It was our first time meeting new buddies because Irca and Beauty will be leaving for the SEATeach Program in the Philippines. We met Yaya, David, and Ursula waiting patiently at the Wisma Tamu while we were preparing for a tour of the city. David and Yaya are UNNES students and good High School friends; while Ursula is a Chinese law student who is in another International Program. My friends at SMP Negeri 13 told me to visit Simpang Lima, so I told them if we can visit the place first.

 

Simpang Lima literally means a thousand doors. Well, that’s a LOT of doors! I can’t just imagine how the caretakers close the doors every night. It must’ve been a pain at the back. But seriously, walking through the building centuries back gives me the creeps. It was like in a horror movie where spooky ghosts would suddenly appear. Yaya and David said that there was really a ghost caught on camera in that place and they even showed me the clip. Oh great! I was not prepared for this. I was hoping that the ghosts were more scared than me. But, what really makes the trip extra fun was that David was so enthusiastic about sharing his knowledge about Simpang Lima’s history. The building was built as a headquarter of the Dutch when they colonized Indonesia. The reason why there were a thousand doors is for the air to come in. Very witty, huh!