Thursday, 21Dec06

Highlights: almost got myself thrown out of the mall, Gods & Generals, my book

I went to Citos to develop some pics and go shopping with Lydia today. Some ladies outside the grocery store were showcasing model executive homes for sale. “How much does one of these homes cost?” I asked. “16 Milyar Rupiah.” ($1.76 Million U.S.) came the response. Huh,,, “are there a lot of Indonesians that can afford these homes?” I asked. “Oh yes!” Really? Not Chinese, Malay, Westerners,, but Indonesians who buy these homes. Oh sure! Lots! Really? Because last time I looked, most Indonesians are substantially poorer than their Chinese, Malay & Western counterparts, except Generals & government officials who served under Suharto. How do you explain all of these wealthy Indonesians who can afford to buy these places? “That’s private info, and we don’t ask that.” I thought it best to leave the conversation at that. Refrigeration in the room kicked in all of a sudden, as icy stares were honing in on me.

Aside from that, I met an Indonesian friend of a friend the other day. She owns 3 or 4 bars & restaurants, drives a Mercedes, parties 4 nights a week at all the hot spots, and recently bought my friend a $500 (Rp 5 Million) hp, because she didn’t like his old one. She roundly thumbed her nose at Hotel Cemara as a measly little 3-star rat trap where prostitutes probably hang out. Huh! Interesting opinion, considering USINDO, Fulbright, and several other NGOs host their staff there. I saw no prostitutes there, and according to Jakarta Undercover (Emka, 2006) & embassy staff, much of the prostitution in this city tends to happen at the fancier 4-5 star hotels. This is a poor country, where a small group of people have profited heavily through years of corruption at the expense of millions of countrymen. And this spoiled 30 year old general’s daughter acts like a snob towards poor Indonesians while throwing her money around? Pisses me off.

So I went home, frustrated & popped in a movie to take the edge off. Gods & Generals. Well, anything with Robert Duvall is probably good, right? Yeah. There’s nothing quite like 3 hours of American Civil War to get you out of a frustrated mood. (=

I did get through it, and then stayed up till 5am reading my new 527 page book (Indonesian Destinies). Interesting read, but told through a distinctively biased, non-Indonesian tone. Kind of how I feel lately actually.

Wednesday, 20Dec06

Highlights: Eli to Embassy, operation Christmas complete

I took Eli (my pembantu/maid) to the embassy today for an interview in the security office. Mostly just filling in her background check. I hope this gets her name on the list of employable persons after I leave, so that she can quickly get hired by future embassy staff, and hopefully get a good paycheck again.

This was her 1st time at the American embassy (= I treated her & Fairus to an American hamburger.

Aside from that, $26 got 4 different Christmas packages sent off to the states! (should be there in 7 days Maman, Papa, Talia & Uncle T!) (=
And I have closed the book on Operation Christmas! ha ha.

Next project,,, trip reports.

Tuesday, 19Dec06

Highlights: spin-off project

Well,,, as many good ideas multiply from the one before,,, I found a plan I like as a way of saying thanks, and “you are not forgotten” to all the families I have helped so far…

To the Bari family, Ena’s family, Kaden Ayu Henni’s family, Sutrisno’s family, and Tanwir’s family, (as well as Nina’s family) I printed all the photos I have of them and the work we did together on their homes in Bantul, or the little projects we did together (shopping sprees, return to college, visit to Aceh, and a photo journal of all our time together for Nina & her family).

I had no idea this “good idea” would materialize in the form of 800+ fotos… Let’s just say the project consumed my day. I saw no sun-light, except to venture to the store to print more photos.

Oh! Lest I forget, a funny thing happened in the cab. Earlier this year, Playboy magazine was a hotly contested political issue. Big taboo in a predominantly Muslim country, right? There was a highly controversial pornography bill associated with the political push to save Indonesia from the “corrupting” influences of western culture.
Another great example of Indonesian contradictions in action.

Many other magazines (FHM, Stuff, Maxim, etc.) can be sold here no problem, and often show more revealing pictures of women,,, but Playboy “clearly crossed the line.”

For the sake of research…
(so that I know what I’m talking about before I judge…)

This caught me by surprise... but this is tame, even by Maxim, FHM, Stuff magazine standards. centerfold?
this is about as "bad" as it gets here. i don't know what the fuss is about. I wouldn't call this pornography. Britney Spears dresses more provocatively than this in her videos, and Indonesians love her!

