Just before the year closes, I decided to try my luck and join one of Dari Halte ke Halte‘s community events. I say “try my luck,” because participation is decided through a cute little competition. If you don’t know DHKH, it is a little community that encourages their followers to explore cities in Indonesia using the public transport and find cool hidden gems while they’re at it. Sometimes they would collaborate with brands and gather their audience to do fun activities together. Last weekend I was lucky enough to join their treasure-hunt-type event (called PACU TUKU, literally means “race Tuku” in Indonesian) in collaboration with TUKU and CASIO—and it was hella fun! Let me tell you all about it!
Just before the year closes, I decided to try my luck and join one of Dari Halte ke Halte‘s community events. I say “try my luck,” because participation is decided through a cute little competition. If you don’t know DHKH, it is a little community that encourages their followers to explore cities in Indonesia using the public transport and find cool hidden gems while they’re at it. Sometimes they would collaborate with brands and gather their audience to do fun activities together. Last weekend I was lucky enough to join their treasure-hunt-type event (called PACU TUKU, literally means “race Tuku” in Indonesian) in collaboration with TUKU and CASIO—and it was hella fun! Let me tell you all about it!
📷 Most of the photos are taken by M. Reza Fauzi and Aditya Rassendrya
Strap on Your Watch, Mates!
We met up pretty early at TUKU Jakarta Design Center, which is a place I didn’t even know existed (lol). I thought it was pretty far away, but apparently, it was actually a stone’s-throw away from Palmerah Station—and so with the Commuter Line I went. I hadn’t boarded this train in ages, and it brought back old memories from my college days a little bit—complete with the experience of being cramped inside a sea of people. As soon as I arrived, I met Mas Rio from DHKH and was introduced to some of the other participants who had arrived, such as Sinta, Layli, Dita and Tika. They were all so warm and welcoming, and we hit it off straight away. Off to a good start!
Once the crowd starts to grow bigger, we were ushered outside to gather and be briefed about the event. In reality, we were told the event would start in an hour, but that got us plenty of time to get to know each other and exchange the stories we submitted to join the event. Mas Bowo, the other half of DHKH, went around with pieces of paper that would divide us into 5 groups of 3. My group was called ‘G-Shock’, with members Marni and Yandri, and mentor Risma.
We met up pretty early at TUKU Jakarta Design Center, which is a place I didn’t even know existed (lol). I thought it was pretty far away, but apparently, it was actually a stone’s-throw away from Palmerah Station—and so with the Commuter Line I went. I hadn’t boarded this train in ages, and it brought back old memories from my college days a little bit—complete with the experience of being cramped inside a sea of people. As soon as I arrived, I met Mas Rio from DHKH and was introduced to some of the other participants who had arrived, such as Sinta, Layli, Dita and Tika. They were all so warm and welcoming, and we hit it off straight away. Off to a good start!
Once the crowd starts to grow bigger, we were ushered outside to gather and be briefed about the event. In reality, we were told the event would start in an hour, but that got us plenty of time to get to know each other and exchange the stories we submitted to join the event. Mas Bowo, the other half of DHKH, went around with pieces of paper that would divide us into 5 groups of 3. My group was called ‘G-Shock’, with members Marni and Yandri, and mentor Risma.
Since the event was in collaboration with brands, before we could begin the race, we were equipped with some branded items. First of all, there is the event-special tote bag by TUKU, CASIO and DHKH. You can see Tika and Farah showing it off above. It’s of super high quality, really comfy to wear and with outer pockets on the front and back too! I could even fit my own tote bag inside that bag (lol). And then, to get around on buses, we were given PACU TUKU special e-money with the cutest design.
Meanwhile, CASIO also let us borrow their F-19W-1DG watches to be used during the event. We were taught how to use their built-in stopwatch, so that we could time our journeys throughout the race. It also has an LED setting that would be useful later on. It’s super handy and easy to use too. We were also given cute little charms in collaboration with TUKU to adorn our watches. And off we went!
Since the event was in collaboration with brands, before we could begin the race, we were equipped with some branded items. First of all, there is the event-special tote bag by TUKU, CASIO and DHKH. You can see Tika and Farah showing it off above. It’s of super high quality, really comfy to wear and with outer pockets on the front and back too! I could even fit my own tote bag inside that bag (lol). And then, to get around on buses, we were given PACU TUKU special e-money with the cutest design.
