My Backpacking Journals

Links galore to the places I visited!

INDONESIA JOURNAL 1

Jakarta March 12th 1992
19:40

It was a somewhat interesting flight with Aeroflot into Indonesia - definitely a no frills airline, no magazine, sick bag or even safety instructions! Certainly no 6ft blue-eyed air-hostess here matey, ahh no......they are all short, fat and wear too much blusher!!! And the women are even worse!!!
                                                              

After a 'basic' flight we touched down in hot 'n humid Jakarta, and after the usual proceedings, (I am glad I got the "ticket out", else they would not have let me into the country) I was directed to the bus stop. Well I must have looked lost as a taxi driver approached me and made me an offer, I declined that, but agreed to a ride in his cab!!!!
Fortunately for me, or maybe unfortunately, it was Ramadan, where they people of Muslim persuasion fast for one month and can only eat after the sun has gone down. Having arrived at sunset, my taxi driver - "SUTAN"- mentioned that he hadn't eaten since 4am that morning, and would I mind stopping at a roadside bar/cafe! Well, no I replied. And so we drove to this cafe, which housed about a dozen tables and 30 Indonesian's!! And so there I was, not 45 minutes in the country, sitting in a "cafe" eating rice, chicken and vegetables whilst all around me buzzed large daddy-long-legs type things and lizards crawled across the ceiling!! I ordered a coffee, which came in a glass and was just a tad on the chewy side! However, not to appear rude, down it went...yum!! ( and it stayed down too!!)
After our 'dinner', it was back in the cab for a rather hair-raising drive through the city to JALAN JAKSA, where I am now, after being told by 2 other 'guest houses' that they were full. The room has 2 beds, a fan and a mirror, smells a bit musty, but looks clean..........

21:15 Have just been out for a mooch, attempted to find a phone call to call home but no joy there! Wandered around, saw a lot of fellow backpackers and bars. Didn't go too far as I didn't want to get lost! Got followed by 1/2 a dozen children, saying "hello Meeester" and asking for money! I just said 'hello' back and grinned - which resulted in them jabbering on and giggling, no doubt making fun of me!!
22:00 There is a dog incessantly barking outside. I may just have to shoot it! Plan on trying to contact Desire and Yan  tomorrow, Friday the 13th!!
23:00 I have to put this down in writing! After my rather solid coffee earlier, it stimulated my bowels and, not wanting to waste an opportunity, I went down the corridor to the toilets. There is one "European" style, and one "Indonesian" style, and after having no success at flushing the European one previously, I opted to empty my bowels in the Indonesian one.( An Indonesian toilet consists of a hole in the ground with 2 ceramic 'footprints' either side for your feet to go on, you squat, aim, fire!) So I dropped my trousers, squatted over the hole and did the business. Right, that done, I attempted to flush away the offending articles only to find that they wouldn't go!!! So I poured on even more water which resulted in absolutely nothing, apart from filling the 'pan' with more water!!! At this stage I was in a bit of a paddy - do I sureptiously leave and run for my room, or do I try and shift the blockage? After about 10mins of sweating profusely, not just due to the heat but to my predicament, I opted for making a break and hurrying back to my room. Upon leaving, I noticed a lavatory brush leaning against the wall and I thought I could use that to clear the blockage! So I grabbed it and shut the door. I plunged it into the bowl and tried to use it like a sink plunger, which was not only totally useless, but shred up my remains into a sort of 'poo soup'!! I hid the loo brush and hurried out to my room, grabbed my wallet and decided that I needed a beer, just to calm me down! So I locked my door, and headed for 'Angies Bar', a few doors down.
I ordered a beer from the waiter and sat down to drink it. Shortly, the waiter came back over started chatting with me about this and that, when suddenly he said “How about we go for a walk, back to my place then you can pay me?” OOoooooerrrr! I made my excuses, paid my bill and left!! Now I need to go to the bathroom again! I hope the rest of my days aren’t going to be as ‘full’ as today!!! Goodnight..........(now I can’t clean my teeth as I have no bottled water!!)