The only reason I bring this up is because Indonesian newspaper sellers in the middle of the street were hawking Playboy magazine. (=

I wanted to see for myself how tame the Indonesian version of Playboy is…
Sure enough- just like I thought. You see more revealing clothes in a Dallas bar or San Diego night club.

The porn bill,,, I haven’t heard too much about it since I’ve been here, but at last mention, kissing in public was considered “pornography”, as was wearing clothes that showed the mid-riff. Women outside of the house past 10pm without a male escort were considered “prostitutes” by default. Hmmm…
I digress- no need to get worked up about this one again.

Monday, 18Dec06

Highlights: prioritizing home projects

I’ve got a few home projects on the front burner. Topping the list is getting my Christmas presents sorted out & sent.

I can’t get into too much detail on that here without spoiling the surprise for mom, dad & my sis Natalia… but to complete the 4th part of this surprise required a trip to the store, a few multi-colored green-backs, and copious amounts of time.

As soon as I get this done & out the door, I can work in peace on my next trip report. Old man time waits for no-one, so I figure I’ll feed the dragon that’s closest to me.

Sunday, 17Dec06

Highlights: got caught up!

Despite the fact that I didn’t see the sun today, because I never quite made it out of the house,, as I planned to do hours ago- my day is a success! Because alas,, I got completely caught up on the blog!!! Woo-hoo!

Yes indeed, I am celebrating bymyself this eve,, because I can’t remember the last time I could make that assertion. Well- I am still working with a handicapped internet source, which doesn’t want to let me upload pics today,, but I’ll selectively ignore that for now.

Aside from that, I’m about to plug in an Indonesian movie, and then pick up my next book, Indonesian Destinies, by Theodore Friend (Harvard, 2003). Looks like an interesting effort to explain a lot of what I’m seeing in Indonesia today by looking at the last 60 years of history, up through 2003.

insert pic of Indonesian Destinies

Saturday, 16Dec06

Highlights: Hotel Flora internet, Inconvenient Truth

The internet at home is on the fritz again. =/ can a guy catch a break around here?
So I packed my lappie & hiked over to a ritzy hotel in Kemang, 10 minutes away in South Jakarta, where they have free wireless internet in their lobby. (=

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. I camped out there for 8 hours & made 3 new friends between the singer (from Surabaya) and waitresses (Jakarta).
I don’t know why anyone likes me these days, because it takes virtually nothing to get me going on a rant lately.

“Oh, you’re from Surabaya? Which part?”
“Well,,, I was born here in Jakarta, and have never set foot in Surabaya, but my parents are from there, so I’m East Javanese.”

I swear I don’t mean anything offensive or ugly by it,,, but that just doesn’t make sense to me.

I heard a great definition of “culture” when I was in Bandung last month:
“Culture is knowing how to act in your social environment.”

I love that definition. Simple, hard to argue with.
So if the singer I’m talking to is culturally or ‘ethnically’ East Javanese,,,, but everything she knows & has experienced has been here in Jakarta (on the opposite side of the island of Java)… how is she a cultural product of Surabaya again?
Surely parents don’t have a monopoly on cultural learning. Friends, neighbors, what you see at school, life outside the house has an effect too.

We had fun beating that subject up for a while & left with smiles. She said she wouldn’t forget me. Sadly, I believe her. I didn’t ask if the memory would be a positive one. I didn’t want to hear the answer. I don’t know why anyone likes me these days (=

I went home & popped in a video… Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth”. Huh! Well,,, I gotta say- it was well done. There are a lot of things to pull away from this documentary (all comments on his political aspirations aside). The impact for me is that the environmental history that he traces out & shows in a somewhat succinct 45 minute film,,, is believable.
When it comes to environmental studies, I believe Al Gore more than the environmental appointees that our current administration has. Put it that way.

Friday, 15Dec06

Highlights: fan, updating the website, Déjà vu

I’m getting tired of paying an exorbitant $200/month electric bill. I have no idea what is causing the electricity here to be so expensive, but the convenient excuse of our landlord is that A/C is the usual culprit which drives up electricity rates. Hmmm. I don’t think I use that much air conditioning,, but we can fix that problem. I went to the market & bought a $25 fan. How about no a/c now? If next month’s bill is anywhere near $200, I’m gonna be pissed.