Meanwhile, CASIO also let us borrow their F-19W-1DG watches to be used during the event. We were taught how to use their built-in stopwatch, so that we could time our journeys throughout the race. It also has an LED setting that would be useful later on. It’s super handy and easy to use too. We were also given cute little charms in collaboration with TUKU to adorn our watches. And off we went!
1st Post: Play with Rainbows
Our first destination was Museum Macan. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go to, but just never have. Thankfully, Yandri has been there a couple times and knew exactly how to get there by bus. We followed him to board the T11 bus that would take us straight to the museum. The bus waited for 10 minutes before its departure, which prolonged our journey time. Such is the life of public transport in Indonesia 🥲 As soon as we arrived, we were told that we were the 3rd group to arrive and were given the next tasks. Quickly, we entered the museum to find the exhibits where we could complete our tasks.
We flew through the museum, taking photos and videos of ourselves for the tasks—some of which you can see down below. It was very fun, although I wish I could see the exhibits a little longer and appreciate each work fully. Oh well, that’s not what this event is all about. Once we finished them all, we went back to the exit and found another team who just arrived. Hah! We weren’t so bad, after all. We submitted our photos and videos to the committee and got our next tasks, and off we went.
Our first destination was Museum Macan. It’s a place I’ve always wanted to go to, but just never have. Thankfully, Yandri has been there a couple times and knew exactly how to get there by bus. We followed him to board the T11 bus that would take us straight to the museum. The bus waited for 10 minutes before its departure, which prolonged our journey time. Such is the life of public transport in Indonesia 🥲 As soon as we arrived, we were told that we were the 3rd group to arrive and were given the next tasks. Quickly, we entered the museum to find the exhibits where we could complete our tasks.
We flew through the museum, taking photos and videos of ourselves for the tasks—some of which you can see down below. It was very fun, although I wish I could see the exhibits a little longer and appreciate each work fully. Oh well, that’s not what this event is all about. Once we finished them all, we went back to the exit and found another team who just arrived. Hah! We weren’t so bad, after all. We submitted our photos and videos to the committee and got our next tasks, and off we went.
2nd Post: Javanese Lunch
Just our luck that the next task would lead us to lunch. It was only 11AM, but I was starting to get lightheaded from the lack of breakfast earlier that morning. We were to find Waroeng Eddy, a Semarang-specialty restaurant, at Jl. Pesanggrahan. We took the JAK 30 minibus there and walked some parts of the way. When we arrived, we were given the task to order food, take photos of the food and enjoy it. You don’t have to tell me twice (lol). Looking back, I should’ve charged my phone while waiting for the food. The four of us ordered Nasi Langgi and Nasi Liwet, and dug in as soon as the food arrived. It was so good! By the time we finished and had to do the next tasks, I just realised that my phone battery was already below 20% tho…
Just our luck that the next task would lead us to lunch. It was only 11AM, but I was starting to get lightheaded from the lack of breakfast earlier that morning. We were to find Waroeng Eddy, a Semarang-specialty restaurant, at Jl. Pesanggrahan. We took the JAK 30 minibus there and walked some parts of the way. When we arrived, we were given the task to order food, take photos of the food and enjoy it. You don’t have to tell me twice (lol). Looking back, I should’ve charged my phone while waiting for the food. The four of us ordered Nasi Langgi and Nasi Liwet, and dug in as soon as the food arrived. It was so good! By the time we finished and had to do the next tasks, I just realised that my phone battery was already below 20% tho…
3rd Post: The Old Terminal
From Pesanggrahan, we were told to go to Blok M next. Now, if you’re not familiar with Jakarta’s geography…Pesanggrahan and Blok M are pretty far apart. We panicked and quickly tried to figure out how to get there, because none of us had ever taken the bus in this route before. Not going to lie, there was a lot of arguments going on as we tried to figure out the best course of action. Finally, we boarded the 1M bus that would take us straight to Blok M—no transit needed. A few stops later, it turns out team ‘KST’ was also boarding the same bus. We ended up joining ranks, as the last two teams on the race, and relaxed for a while…since the trip would take up a little over an hour.
When we got off the bus, we walked out hand-in-hand and just walked normally like this was a study tour, instead of a race 😂 what is competitive drive? As soon as we met up with Mas Rio and the other committee for our next tasks, though, we went back to being competitive. My phone battery was around 15% by this point. From Blok M, we were told (through a puzzle) to get to Kemang. We would have to take the 6N bus from here. And who did we find at the bus stop again? Of course, team ‘KST’! That settles it, we’ll all do this together (lol).
