19. BOROBODUR REVISITED

Driving from Jakarta into the Muslim heartland of Central Java allowed me a peek into a part of Indonesia many do not see.
Indonesia in general has been off the traveler's radar for a while now.

We drove with a slip of a dog, my Indonesian friend's tiny terrier, into rural hamlets and provincial towns. The little fella was a big attraction everywhere we went but nobody said anything negative about us walking a dog around, not even in the motels where we smuggled him into the room but he gave the game away each time by barking, but we were not evicted. The people everywhere are so damn polite and easy going.

Life in rural Indonesia is simple and quiet. At least they have electricity and running water, several homes we went into had wells within its compounds. It was de je vu for me, going back in time to a period where I spent 20 years in Malaysia, surrounded by nature, communing with fruit trees, bamboo groves, creeks, birds, chickens, ducks, cows. Children ran around playing simple games - it was an age of innocence.

We ate at roadside warungs, simple and same fare throughout. In each district, the same food had some variations. I survived the diet. Flies shared the food. I was'nt sure about the water and ice I was drinking. The vendors used their fingers to pick up my selection, I figured if my friend and her driver can eat this all their lives and are still OK, I guess my stomach can take it as well.

The Dieng Plateau was 2000+ m above sea level so was chilly in the night but what a spectacular sunrise and sunset. The plateau offered a lake thick with minerals as well as a bubbling thermal hot spring pungent with sulphur. Throughout the long ride, we were surrounded by volcanoes, they look deceptively beautiful, with fluffy white clouds dancing around it.

The land is fertile volcanic soil and grows lovely cash crops and tobacco which have made tycoons out of the Indonesian Chinese. The personal wealth of the Chinese is legendary. They live in large palatial homes with their army of servants and cars. Singapore has been the beneficiary of their material success and many have PR status. When they became targets of fanatical marauders, many sort refuge in Singapore. The rich and famous live in homes no better then prisons, surrounded by very high walls and the latest security systems. When I retired for the night, I was enclosed by doors and gates which lock quickly without having to fumble with locks or chains which in the mornings, I opened with keys or the servants unlocked from the outside. Many homes keep handguns. Their army of guard dogs were those big black fearsome ones with killer instincts.

The Muslim youths in the rural communities spend their leisure time sitting around smoking, chatting, perhaps dreaming of a move to and a job in the cities. There's a large number of them, they look bored, listless, restless - these are fertile recruiting grounds for political Islam. These youths have nothing to do after a day in the fields, there's no outlet for creative expression, no movies, no clubs, no dating - its a lot of pent up emotions, mostly anger, frustration and envy. There's lots more of them in the more remote areas.

It was nice to be back in Yogjakarta and especially Borobodur for a midnight Wiesak (Vesak) candlelight and moonlight procession. This year's gathering was a marketing coup for the country's new President who came to grace the occasion, together with a bunch of Tibetan monks and Muslim clerics who got in on the act. If a bomb had gone off under that marquee, I would have been another statistic.

The Indonesians I met during the long drives are peaceful and friendly and very much family oriented. The fact that they welcomed our dog into their midst was special.

Like the Thais, the Indonesians do not toot their vehicle horns unnecessarily, making the long overland drive pleasant.

Prambanan Temple, ancient Hindu monument in the largest Muslim nation.
 
Warung dining, with our dog, in a Muslim stall. I ate at such warungs so often during the long drive, there were times I prayed I don't pick up an amoeba. Reminded me of days gone by when such sarabat stalls were common in Singapore.

Blast from the past! Like I've travelled back in time in some Toyota Time Capsule, this roadside warung had Gen. Soekarno as poster boy.

May '05