Indonesia Expat – issue 125 by Indonesia Expat

E! M AD RE

Formerly JAK ARTA EXPAT and BALI EXPAT

IS SUE NO. 125 | 10 - 2 3 SEP T EMBER 2 014

JA K A R TA • JAVA • B A L I • LOMBOK • K A L IM A N TA N • SUM AT R A • SUL AW E SI • W E S T PA P UA

W W W.INDONE SI A E X PAT.BIZ

Rp. 25.000

INDONESIA'S FIRST PHOTOGRAPHER: KASSIAN CEPHAS INDONESIA'S FUEL SHORTAGE: FUEL FOR THOUGHT TRAVEL: WEST JAVA SCAMS IN THE CITY: SOCIAL MEDIA SINS

AUTHOR OF 'SAVAGE HARVEST: A TALE OF CANNIBALS, COLONIALISM AND MICHAEL ROCKEFELLER'S TRAGIC QUEST FOR PRIMITIVE ART'

issue 125 indonesia expat

indonesia expat issue 125

issue 125 indonesia expat

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Dear Readers,

Twitter: @cleanupjktday | Facebook: /cleanupjakartaday | Web: www.cleanupjakartaday.org

Indonesia's Largest Expatriate Readership

will take place on Sunday October 19th this year. Although this may not be considered philanthropy by some, we are not doing it for profit, only for the betterment of this city, which we hope will lead to a lasting change. Sometimes when I feel like the going is getting tough, I read Buffett’s quote, in an effort to remind myself that nothing worthwhile was ever easy.

Editor in Chief Angela Richardson angela@indonesiaexpat.biz

Editorial Assistant Gabriella Panjaitan gaby@indonesiaexpat.biz

Management Edo Frese edo@indonesiaexpat.biz

Sales & Distribution Dian Mardianingsih Betty de Haan ads@indonesiaexpat.biz

Graphics Frederick Ng Katarina Anindita

Finance & Admin

“Philanthropy is harder than business. You are tackling important problems that people with intellect and money have tackled in the past and had a tough time solving. So the search for talent in philanthropy should be even more important than the search for talent in investments, where the game is not as tough.” Warren Buffett

Lini Verawaty

Contributors Byron Black Stephanie Brookes Polly Christensen Mark Heyward Tess Joyce David Metcalf Daniel Pope Hans Rooseboom Eamonn Sadler Donny Syofyan Paul V. Walters LL. Wing Kenneth Yeung

Editorial Enquiries letters@indonesiaexpat.biz

Just last weekend I was at TEDx Ubud and was blown away, for a second time, at the positive energy and amazing things people are doing in our world today. 2014’s speakers included Jennifer Croes, conservation scientist, Elora Hardy of Bali’s Green School, John Taylor, an urban planner, and Ernest Prakasa, author, comedian, activist and MC, to name just a

few. It was when walking away from TEDx Ubud 2013 that the seed was planted in my mind to do something that could lead to a positive change and that’s how Clean Up Jakarta Day (CUJD) was born. Thank you TEDx Ubud! As you may know, we have been working very hard to put together the second annual CUJD, which

There are many amazing organizations involved with the planning of CUJD this time round, including the CSR department of PT Adaro Indonesia, Bersih Nyok! — a local initiative trying to change mindsets in relation to rubbish, Indorelawan — a platform for volunteers across Indonesia, Count Me In – Jakarta Globe’s CSR initiative, which rallies volunteers to join great causes, and many more. We have even begun to attract the attention of the government and Dinas Kebersihan Lingkungan (Jakarta’s sanitation agency), as people are starting to understand that this annual event could actually make a difference!

