On July 17th, Ida Shaheera (Kak Ros) and I were assigned to go to Semarang, Indonesia for the meet and greet session with the fans. We boarded the plane with Asyiela Putri (Upin & Ipin) and her family early morning and reached Jogjakarta after a 2 1/2 - hour flight.
Once there, we took a bus to head to the event location at Semarang. The ride stretched for 3 hours, but along the way, we spotted a number of street vendors and shops selling Upin & Ipin products.

Welcome to Jogjakarta!

Look, balloons!
At Semarang, we head to Hotel Ciputra to check in before getting called down to the connecting Ciputra Mall where the event was held.
Until I saw it with my very own eyes, I never realised the massive influence Upin & Ipin have on the fans in Indonesia. The interior and exterior of the mall itself were decorated with posters and banners of Upin & Ipin. They blew up pictures of characters into mobiles and hung them from the ceiling. They even custom made light-up coconut trees to decorate the event floor.

The stage backdrop

Giant mobiles
Added to that were the growing number of fans that crowded toward the stage for a closer look. While the emcees got the event started, Asyiela, her family, Ida and I were whisked away, careful not to be seen, to the floor above where we were seated at the Excelso Cafe overlooking the hype just below.

The mascots greeting everyone

The fans

Asyiela (Upin & Ipin) getting ready
Together with Ida (Kak Ros)
Then, the event began. Upin and Ipin mascots were called out to dance and entertain before Asyiela and Ida did a voice-over of dialogues between Upin & Ipin and Kak Ros right from the cafe where no one could supposedly see. They were then brought down to the stage to surprise the fans with their attendance. Before ending the session, fans were allowed to snap photographs with Asyiela, Ida and the mascots.

During one of the many photo sessions
To conclude the day, we had dinner at the hotel with a few exclusive fans. We were all served a 3-course meal, which, in my and Ida's opinions, though delicious, was enough to last us through the week as we have never eaten that much before.

With some of the fans at the hotel
The next day, we all went for a trishaw ride to a nearby market to purchase food to bring back home. The ride was a cheap thrill; going against the busy traffic on a trishaw powered only by a human being was almost as nerve-wrecking as riding a roller coaster.
We then head straight back to the mall just in time for the event to start. We went through four more sessions that day.

Asyiela and Ida being interviewed
by local TV, Semara Xpose
Bidding farewell during the final session
It really was a refreshing experience to get up from behind the desk at the office and see Upin & Ipin through the fans' eyes. We were overwhelmed by the reception in Indonesia and certainly are proud.
To the fans in Semarang, thank you so much for having us! We had a great time and we hope you did, too. Given the chance, we would definitely come again.