Jakarta March 13th 1992
10:30

Well after a rather sleepless night, I eventually dropped off amid sounds of parrots and loud speaker announcements calling people to the local mosque, at about 5am!!! When I awoke it was 10 am, a good 5 hours sleep! So after an ice-cold shower, (that wakes you up!) I’m off for some breakfast and to buy some water so that I can clean my teeth!!
After studying my guide book, I discovered a telephone place, so I packed up my filofax and guide and off I went. After walking past it once, I made my way in and after a while, purchased a telephone card. I thought that I would give Yan a ring (a friend from a ship that I worked on) to see if he was at home. To be honest, I really didn’t think that he would be in Jakarta now. But after a stilted conversation with his mum, who doesn’t speak English at all, Yan came on the line and we agreed to meet up outside good old MacDonald's! Anyway, about 1/2 an hour later, after I had called my Mum and Dad, we met up and I found out that in 2 days time he flies out to America to join a new ship! So I spent the day wandering around Jakarta, and we went to see Toni, who used to work with Yan on the ship, but I couldn’t picture him! Anyway, he was out so we went back to Yans house, and I spent about 45 mins talking to two of his Dads’ English students ( his father is an English teacher)
His father suggested that I stay with them, and so I got on the back of his motorbike and he took me back to good old Jalan Jaksa where I picked up my rather heavy backpack and came back to Yans house. 

He then took me back out to visit a student of his who works at a hospital, and she is going to take me out tomorrow.

I had to walk back, Yans father had to go somewhere,- I didn’t get mugged or accosted!
Me and Yan stayed up chatting and watching TV, and eventually dropped off to sleep!

March 14th 1992

After being awoken at about 6.30am, I had a quick wash and myself and Yans Dad went to the hospital to see Ratna, who was going to take me out.
So we walked down the road and caught a very crowded bus to Cililitan, and then a Mikrolet to Taman Mini, which is a park with houses in it from all over Indonesia, showing the different styles of architecture.

After maybe 1 1/2 hours of wandering around the park, Ratna made a phone call and said that she had to go back and do some business, and would I be able to make my way home on my own!? Erm well................! She gave me the relevant numbers of the Mikrolets and buses and left me there!!! So I walked around for a bit feeling very hot and thirsty, and decided to get something to eat. Nasi Goreng and 1/2 a liter of water! YUM!!
After my lunch, I wandered up to the exit, onto the main road and after a few minutes, managed to ‘hail’ a Mikrolet, which was a bit cramped!! * A Mikrolet is a small van that is open at the back, with small benches running down its length. You wave one down, and hop in the back, and you pay a set fare. Used for transporting everything from kids to chickens and goats!!!*
After arriving at the main bus station, finding my bus to bring me back home was not so easy-there were buses everywhere! The noise and the smell was unbelievable, and the amount of people - Oy!!!! Trying to find my bus was like looking for a needle in a haystack!! So I stood on the corner, looking at every bus that went by, desperately searching for an elusive number 40! Well I must have looked completely confused as a very nice lady with a small girl approached me and asked if I needed help! I must say, the people are very friendly and always engage you in conversation;- usually asking you ‘What is your name?’ ‘Where do you come from?’ ‘How long will you stay in Jakarta?’ to mention a few favorites!
She pointed me in the right direction, and I jumped on the right bus - which was very crowded and so I had to stand at the back. Presently, the man next to me started to talk to me, except that I couldn’t understand a word he was saying! I had a few Indonesian words down , but not enough for a conversation! I think he was a fisherman and caught Tuna!!!!!! So I just smiled a lot and kept saying ‘Yes’ and ‘Oh?’!! However I made it safely back home, and waited in the classroom for Yan’s Mum to come home (about an hour!) Yan’s parents live above a small classroom where his father teaches English, it is just a small room, with a fan, some desks etc....The bedroom and everything else etc. is upstairs up a very tight spiral staircase! She let me in, and Yan’s father returned with 2 students, with whom I spent the next 1/2 hour chatting too!
Dinner was very nice, rice (surprise!) rice crackers, mushroom soup and Soya, and some yellow ‘flapjack’ things made with (of course) rice and sweet corn(?)!! Then for dessert, Rambutan, a yummy fruit much like a Lychee.