The bigget chunk of my day fell atop the keys of my laptop,,, working to update the pics & prose of this website for you all (and myself). Gotta keep mom in the know! (=

Aside from that, it was fun playing with Fairus (3) a little bit at the house, while mom (Eli) worked. That kid has some serious energy! Whew!

Later, after the TNI-U.S. military exchange was over, I met Maj Behel & Reilley at Indonesia Plaza for an afternoon movie. Déjà vu, with Denzel Washington looked good (=

Personally, I enjoy Denzel Washington movies, and thought the movie part was well done. I can sympathize with Maj Doug Behel’s lackluster impression,,, being an anti-terrorism expert & looking at this stuff everyday… being under-impressed with Hollywood’s vision of sending our hero back through time to alter the course of a ‘mission from God’ or ‘destiny’ terrorist plot… orchestrated by one deranged man, of course, and managing to fall in love with & get the attractive girl in the end. Through experimental technology that Cambridge came up with & hadn’t fully tested yet.

There are worse ways to make 2 hours disappear (=

Jumping back on my rant of how Jakarta does not reflect reality in Indonesia, the movie theatre ($12 tickets), was hands down THE most luxurious I have ever watched a movie in. Fully reclining, brown leather lazy-boy seats complete with blanket and café service. It’s almost worth going back to take a picture.
Forget that the movie tikets are 6 times more expensive than those in Yogya, that most Indonesian families couldn’t afford to come here, and that I wouldn’t pay $12 to see most movies in America,,,

The other option was Eragon. I’ll get to it when it hits the cheap theatres.
It was fun hanging out & having dinner with Maj Behel, Reilley & their Indonesian guide from the Borobudur hotel.

Thursday, 14Dec06

Highlights: embassy, Maj Behel & TNI AL dinner, CJs

I dutifully made my trip back up to the embassy today and re-submitted all of my travel claims (9 trips worth). Hopefully this goes through… right format… all my T’s crossed,, dotted “I’s”, etc…

Finishing that up, I met Maj Behel across town to join him and a series of TNI Navy Colonels for dinner, as they were wrapping up some international training & idea sharing, similar to what we did in Bogor in September. It’s always good to meet a few U.S. Marines coming to Indonesia, and great to see Maj Behel again.

I enjoy meeting the Indonesian TNI officers as well, and demonstrating to them that there are U.S. Marines making an effort to learn their language and culture. It’s a token of respect and interest, but one that goes a long ways in bridging cultural gaps. All of the Indonesian officers were friendly and happy to welcome me to the dinner they sponsored.

Women in the military is always an interesting subject, and indeed, there are not many here in Indonesia. At tonight’s dinner,however, there were about 15 young ladies (mostly between 20-24 years old), who had either juuuuuust enlisted (4 months ago), or had been enlisted Corporals & Sergeants for 2-4 years now. All of them conspicuously single, attractive, evenly spaced at each table for light conversation, and all of them available for dragging somebody onto the dance floor for line dancing.

Women in today’s Indonesian armed forces, as far as I’ve seen, are limited to staff positions, and making sure social/ceremonial events run smoothly. I may be missing something- but it looked odd to me that such junior enlisted women would be invited/ordered to socialize at an event like this with such senior officers (Lt.Colonels & Colonels). You would never see that in the U.S.

I told a few of them that women in the U.S. Marines can become helicopter & jet pilots, mechanics, air traffic controllers, public affairs officers, logistics officers; the Captain of my last ship (USS Peleliu) was a woman Navy officer… They seemed shocked.
Eh,,, just one example of different provisions/expectations of women in America and Indonesia.

Indonesian military officers are also some of the most educated in Indonesia, especially the 40-50 year old Colonels & above. For all the attention, emotion & controversy that the Middle East conjures up, for example, it’s impressive how little many Indonesians know about it.
I am certainly no expert on Middle East history or politics myself, but I did know that there was a difference between Sunni and Shia Muslims. And I had read that there are significant non-Muslim communities in the Middle East (ie. half of Lebanon is Christian; Armenians are mostly Christian, etc), and that America has not always blindly defended Israel against all the Muslim countries in the neighborhood (U.S. Marines protecting Lebanon in Beirut 1983). This was news to many Colonels here.

And if this is new revelation to Indonesian colonels,,, there’s a better than average chance most Indonesians on the street don’t know this either.
These would be the same Indonesians who are fond of picking up banners & marching in the street, demonstrating about why everything wrong in the Middle East is America’s fault.

