This comfortable town located on the bank of Sungai Siak provide us with enough attractions.
We went to Pasar Bawah and we saw fish, prawns and squids – the dried and salted kind of course. Could we resist and not buy? Of course not. I bought some anchovies and sepat. “Fry these sepat with green chillies. Add enough onions with a brief squeeze of lemon juice and you will never regret buying them.” So went the sales pitch. And I happily obliged.
3 kilos of dried fish went into my luggage. Horrors! Would my luggage reek of salted fish? So out it went into another bag.
Ketan with durian is another speciality of Pekanbaru. We packed into two cars and head for the durian stalls. I think about two hours had passed before we left for our hotel. We ate and we told stories. The amusing tales that we shared helped to strengthen the bond. Katan jo duyan never tasted so good!
Somehow we knew that we would like to meet up again. “How about meeting up in Jogja?” said Edi, my younger sibling. There was a chorus of agreement. We know we’ll meet again.
One thought on “Rendezvous at Pekanbaru ~ 31 May 2014”
Darwin Chalidi
Horeee I am in the story