March 15th 1992

A more gentle awakening today!! I rose about 8am, helped myself to some water and rice cakes, and spent some time explaining to Yan’s father the difference between ‘cut up’ and ‘cut off’!!!
I am feeling a bit sun burnt on my neck, it must have been from wandering around yesterday-it’s bloody sore matey!! I had planned on going to ‘Ancol’ today( a water park) but it will be very busy and I have to be careful with my neck! I must try and get some postcards, it’s not that easy really- Jakarta’s hardly a tourist paradise;- it’s very dirty, very smelly and so much traffic!! There are potholes in the pavements, children playing in the road, mangy looking cats, and I spotted a rat (dead) affectionately stuffed in a plastic bag and left by the overflowing dustbins! I have been bitten on each ankle and each hand by those dam mosquitoes! It is very hot and very,very humid, and the toilet facilities have to be the main drawback!! In Europe/US everything is in the bathroom; shower, toilet, sink, mirrors so you can pamper as you clean yourself thoroughly - however the ‘bathrooms’ here have a ceramic basin type thing for a loo with footrests either side, that you squat over! Except that they never have any toilet paper, as they don’t use it, so I guess it is either bring your own or...........! And above the toilet is a cold water shower. That's it. Very basic; nowhere to put anything, no sink, no mirror,- no joy!!!!!!
Yan left early this morning to fly to America, so now I am left with his parents, and no doubt I will be giving English lessons today, tomorrow etc............Actually I don’t mind at all, after all I am staying in his home!!
My friend Rachel is working on a cruise ship, and her ship comes into the port here soon, I am really looking forward to seeing her, if only to talk in proper English! ( and hopefully to get on board and use a western loo!) After that, on Thursday, I should be going to  Bandung, to stay with Yan’s brother, Robert. I am glad that I know people here, else I don’t know what I would have done, especially in regards to the public transport system! ( cried and gone home probably!!)

09:45 - I think that I am all alone here, and I want a wee, except that the loo is downstairs and outside, and locked, and I don’t have a key!! The sun is scorching today! I may wander up to the bank and cash some travelers cheques, but I don’t want to stay out in the sun too long-definitely factor 6 today! I will be glad to leave Jakarta and head for a beach or something, get away from the city! I have never drank so much water! And I only need to pee in the morning and before I go to bed!!! What's with that!?
16:15 - Went to Ancol Theme Park and Dunia Fantasi, accompanied by Diva, Ameulia and Nila, some of Yan’s dads’ students. We took a taxi which I thought would be really expensive, but it was only a couple of dollars! Had a very nice time walking around, drinking and chatting, went on a few rides too!

Then a taxi back, 5,000rp which is $2.50! So on Wednesday, when I go to Tanjung Priok ( the port) I think I will take a cab, I think my budget will stretch to that!!

When we came back, I had Agar Agar and a drink at Nila’s house. Agar Agar is coconut milk with jelly ‘cubes’ ion it!! It is quite sweet, really nice! Now I am watching ‘Fresh Prince of Bel-air’ with Indonesian sub-titles!
18:51 - My neck feels much better - I had some after sun on it today and some sun lotion!! I’m getting a little bit of color, mainly on my face, and I am taking it slowly with my white bits!! Certainly don’t want them getting burnt!!
Had a poo, and managed to flush it all away this time, much to my relief!! It would have been so embarrassing, especially as I am a guest!! Tomorrow I will go to the Tourist office and the bank, and try to get to Batavia, and old Dutch part of town. Apparently at the Kantor Pariwasata ( tourist office) they have some good guides and maps! A bus timetable would be heaven!! Do they produce such a thing?
19:00 - They keep setting off mini- rockets outside and they are really loud! Apparently it is to do with Ramadan! Dinner this evening was scrummy, rice and a pork soup thing which was a bit spicy, but very nice indeed matey! Have gotten over my initial bout of culture shock - it was some shock - and am now much more settled! I don’t think I’ll be going out in the evening- and I have a bit of a headache- probably too much sun! So I’ll sit here in the lounge, trying to listen to the TV, even though it is in Indonesian, above the noise of motor bikes roaring past outside, the whoops of delight from the children setting off their mini rockets and the general noise of the street!!!