If you haven’t already signed up, please do — there’s still time! There are currently 18 sites around the city that you can register with, so that on the morning of October 19th, you’ll be an integral part of a mass movement that says, “I’ve had enough of seeing litter. I want to see a change!” So far we have over 2,000 volunteers signed up, which is double what we had last year, and we hope to hit our target of 5,000 over the next five weeks. As running cleanups is no cheap affair, we are also asking our supporters to help by donating funds via our crowd-funding website: http:// cleanupjakartaday.kitabisa. co.id. We could not do it without your support! It’s gotong royong time!

Angela Richardson Editor in Chief

Circulation Enquiries info@indonesiaexpat.biz

Subscriptions subscriptions@indonesiaexpat.biz

LETTER TO THE EDITOR

Events events@indonesiaexpat.biz

Published by PT. Koleksi Klasik Indonesia Jl. Kemang Raya No. 29A Kemang, Jakarta,Indonesia Phone: 021 7179 4550 Fax: 021 7179 4546 Office hours: 09.00 – 17.00 Monday – Friday INDONESIA EXPAT IS PUBLISHED BI-WEEKLY BY PT. KOLEKSI KLASIK INDONESIA. OPINIONS EXPRESSED IN THIS PUBLICATION ARE THOSE OF THE WRITERS

Dear editors, I’m writing to say that I loved the Coffee Issue (#124). What a great idea for a theme!

Eamonn Sadler’s story had a similar effect on us too! My favourite articles were Spilling the Beans on Jakarta’s Best Boutique Cafes, The History of Coffee in Indonesia and the Light Entertainment story by Eamonn Sadler, Hold Still, Dumbo. I nearly spat my coffee out all over the table when I read the end of that story! I can’t believe someone is actually going to try to make elephant poo coffee! Whatever will they think of next?

AND THE PUBLISHER DOES NOT ACCEPT ANY RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY ERRORS, OMMISIONS, OR COMPLAINTS ARISING THERE FROM. NO PARTS OF THIS PUBLICATION CAN BE REPRODUCED IN WHOLE OR IN PART, IN

I have some ideas for future themes for you. How about one about antiques and history, conservation, or love? Keep up the great work!

PRINT OR ELECTRONICALLY WITHOUT PERMISSION OF THE PUBLISHER. ALL TRADEMARKS, LOGOS, BRANDS AND

Fiona F.

DESIGNS ARE COPYRIGHT AND FULLY RESERVED BY PT. KOLEKSI KLASIK INDONESIA.

The Cover Carl Hoffman pictured by Richard Kerris

indonesia expat issue 125

Dear Fiona, Thank you so much for writing and we are very happy to hear you enjoyed the Coffee Issue!

Thank you for sharing your ideas on issue themes. We actually have a wedding issue coming out on September 24, which would definitely tie in with your theme of love. As for conservation, which is very important to us, we will be running a Clean Up Issue on October 22, just after Clean Up Jakarta Day 2014. This issue will include conservation and green ideas and initiatives, which you cannot miss! Your idea of antiques is a great one and we will take this into consideration for sure. Read this issue's Business Profile to meet an antiques dealer here in Jogjakarta. We really value your feedback! Indonesia Expat Editorial Team

Connect with Us Subscribe to our e-newsletter! Scan the barcode to receive your free bi-weekly newsletter

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Issue 125

Contents

Featured Fuel for Thought

Meet the Jakarta Expat Inyigo Ardanaz

Meet the Author Carl Hoffman

Literature Eheng: A Journey to the Dayak Afterlife

Travel: West Java A Weekend Trip to Gunung Salak

Scams in the City Social Media Sins

Travel: West Java A Pleasant Day Trip to Loveland

Faces of Indonesia Herman: The Baduy Porter

History Kassian Cephas (1845â&#x20AC;&#x201C;1912): Indonesia's First Photographer

Food and Drink Nasi Padang â&#x20AC;&#x201D; Indonesia's Most Wanted Food

Business Profile Sebastien Laurent, Antiques Dealer

16 18

22 23 24 26

Business Snippet New Regulation on Hiring Expatriates Music Rocking The Capital in Bali

Worthy Causes Kolewa: The Star of Seminyak Light Entertainment 2.5 Men Jumps the Shark Announcements Events

Humorous Observations Love Thy Neighbours

28 30

Classifieds Business Directory

issue 125 indonesia expat

FEATURED

Fuel for Thought

Kenneth Yeung is a Jakarta-based editor

Police recently arrested a woman for ranting on social media after she experienced poor service at a petrol station in Jogjakarta. So why are there fuel shortages and how did a country so rich in natural resources mismanage its oil industry?

