How to Stay Safe and Sound During ‘Mudik’

The closing of Ramadhan holy month, Lebaran, is the perfect time to visit your hometown and catch up with relatives and loved ones that you haven’t seen in ages. This opportunity is such a rare luxury, especially for those with crazy working hours in the big cities. Make sure you’re putting this rare time off work and chance to travel back home to good use by staying healthy!

Going on long trips, be it in a personal car, public buses, boat rides or even airplanes, is something that has become somewhat a tradition for Indonesian people, especially those in Jakarta whose people are mostly migrants. With a lot of people still opting to drive their own car to travel back home, traffic jams are nothing unusual during this time of year. Even several days prior to Eid, the highways are jam-packed with cars. Having to deal with long hours stuck in traffic is going to do a number on your body sooner or later. That’s why it’s important to stay healthy during these trips so you can enjoy the Lebaran festivities with your family and loved ones with ease.

Before you go back to your hometown, make sure you and your family are in their tiptop shape. This is particularly important for those who are going to be driving for days if not tens of hours. For those who are prone to nausea and motion sickness, it’s a good idea to have motion sickness patches or pills with you at all times during the trip. Want something more natural? There are herbal products that can also help with the motion sickness as well as improving your immune system.

For those taking the land route, make sure you’re well rested! Take regular naps or even just rests at rest areas provided or even just at gas stations. Pushing yourself through your tiredness and sleepiness is never a good idea! Always be safe. Saving a few hours is never worth getting into horrible accidents for! Other than giving breaks to your eyes and body, stopping at rest stops can also give your family members chance for a break as well. They can get a chance to go to the toilet, get something to eat and drink or even just get their body a much needed stretch and rest even just for a while.

Getting regular naps is also important for the drivers to stay sane, especially with all the frustrating traffic jams, horrible road conditions, or even from being confined in small spaces for long hours. There have been a lot of accidents that happened due to the high stress levels of the drivers. It’s important to have at least 2 drivers in the car during a road trip so they can take turn driving.

You’re not the only one who has to be fit to ensure a safe and healthy road trip; your car also has to be in its prime. Get your car to workshop for a check up before you go to make sure everything is working properly. Make sure you’re not bringing too much stuff with you and your car is bearing the appropriate amount of load. A lot of accidents happened because of drivers pushing the limit of the car’s load capacity.

Expect the worse just so you can be prepared for everything that might happen. This way you’re ready to brace the harsh nature of long trips and you’ll arrive at your hometown safe and sound. Have a nice trip!


Originally published on Fimela.com. Translated and edited by Gold's Gym Indonesia.