Ojek!

I want to share a small story i got in bandung. It happened when i was on my way to a cafe near ITB. I ordered an online motorcycle ride, and the driver who came was an older man, almost at retirement age. But he was still working. Not because he wanted to, but because he had to. In this economy, surviving is already a challenge.

At first, we just talked casually. I asked him what people from outside usually look for when they come to bandung. He answered simply. Bandung is just like this, he said. People come for the cool weather, high places, or just to walk around. Then we talked about food. I told him i had just tried mie kocok. He smiled and said it made sense. Mie kocok is expensive because it uses cow skin, which is hard to get and costs a lot.

That was when i found out that he used to sell mie kocok himself. Before the pandemic, his business was doing well. He had many customers, and life was quite comfortable. But after COVID, everything changed. Rent became expensive, competition grew, and his income was no longer balanced with his expenses. Slowly, the business failed. So he decided to stop and work as an online motorcycle driver instead.

While riding, i also complained about bandung’s roads. I said they were confusing, with many one-way streets and strange traffic lights. He laughed and said the roads are not difficult, we are just not familiar with them. Then he asked for my permission to take a shortcut, not following the map. He explained it politely. He said many passengers feel scared when drivers go outside the map. I understood that. As a passenger, feeling afraid is normal. But i noticed how respectful he was, even when he was trying to help me arrive faster.

On the way, he showed me an old factory building that is now used as a cafe and a nightlife place. From the outside, it looks empty. But inside, it is very different. He said things like this are now normal in the city. I stayed quiet. It made me think about how many things around us look normal, but actually hide complicated stories behind them.

The ride was not long, but after i got off, i kept thinking about him. About a life that was once stable, then fell apart, and had to start again in a different way. About how we usually see online drivers only as a service, not as people with long histories and past lives.

This story is not big. It does not have a clear ending. But maybe life is like that. Sometimes, the most meaningful moments come from simple conversations on a motorcycle, in a city we are only visiting. And maybe, from moments like this, we learn to see people more kindly.