While I was on a roll of making cultural observations, and happened to be at the fancy Mulia hotel in South Jakarta, I went up to CJs, their up-scale bar/club to check-out the acclaimed night life in Jakarta.

After buying a $4 glass of water, it didn’t take long to notice a few trends.
First of all, CJs is a high-end, modern place with at least 4 plasma screen TVs, hard-wood floors, internally lit marble tables, a highly respectable liquor collection behind 2 bars, couches, and a big stage with a funky band playing. Cool place to hang out.

By 11 it was getting packed, and one detail about that was inescapable. 85% of the guys in there were mid 30s through mid 50s, Western/Chinese/Japanese, and looked well heeled. 99% of the girls in there were early-mid 20s & gorgeous, wearing high heels, mini skirts, sexy tops… and usually doing one of 3 things: playing with their cell phones, whispering with their friends, or walking around the room flirting from guy to guy.

I counted 9 Indonesian guys in the room at one point, and every single one of them had a uniform on (sweeping the floor, working behind the bar, or club security).

One 24 year old girl, studying to be a secretary in Bandung, came over to flirt. I shared my observation with her… she shrugged & responded, “this is where people come to meet”. 15 minutes later she was dancing & kissing on some German guy.

The thing I don’t like about this scene is,,, this doesn’t resemble 98% of Indonesia. This place, these people, the $12 drinks… you don’t see any of this outside of metropolis cities like Jakarta, because Indonesia is a poor country. And yet plenty of money is flowing freely from the tap amongst the elite here in the capital city.

My friends Troy, Brook & Lydia have met some party-hound Indonesian friends here in Jakarta,, and a good portion of them are sons & daughters of Indonesian generals who rose to power under the Suharto era. They pity the poor as they jump in their Beamers & rush off to the next party or grand opening.
It’s getting under my skin tonight. Time to go home.

I think this officially constitutes a rant,,, right? Sorry about that!

Wednesday, 13Dec06

Highlights: partial replay of Monday

I got an e-mail from Marine Corps finance that read something to the effect of:
“We regret to inform you that the travel voucher forms + Statement in Lieu of Receipt forms have changed slightly, and disbursing will no longer recognize or honor forms not in compliance. Thank-you & have a nice day.”

Uggghhhh! Are you kidding me? The new forms request the same material,,, just in a slightly different format. And instead of “see attached sheet” for the break-down in re-imbursable expenses, I have to fill in each and every item I am claiming as a re-imbursable expense in the tiny blocks of the formal travel claim (DD Form 1351-2).

Whew. Well, if you want to get paid anyways. Here we go! Another 8 hours or so of typing, printing, signing, scanning, saving, dragging & dropping onto my thumb drive, and preparing for another trek up to the embassy, tomorrow.

A creepy thing happened later this evening.
That stalker girl from a few months back has been hanging out in the street in front of the house,,, and tonight when I left to go check e-mail at an internet café, I ran into her.
This girl just doesn’t take a hint.

I am somewhat proud of myself for having never yelled at her, or uttered any of the ugly words that flew through my mind when I see her… especially after her attempts to track-down Nina and break us up. She also reportedly asked my maid for any un-washed clothes of mine while I was gone. (Eli fears she needed some possession of mine to bring to a dukun shaman/witch doctor & concoct a black-magic spell. “Guna guna” (black-magic) is taken seriously here in local Javanese beliefs). Anyways-

Considering that I can’t think of a positive thing to say to her or about her,, I kept quiet & simply walked past her. She chased after for about a km, screaming “you will come back to me someday!”,,, but she couldn’t keep up. And I figured I’d be best off not giving her any more ammo or excuses to think I’m the least bit interested in her (positively or negatively).
She creeps me out though.

Tuesday, 12Dec06

Highlights: embassy, computer, Brook is back

I think I came to life sometime around the noon hour, and immediately set about getting up to the embassy, to be assured of internet access that can reach all my bosses and the Marine Corps finance folks in Virginia.

Internet is hard down at the house, once again. =/ Did I mention that internet sucks here in Indonesia yet?

My ojek driver is funny. He took me up to the embassy (a 45minute trek through Jakarta traffic by scooter, which would have been an hour & a half by car) for $3. And then offered to sit there & wait for me to finish my business for the opportunity to get $3 more for the ride home. Ok! I told him I didn’t know how long I would be inside, so no worries if he wanted to go home.