March 16th 1992

10:45 - Went to change some money at the bank - that took forever as they queried my signature, just because it is a bit different on my passport! I was accompanied by 2 of Yans fathers students. I think his name is Pacing (pronounced as Pa-ching) I also went to the tourist office and got some brochures and stuff. I need to go to the bathroom, but there is a power-out and therefore no light!!! Also the fan doesn’t work! Or the TV!! It is so very hot today! I had planned on visiting Old Batavia, the Dutch part of town, but in this heat.............I really want to get to a beach resort! Oh well, may as well do some laundry!!!
Last night there was a terrific thunderstorm, the thunder was so loud, the house shook!!! Breakfast this morning was boiled vegetables, carrots, beans and fried potatoes with fried egg!! Ummmmmmm...!!!
17:20 I did my washing and have just got it in from the roof! I was so hot that I decided to go to Ancol again, only the swimming pool this time, on my own!!! I took a taxi - 5,000 RP - and spent a few hours swimming and sunbathing!! The only sore bits I have at the moment seem to be my wrists and my left ear! The power is still out here, so we are in for a candle-lit dinner!! Fortunately the stove is gas!! I had a very nice lunch at Ancol, rice(!) with chili, grilled coconut, onion (fried), a piece of chicken and what can only be described as ‘chicken jelly’!!! Yumm. I hung around till about 4 pm then managed to flag down a cab - the driver didn’t speak any English, so I showed him the address and off we went!!! He said something about a mandi, which is Indonesian for shower or bath, so as I was a we bit wet, he may have said “ have you just had a shower?” or more likely “ you need a shower!!” Anyway, after a very long cab ride, I made it home - but it cost me twice as much as the journey there!!! Still, it was only five bucks!!
17:34 The powers back on!!!!
20:45 Had a very nice dinner - rice with the sauce from last night, fried beans, hard and crunchy and a yellow steamed fish thing - wrapped in banana leaves! I have no idea what its called but it was delicious! Chatted to two youngsters, I have no idea who they were - people seem to come and go as they please!! I feel a bit of a celebrity, Pacing is always inviting people to sit and chat with me! Tomorrow I am up again at 7am and off to the Hospital to see some chap - I think he is in the dispensary! I want to go to Batavia tomorrow! Maybe this guy will be another of Pacings escorts! He confided in me that he is having an affair with Ratna!! OOerrr!! And he is Muslim!! But Mrs. Ching ( his wife) and Yan don’t know! Scandal! Shock! He always goes out on his bike at night, and I reckon it is to see her!!! Rumpy Pumpy!!!

March 17th 1992

Jakarta

Started the day with a breakfast of boiled spuds and boiled egg - all cold! YUM. Then went to the hospital to see Stefanos and Ratna!! Ratna accompanied me to MONAS MONUMENT

She helped me get some postcards (finally) and some stamps, then she had to go back.

I jumped on a bus to Kota-Batavia. The driver asked me where I was going, and when we arrived at Kota, he called to me and the whole bus looked around!!! Anyway, I dug out my map, and headed for the museum.

Fatahillah Square (Taman Fatahillah), named after the Sultan who conquered the Portuguese in 1527, was the heart of the Dutch colonial administration. It was restored to its current condition in between 1970-74.
Today, there are three museums located around the square, including the Jakarta History Museum (Museum Sejarah Jakarta). One particular attraction is the bronze Portuguese cannon Si Jagur, which lies to the north of the square. The cannon is believed to have some supernatural powers related to fertility.