From Pesanggrahan, we were told to go to Blok M next. Now, if you’re not familiar with Jakarta’s geography…Pesanggrahan and Blok M are pretty far apart. We panicked and quickly tried to figure out how to get there, because none of us had ever taken the bus in this route before. Not going to lie, there was a lot of arguments going on as we tried to figure out the best course of action. Finally, we boarded the 1M bus that would take us straight to Blok M—no transit needed. A few stops later, it turns out team ‘KST’ was also boarding the same bus. We ended up joining ranks, as the last two teams on the race, and relaxed for a while…since the trip would take up a little over an hour.
When we got off the bus, we walked out hand-in-hand and just walked normally like this was a study tour, instead of a race 😂 what is competitive drive? As soon as we met up with Mas Rio and the other committee for our next tasks, though, we went back to being competitive. My phone battery was around 15% by this point. From Blok M, we were told (through a puzzle) to get to Kemang. We would have to take the 6N bus from here. And who did we find at the bus stop again? Of course, team ‘KST’! That settles it, we’ll all do this together (lol).
Finish Line: From TUKU to TUKU
Our last stop was TUKU Kemang, where we were given no task anymore, but just gathered with all the other teams. Team ‘G-Shock’ was actually the last one to arrive, but we did so holding hands with team ‘KST’ so it was all good. Honestly, what a fun day! We gathered with the other teams and exchanged stories with them, as we enjoyed refreshing drinks and yummy snacks from TUKU. Then there was the winner announcement. Team ‘CASIO’ won first place, while team ‘KEJER’ won second place. They won a bunch of awesome goods from Toserba TUKU, including recycled puff pouch, carabiner mug and keychains. Towards the end, we dreaded returning the CASIO watch we were wearing…but then we were told we could bring them home! OMG, I can’t believe it! I’ve been wearing it everyday ever since.
All in all, this was truly a fun experience. I didn’t expect it to be this much fun, since I tend to be pretty bad with new people. But everyone was so warm, friendly and—most of all—a lot of fun, that I felt comfortable straight away. Honestly, I decided to join this event, initially, to distract myself from the anniversary of my recently finished relationship…and it ended up being the best distraction of all. I couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear the entire day, even as my phone battery was hanging on for dear life. It was such an amazing environment and I definitely want to do it again sometime, when the opportunity arises. Thank you so much to everyone who joined, and especially to Mas Rio and Mas Bowo for organising such a lovely event! It taught me a lot of things about Jakarta’s public transport and gave me the opportunity to meet some new friends. Hope we’ll meet again!
Thank you so much for reading this far!
What community activity do you think I should join next?
Our last stop was TUKU Kemang, where we were given no task anymore, but just gathered with all the other teams. Team ‘G-Shock’ was actually the last one to arrive, but we did so holding hands with team ‘KST’ so it was all good. Honestly, what a fun day! We gathered with the other teams and exchanged stories with them, as we enjoyed refreshing drinks and yummy snacks from TUKU. Then there was the winner announcement. Team ‘CASIO’ won first place, while team ‘KEJER’ won second place. They won a bunch of awesome goods from Toserba TUKU, including recycled puff pouch, carabiner mug and keychains. Towards the end, we dreaded returning the CASIO watch we were wearing…but then we were told we could bring them home! OMG, I can’t believe it! I’ve been wearing it everyday ever since.
All in all, this was truly a fun experience. I didn’t expect it to be this much fun, since I tend to be pretty bad with new people. But everyone was so warm, friendly and—most of all—a lot of fun, that I felt comfortable straight away. Honestly, I decided to join this event, initially, to distract myself from the anniversary of my recently finished relationship…and it ended up being the best distraction of all. I couldn’t stop smiling from ear to ear the entire day, even as my phone battery was hanging on for dear life. It was such an amazing environment and I definitely want to do it again sometime, when the opportunity arises. Thank you so much to everyone who joined, and especially to Mas Rio and Mas Bowo for organising such a lovely event! It taught me a lot of things about Jakarta’s public transport and gave me the opportunity to meet some new friends. Hope we’ll meet again!
Thank you so much for reading this far!
What community activity do you think I should join next?