I talked to the boss a while; to the boss’s boss a while; got all my travel claims & digital files sent off to all the right people in America… and emerged from the embassy around closing time, (6pm).

My ojek driver had juuuuust left at 5:50pm. (= When he found out later he had just missed me, he called me twice to apologize! (= Poor guy felt guilty.
That’s what I don’t understand about Indonesia… he sat around for 5 hours,,, missed me by 10 minutes, and “he” feels guilty?

I had another ojek within 30 seconds. Not halfway into the ride home though, the sky opened up with a furious downpour. Rainy season is finally here!
We pulled off to the side of the road to wait it out under a crowded ATM awning… then I figured I’d just grab dinner next door while I waited, and take a cab home. No worries!

My old roommate Brook is back for a few days before he heads up to Banda Aceh in his new position with the American Red Cross office there. I think he’s 2nd in command or something… A permanent job in Indonesia, which is something he really wanted- so I’m glad for him! (= good to see him again.

Update on the Aceh elections: by all preliminary counts, the popular former GAM rebel leader Irwandi Yusuf & M. Nazar won by a landslide 39%. There was almost no violence reported at the voting facilities, and so far, very few calls of voting fraud, intimidation, or election rigging. That’s great news for Aceh.

Jakarta Post 11Dec06

Monday, 11Dec06

Highlights: stayed at home, working on receipts

Efforts to work my travel vouchers through “the system” have been systematically thwarted for about 4 months now.
In an effort to get re-imbursed for about $9,000 of expenses to date, I am re-compiling all of my travel claims, assembling the litany of forms that need to be filled out, including receipts for every expense, printing, signing, scanning,,, so that I can take all the digital forms in one shot to the embassy tomorrow & send them in to Headquarters Marine Corps… so that finance & dispersing can look at them and decide whether they are going to pay me or not.

Getting all this paper-work sorted out was an 18 hour job today. I hit the sack about 4am Tuesday.
Today was the election in Aceh… Tanwir sent an sms & said everything happened peacefully and smoothly. Great! Official results will be announced in January, but we should get the exit polls tomorrow.

Lydia and her mom got home from their 2-week adventures through Manado & Bali, and by the sounds of it, had a fantastic time hanging out together (= Lydia’s mom is very cool. It was nice getting to see her again before she heads home to Alaska in the morning.

just one sample of a 9-part series... paperwork every receipt accounted for & detailed... taking international currency into account
and boiled down to one travel voucher

just a few more details tapped out on a single sheet of paper, to make it easy for the accountants in Virginia

Sunday, 10Dec06

Highlights: Banda Aceh & Tanwir’s family, home to Jakarta

I jumped on a morning flight to Banda Aceh, somewhat happy to put Medan behind me. I enjoy keeping in touch with friends I have met along my journeys, and want them to know I haven’t forgotten them after I left.

My main purpose for visiting Banda Aceh, aside from wanting to observe the city the day before their historic elections tomorrow, was to visit Tanwir and his family.

Tanwir was my driver when my USINDO friends (Dan, Marty) and I made our trip to Banda Aceh in early August.

24 years old, he got a job as a driver with Sampoerna Foundation, a spin-off from one of the largest tobacco companies in Indonesia. It’s a great deal, because jobs are hard enough to come by here. He just started college in October (he can afford it now), and his family and neighbors are slowly but surely recovering from the tsunami from 2 years ago.

I remember going to his wood barracks, semi-permanent tent city home on my last visit and meeting those neighbors and family, and I wanted to go back and see how they were doing. I brought a few gifts (snacks, t-shirts) from Bukit Tinggi and Medan.

Tanwir and his family were excited to see me again, and our first stop was his older sister’s house, where his mom & dad are living now. This house is a few kilometers away from Lhoknga, and was lucky to be relatively undamaged from the tsunami.

meeting Tanwir's dad

His dad is an imam (religious leader) at the mosque next door. It’s tough going, because it’s not a paid position. I’m not sure how he gets money, but most likely either through zakat (charity/alms) or through family. Very kind and humble man.

Then we went by Tanwir’s house & said hello to mom and the cousins & neighbors. (=
They are all doing well, and were happy to see me. Excited about the big elections coming up tomorrow.

Oh! So these elections… This marks the first time in Aceh’s history that the people of Aceh have been able to elect their own political leaders (governor of the province, mayor of the capital) for themselves, instead of leaders being appointed from far away Jakarta.
This is also a major milestone in the peace-agreement that was signed in August 2005, ending a 29 year civil war.

