Blue sky, eyes and jacket back in then 1995

Today I’ll be off to Lam No again. They say it’s the place where you can find Aceh people with blue eyes. Apparently, I didn’t met one at the last visit. Did tsunami sweep them away? Hopefully, no.

Visiting Lam No is like traveling with a time machine. Aha, Doraemon can use the drawer, and I can go with L-300 vehicle with all that ‘jedang-jdung-jedang-jedung’ dischotique music all the way there. Grutee is the main entrance. Check your weapon here, ok? Next, you will be flying to another level of time.

The moment you check your calendar, it is 2006. Still, it is in Lam No. Wake up just after the dawn, then you can still have a warm water shower and use your hair dryer. After that, you can wander around the city and have fun.

You walk around the market, which is the center of city. Have a breakfast with a plate of super tasty noodle (pssst, it is really different from the one you usually have in Banda Aceh) and sit in an old wooden chair. You drive along the Banda Aceh – Meulaboh road. This is a river city, water is everywhere you go. The bridge is still under construction, so you across the river by a raft and have a chance to feel the splashing water. Have lunch in a local restaurant and a chance to visit traditional houses of Aceh. You wander around the city and find a quiet environment with green hills and light grey sky in the background. It is 5 o’clock in the afternoon and you go home. False action, your hotel will be rather gloomy. Electricity will be available from 6 pm until the next sunrise. Yup, just wait.
Sunset. It is dark outside, but you have the light. People with no generator will wake up and begin their works. It is the other way of cycle of life here.
Charge your cell phone battery, but hey, there’s no access because of the limitation of signal. Then back to Grutee, your door to your world and check your weapon again. Minutes of nice conversation. Short messages come and go. Leaving a warm feeling until you feel exhausted. On the way back, you meet a local military movement and sense their power. Ah, you have nothing to do with that kind of political stuff. You go back to your room. Turn on the light, apply mosquito repellent on your skin and grab your sarong. Close your eyes.
You wake up before dawn and check out your calendar. It is 2006. Still have the light. You open the window. Inhale the air of Lam No and feel fresh and a little bit chilly. Sunrise. Stare at the scenery and think back yesterday. Hell no, this is not 2006!

If you happen to be in 1995, with no cell phone since there’s no signal, no internet connection, limited electricity, strict rules, limited access to another places, the domination of local power military, and slow environment, would you go to Grutee as your entrance to 2006?

Of course you will have to leave the blue eyes. Unless they’re going away with you.

Ah. I will go anywhere with you, rockstar. No need of a pair of blue eyes.