Drone footage numbers of vehicle seen at Fly Over Kelok 9 in Lima puluh kota district, West Sumatra, Indonesia, on April 25, 2023.

For you who are working in Indonesia or working with Indonesian people, you might have heard the term Mudik. Yes, you will hear it a lot especially when Ramadan season has begun. According to several sources, the term mudik refers to the exodus of Indonesian workers from big cities back to their hometown, as an annual tradition ahead of Idul Fitri or Lebaran.

This year, Lebaran will starts from 22-25 of April 2023 and has marked as the national holiday. Lebaran is the peak of Ramadan that marks the end of holy fasting month, usually celebrated at people’s hometown. Usually in a week up to Lebaran people has started to mudik, that is why you will see big cities such as Jakarta become more-or-less deserted during those days.

The peak of mudik usually occurs around 3 or 4 days prior of the day is always accompanied by the high fare of transportation tickets (tickets are always sold out due to the sudden jump of passengers) and severe traffic jams. In this particular situation the government usually also provides additional transportation services.

This tradition is not only for the Muslim community but also people adhering to other religions. They use this public holiday to visit their parents and relatives as this has become a traditional annual celebration for all Indonesian people.