According to the Jakarta Post, there are 2.6 million registered voters in the province of 4 million. 99% of Acenese identify themselves as Muslims. Some candidates are running on a platform of expanding Sharia law and pushing for more rigid enforcement. (cutting off hands for stealing & public stoning for adultery, lashings for gambling or selling alchohol for example). There are 8 candidate pairs in the contest for governor, and if no-one gets a 25% majority, there will be a runn-off.

Jakarta Post...

This election is also unique, because 2 sets of GAM leaders (the Free-Aceh Movement rebel leaders who were in open conflict with the government until Aug05) are on the ticket. Many people are worried that if the wrong candidate wins, there will be violence in the streets, as has happened before in Indonesia (see 1998 fall of Suharto or 1999 East Timor vote history).

One thing I am very happy to see is the relative peace & calm here on the streets in Banda Aceh on the day before the elections. Many candidates are going out of their way to say they will accept the election outcome, no-matter who wins. There is a palpable sense that maintaining the peace is at the top of everybody’s priority list. The next biggest issues that Acehnese seem concerned about are economic recovery.
The religious issues that some are pushing for seem several steps removed from what is important to the Acehnese interviewed by the newspapers, and to Tanwir’s family,,, who mostly want jobs.

Tanwir's house with cousins, neighbors & mom
shy cousins when the camera is pulled out (=

gathering for a full family photo, Tanwir (center) and his family

The cement factory (near our surfing spot 5 months ago) is back up & running! Tanwir’s uncle has a job again, thanks to the French company that repaired the tsunami damage there.

Cement factory just outside of Banda Aceh

Before leaving, I left Tanwir and his family 500,000 Rp ($50) as a gift for the family, since I didn’t have time to take them shopping. I consider it my Christmas present to my Muslim friends in Banda Aceh. (=

On the way to the airport, we stopped by the Sampoerna Foundation training seminar (where Tanwir had to get back to work). The seminar involved training Aceh high-school teachers how to use a computer. They flew a Microsoft Corp. trainer in from Jakarta to teach basic computer skills to school teachers here.

They were happy to see an American drop in & say hello (= ha ha.
My flight home to Jakarta was scheduled to leave at 6pm.

at the airport with Tanwir & Darniati (both working with Sampoerna Foundation in Aceh)

It was close to 11pm by the time I walked through my front door, but I have to admit, after a little over 2 weeks on the road,,, it’s good to be home again! (=

Saturday, 9Dec06

Highlights: palm-oil & rubber plantation

Pak Fon and Ade met me at the hotel & took me 40km out of Medan to visit the staple business of northern Sumatra, plantations of palm-oil and rubber in Tebing Tinggi.

It’s probably not a stretch to say that plantations are the reason Medan has become such a large & busy city. It was interesting to drive out & visit a couple of them.
These burly looking palm trees produce clusters of seeds up top; just below the sprawl of palm leaves. There are a few types of these palm trees which have been engineered to produce the maximum amount of seeds, and grow shorter, to make the seeds easier to extract. Brilliant, right?

Next, the seeds are chopped off, loaded onto trucks and brought to Palm-oil factories, where they are boiled, separated from the unuseable part of the tree, and pressed into palm-oil used mainly for cooking.

Palm oil plantation trees the oil seeds grow at the leaf line, where the fronts protrude.
many tree species have been modified to maximize palm-oil seed production, and also tend to be shorter. These are some older, taller trees. i guess it's more difficult to hack off the palm seeds too

Palm oil seeds going in... freshly lopped off the palm trees
used up palm-oil waste going out

the factory where it all happens

Palm oil, used in most cooking here in Indonesia funny that it usually comes in plastic bags like this

Rubber, on the other hand, is harvested from the sap of rubber trees. The trees are sliced at an angle so that the resulting sap will ooze out, to be collected in the small cup attached below. Then all the sapp is brought to the factory, processed & shipped out to companies that make tires, shoes, ping-pong paddles and whatever else is made of rubber.

rubber tree plantation buckets are fastened to the trees under cuts designed to make the tree ooze out sap, which then is used to produce rubber. Car tires really do come from trees!

