Visiting the Islamic Center and Mahakam River

The Islamic Center

Today is a busy day as Raysa join us in going to the Islamic Center, the 2nd largest mosque in Indonesia. Since it is a little bit farther away from our dorm, we decided to ride a grab car. Once we arrived, we were blown away on how huge the mosque is! It is my first time entering a mosque so I'm pretty excited to went inside. Before entering it, we need to remove our shoes first. At the entrance is a place where people go to wash their face, feet and hands. Raysa said that they always do it before they pray. At the main entrance is a huge drum that the "priest" hit when it is time to pray. She added that they required to pray at least five times a day: dawn, noon, mid-afternoon (around 3:00PM) dusk, and evening. This is why some of my friends in SMAN-10 leave early during my first meeting with them because they need to go and pray. Inside is the praying room, it is a huge and wide room that people go to and pray. Raysa told us that the men and women are separated while praying. The men pray the right right side while the women are on the other side.

I was speechless and fascinated about what is happening right now. The beautiful architecture and the rich culture made me want to sit down and appreciate everything. The mosque is currently empty, but they told us that this is fully packed during Eid al-Fitr. After visiting the Islamic center, we decide to go on a harbor to ride a boat in the Mahakam river.

The boat that we ride

I forgot the actual name of the boat, but it is the boat behind the one in the picture. When we entered the boat I met Kai and the Madagascar girl from the welcoming ceremony and Puyu, all of Enthel's friend. Regina and Nisa is also their in the boat. I asked Regina where Dinda is and she answered that she forgot to invite her. Nevertheless, it is a 2hr trip that we can sit and relax. It is 5PM that the boat started moving. Luckily there is no rain, unfortunately, it is cloudy to see the sunset from the boat. The cold wind gushing through out skin making me to chill and relax during the boat ride. There are a lot of good scenery that I was able to took a picture of. I notice some families living near the base of a mountain waving at us as we pass by. We also went under a huge bridge that we went to while we first arrived in Samarinda. During the nights, the wonderful lights from the Islamic center shine brightly in the night. It was amazing! I kind of wish staying in this boat for a little longer.