In the square in front of the museum I was approached by a very smartly dressed man who asked me the usual questions- where are you from etc.. and then disappeared. So I made my way into the museum and about 1/4 of the way round, I met him again. He showed me around the museum and was very knowledgeable about every exhibit. We then proceeded outside to the main square, and he showed me the women’s dungeons. They were only 90cms high ( about 36 inches ) and so the women could not stand and had to sit on the ground for up to one year. When they were released they couldn’t walk. They were imprisoned because they didn’t pay their taxes. This was the Dutch ruling. The men were put in similar dungeons, except that there was also a water jail, which consisted of a pit dug in the ground, about 6 ft across, and the men were put into it. They were covered in water, up to their chins. A metal grid was placed on top to stop them escaping. 10 men were trapped in here, and then the Dutch put Leeches in the water. And so the men died a slow and horrible death. At high tide the sea washed away the bodies.
Jeff, that was his name, was Chinese, and told me about how corrupt the government is, and especially so against the Chinese and non-Muslims. If you are Indonesian and require a passport, it costs US $50.00. However, for Chinese US $200.00. Also the Chinese are not allowed in the city of Jakarta after 10pm. Jeff showed me the ‘China Town’ which must be the only one in the world without any Chinese characters, as they are banned, as are acupuncture and Chinese medicine. He had 3 jobs taken away from him because he is Chinese. Even though he speaks perfect English, Japanese, Indonesian and Javanese, he sells newspapers and magazines at Kota railway station to make money. His family live in BOGOR, and he is studying so he can leave and go to Singapore.
We went to the Chinese fruit and meat market. The mixed smell of citrus fruits and fish, meat and decaying vegetables assaulted my nostrils and made me a bit nauseous. Every kind of fruit imaginable seemed to be there. At the meat market, you could buy still-alive produce. How’s that for fresh!? The fish are kept in buckets, and you could buy fish, eels, crabs, frogs, turtles, baby turtles, crocodiles, snakes and all kinds of shell fish.........you can imagine the smell. The meat was hung on hooks, covered in flies, and the chickens were hung up by their necks. Squeezed in-between these stalls were glass display cabinets, crammed full of brightly covered boxes, with each vendor calling out to get your attention. I can only guess as to what the boxes contained.........
We then went to the Buddhist Temple, one of only 20 left in the city, the rest having been destroyed. The aroma of  hundreds of incense sticks burning was overpowering, and in the entrance, huge candles 2.5 meters tall, burned for 5 months, continuously. As I entered, my eyes smarted from the thick smoke inside. The incense and the candles are all means of communicating with the God, Buddha. The Temples are the only place allowed to have Chinese characters.
Jeff then took me to see a drawbridge, and the 100 families living underneath it. The bridge was originally built by the Dutch, but now after being restored, it doesn’t open. As we crossed, Jeff led me down the riverbank and, across the river, there were hundreds of slum buildings, with families living in them. In the morning, the children swim in the disgusting, polluted, garbage-ridden river, and I am sure suffer from all sorts of maladies as a result.

We then headed into the slum district itself. (At one stage, I have to admit, the thought did cross my mind that maybe he was going to turn and pull a knife on me, but he did not!!) We went along a narrow, covered alleyway which was very dark, with only a few casually nailed together planks saving us from a dip in the stinking river. Mothers with babies clinging to them, their wraps all dirty and tattered, past us, but only just as the alley was barely wide enough. We emerged from there into the old Portuguese Warehouse, which had fallen into disrepair, and so it has now been taken over by the peasants that live there. 10% of the population of Jakarta (8.5 million) live in slum conditions. Children were running around naked, defecating in the street and playing in the mud. There were a few vegetable shops and vendors selling bottled water, so the people never really had to leave the warehouse. The men worked as laborers, unloading the schooner ships when they came into port. The ‘houses’ were built ontop of the ruined warehouse, and every available space had been utilized. Wood ontop of dilapidated walls made a home for a family. Recently, 65 people were killed when strong winds blew down a wall and crushed several families.