Spending ½ the day with Pak Fon was an interesting experience. He’s a nice guy, and a walking set of contradictions at the same time. He’s a Chinese businessman & a Muslim. Nothing far out of the ordinary there. Many Chinese assimilate to their new religious surroundings.
He’s on a strict beer diet. Eh,,, his doctor diagnosed him with exceptionally high blood cholesterol, and essentially ruled out all food with fat in it. That leaves beer & a few multi-vitamin pills. I have a few friends in the states on roughly the same diet (= Mostly Marines, just back from deployment. (never mind that beer is not allowed in Islam).
Ade, it turns out, is his 2nd wife. His young wife (30). He has 2 children by his older wife (40), whom he splits his time with. That’s funny to me, because the headlines of the newspapers these days are covered with the polygamy issue. President SBY is being pressured to make some tough public decisions about polygamy. Many are calling for him to officially ban the practice as some Muslim countries, such as Tunisia, have done. Tough call, since Islam permits up to 4 wives on the condition that the husband can treat them all equally. There’s the rub. Women, of course, aren’t allowed the same priveledge. The Indonesian Muslim TV evangelical equivalent of James Dobson or Jerry Falwell (Abdullah ‘Aa Gym’ Gymnastiar) set off this controvertial storm last week when it came out that even he took a 2nd wife in secret. His image as the ideal Muslim husband is rapidly deteriorating, as are his TV ratings apparently.

another scandal-launched introspection into a lawful Muslim practice which is losing support from most women. This time Aa Gym (the Indonesian version of Billy Graham) was caught taking a second wife in secret, thus dislodging his image as ideal Muslim husband, and souring his predominantly female TV audience

He’s charging me $50 for car rental & guide services, and we’re using Ade’s car. (He didn’t charge my boss anything for the same car & guide services weeks ago) And on top of that, after knowing me about 24 hours, he felt comfortable enough to ask for a $150 loan for a family emergency. Huh!

Like I said, a walking set of contradictions.

Pak Fon (right) and Ade (left) over lunch at a Padang restaurant during our trek through Medan

What got me started on this rant was having to rope him in after the 3rd hour of driving around, and say “Ok,,, I’ve seen enough trees.” “But there are more up the road!” “Do they all look like these here?” “Yeah…” “Then I don’t need to see any more. Let’s go home.”

I found a haven of internet access & spent the rest of my time in Medan updating the website here. Ah! This is literally the 2nd place in all of Sumatra that I have found with wireless internet access. (after my hotel in Palembang). What a pain!

Friday, 8Dec06

Highlights: museum, masjid, Pak Fon

Medan is a sprawling city,,, quite unlike the last few places I have visited (except maybe Palembang a little bit). One other feature I quickly noticed is the relative lack of unique cultural traits specific to this area.

My first stop in discovering what was unique to Medan was the museum. I have to laugh at Lonely Planet’s description of the city of Medan:

“Choked with traffic and overrun with ancient motorcycle becak belching foul fumes into the already heavily polluted air, you’d be well advised to bring a face mask- and a pair of earplugs. Like many Asian capitals, Medan is a city of contrasts: grandiose Dutch colonial buildings adorn affluent older suburbs while jerry-built lean-tos house the bulk of today’s population.
The city has few redeeming features or real sights of interest and most tourists wisely treat it strictly as an entry and exit point.” (pg. 435)

Haha,, well- it’s a biting critique, but hard to argue with. The museum did little to alter that image.

Masjid Raya al-Mashun, the main mosque, commissioned by one of the last Sultans of the Deli kingdom and built in 1906. My ojek driver thought it was hundreds of years old. Other locals guessed 200-300 years at least. Hmmm,,, i guess they didn't read the plaque right outside...

a helpful definition of "Magic" a recipe of magic spells & ceremonies
and tools of the trade.
every Dukun is sure to have his own specialized instrumentation. Don't laugh, many Indonesians around the archepelago take this stuff very seriously! they just do. faith begins where the sidewalk of understandable explanations end.

spiritual? ritual? traditional? masks of the Batak (north Sumatran ethnic group)
quick description of sometimes lingering traditional beliefs which enjoyed hundreds of years of strong influence here before the world religions arrived. it's hard to stamp out local beliefs, anywhere.

A few interesting facts about Medan. It’s the first developed city on Sumatra (developed by the Dutch in 1865 as tobacco plantation area). The British reported a population of 200 a few years before that. By the end of 1945 the population swelled to 80,000. 61 years later, Medan is home to 2.5 million people and is Indonesia’s 3rd largest city.

