Cirebon, West Java – His face blackened by smoke and dust, and sweat streaming into his eyes, Sugeng took a break by the roadside after clocking 100 kilometers, halfway to Jakarta from Cirebon.
"I'm really tired. I'm taking a rest," he told The Jakarta Post while seated on a food vendor's bench and stretching his feet, shortly before the Idul Fitri holidays.
Many motorcyclists, including employees of the Post who took part in the annual exodus, suffered from cramped legs.
Six hours on a motorcycle blurs the vision and diminishes one's ability to control the vehicle and concentrate on traffic. It also leaves the hips feeling extremely sore.
Noxious exhaust fumes emanating from thousands of vehicles make it a struggle just to breathe. There was a family of four on one motorcycle, the mother trying to soothe her weary children by giving them water bought from one of the numerous food sellers.
Glazed expressions, a sign of heavy fatigue, were a common sight among the motorcyclists resting by the roadside.
Nearby, hundreds of motorcycles were lined up at a gas station. The four-lane road in the town of Patrol, near Subang, was inundated with thousands of buses, cars and motorcycles.
Sugeng was one of 2.5 million Indonesians who made the homecoming journey by motorcycle.
"I only spent Rp 40,000 (US$4) to go to Cirebon. It's more efficient than taking an economy-class bus that costs about Rp 100,000 (US$10) for two," said Sugeng, who works in a cargo company in Jakarta.
Compared to taking a bus or train or airplane, going home by motorcycle was the cheapest option the 26-year-old had to reunite with his family in Gamel village, Cirebon.
Motorcycles have increasingly become a favorite mode of transportation for home-bound travelers over the last five years. However, motorcycling has its pitfalls.
More than 1,200 motorcycles have been involved in accidents, according to police, in which 550 home-bound motorcyclists died so far. Last year, 789 people died in transportation-related accidents during the Idul Fitri holidays, most of them motorcyclists.
In spite of the risk, Sugeng said he would keep riding his motorcycle home every Idul Fitri, just as he had done in the last five years, because of its many advantages.
"I can rest wherever I want when I get tired, and I can visit my relatives back in the village, which cuts public transportation costs," said Sugeng, who was accompanied by his girlfriend. "The truth is, I'm scared of riding home by motorcycle," he said.
"I can get overly exhausted or lost my concentration. All these could lead to accidents, but can be overcome by taking more care in riding and having a good rest." (pmf)