Among its redeeming features are it’s harbor, it’s proximity to Singapore & Malaysia, it’s function as a trading hub for many Sumatran exports (palm-oil, rubber, coffee…) and a lot of palm-oil & rubber plantations close-by.

Like Jakarta, there are distinct classes of “haves” and “have nots”,,, with very few in-between. It doesn’t help that the majority of “haves” are Chinese, Indian, Malaysian… and the ranks of “have nots” are swollen with Indonesians. It’s just a dynamic of this city, which remains somewhat evident.

Next stop: the mosque.
The mosque appeared to be a centerpiece of the city. A typical experience played itself out again with my becak driver. “how old is this mosque pak?” “Oh! Hundreds of years old! maybe a thousand!” was his response.
Hmm, according to the plaque in front, construction on this fine mosque was completed in 1906. It is grand inside though.

It was built by one of the last Sultans of the royal Deli Sultanate. The royal line continues (the current Sultan is 10 years old, as his father died in a helicopter crash), but they exercise no authority, and the palace is now a museum.

Following a recommendation from my boss, I contacted a local Chinese businessman & guide, pak Fon, to show me around a bit. For $50, no problem.
We spent an unexpectedly long amount of time sitting at the Medan Club,,, getting to know each other. Hmm. Oh well. At least it was interesting. We kicked around conversation about secrets of happiness, religion, marriage, Medan’s history, etc.

Part of the subject of our conversation was being fueled by the recent realization that I’m probably going to have to cancel my December travel plans through Nusantengara Timur/Barat (the eastern islands to the right of Bali), so I can sit & write a ton of travel reports over the next weeks. Time consuming but necessary work. Anyways- that said, I figured I’d make a new Christmas plan & take Nina’s parents up on their offer to visit.
Nina is excited, but warned me to expect a grilling from her parents about “my plans to marry their daughter,” and the un-negotiable requirement to change my religion first.

Hmm,,, even though I haven’t heard that in a while, it’s been a subject laying just under the surface of things for Nina’s family. Most importantly,,, how do they explain to their neighbors why they are allowing their “good Muslim” daughter to date a non-Muslim. Hmmm. I suppose it’s an unavoidable conversation worth coming out & being straight forward about sooner or later. Merry Christmas to me… I’ll be ducking & weaving between Nina’s parents… good times. I can’t wait.

Thursday, 7Dec06

Highlights: Medan

Rather than risk missing the one flight to Medan per day, I took an early shuttle to the Padang airport (1 ½ hour drive) and camped out in the Batavia airlines office with my laptop, organizing all the videos & pictures from yesterday.

Bad weather crept in & sure enough- my flight was delayed 3 hours. =/ oh well. Still beats a 20 hour bus-ride!

Once here in Medan, things have gone fairly smooth. The cab driver from the airport was bubbling with pride over his 24 year old son, who has held down a job at Carrefour grocery store for 2 years now. He speaks a bit of English! Having a job is a big deal here, and the subject of great pride for this father. Finishing college is out of reach for this man’s son, who did manage to study 1 year. These are the folks I love to help. Very friendly.

Wednesday, 6Dec06

Highlights: Minangkabau tour

Today was probably my coolest day in Sumatra so far. I really had fun getting out into the West Sumatran countryside. a big turn-around from my ho-hum experience in Padang.

The morning nearly hit a snag when the first tour & travel office withheld their services until “I” went out & found another passenger, to make it worth their effort. Huh? Since when did it become my job to find you business? Sorry- next!

A phone call later, I had the best guide I’ve had to date, Pak Arman. (spoke English well, extremely knowledgeable about the ins & outs of the area, full of ideas, and a nice guy to be around). If I was ok with traveling by scooter- we were in business. (= ha ha… little did he know, I’m half-way to my boy-scout merit badge as a professional scooter passenger by now.

We headed out on a 6-hour tour into the heartland of Minang culture. For those in the know, we made a circle from Bukit Tinggi to Tabek Patah to Rao-rao, to the king’s palace in Batu Sangkar, to the traditional homes in Balimbing, then on to Lake Singkarak and Pahdai Sikat before returning to Bukit Tinggi.
It’s hard not to be impressed by the atmosphere of the countryside here. It’s great.

interesting "handle bars" of some local becak bicycle taxis
the famous Bukit Tinggi clock

Minang homes
office for the "density of national culture"