PERTAMINA PRODUCT GUIDE PREMIUM Subsidized standard petrol. Yellowish colour because of dye. Often resold from bottles at roadside stalls. Price: Rp.6,500 per litre

By Kenneth Yeung Pertamax Also known as Pertamax 92. High-octane unleaded petrol. Low emissions. Reputed to clean carbon deposits from fuel injectors and combustion chambers. Price: Rp.11,900 per litre Pertamax Plus Also known as Pertamax 95. Higher octane unleaded petrol. Promoted as motor racing fuel and for advanced technology vehicles. Additives to reduce emissions and preserve engine cleanliness. Price: Rp.13,200 per litre

©Wikipedia

Bio Solar Subsidized diesel mix comprising 90-95% diesel plus 5-10% palm oil methyl ester. Price: Rp.5,500 per litre Pertamina Dex High-performance diesel. Less sulphur, lower emissions, more durable power. Price: Rp.13,150 per litre

lorence Sihombing (26), a postgraduate law student at the prestigious Gadjah Mada University, on August 27 drove her white Honda Scoopy motorbike to a Pertamina petrol station. The queue for motorbikes was longer than usual, so she tried to use one of the rows of pumps reserved for cars buying a non-subsidized fuel. A military officer ordered her to get into the queue for motorbikes. Angered, she drove away, then posted on her Path account: “Jogja is poor, stupid and uncultured. Friends in Jakarta – Bandung, don’t visit Jogja.” The woman from the North Sumatra capital of Medan described Jogjakarta people as “bastards” because of the class discrimination against motorcycle users, who tend to be lower income earners than car owners. Flo unwisely encouraged her friends to “re-Path” her rant and it went viral. Local groups reported her to police and she was arrested on August 30. She was released two days later, after UGM promised she would cooperate with police. Media attention on her case was diverted when Energy Minister Jero Wacik was on September 2 named a corruption suspect over alleged extortion and kickbacks. The ensuing investigation is expected to lift the lid on some of the graft that has long tainted Indonesia’s oil sector. THE LURE OF BLACK GOLD Oil had for centuries seeped naturally from the ground in northern Sumatra, where it was used as a medicine for skin ailments, for caulking boats, as a fuel, and for making explosives. The story of Indonesia's oil industry starts back in 1883, when oil was discovered north of Medan, resulting in the formation in 1890 of the Royal Dutch Petroleum Exploration Company. In 1907, the company merged with Britain’s Shell Transport and Trading Company, creating the Royal Dutch Shell Group, which dominated colonial oil exploration. Within three years, the new company was

indonesia expat issue 125

operating concessions in Sumatra, Kalimantan and Java, accounting for about 4% of world oil production. The Dutch Indies oil fields were important to Japan, especially during World War II. In July 1941, the Dutch joined an American and British embargo of oil sales to Japan, which suddenly lost access to 88% of its imported oil. Five months later, Japan invaded in its quest for natural resources. In Kalimantan, retreating Dutch engineers destroyed a refinery at Balikpapan. Japanese forces retaliated with a massacre. Jero Wacik

After Indonesia achieved independence, the Army in 1957 began taking over local Dutch oil companies, which were subsequently nationalized by President Sukarno’s administration. In 1962, Indonesia joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The investment climate improved after Suharto took power in the mid-1960s. State-owned oil firms were amalgamated in 1968 as Pertamina, which did little exploration and drilling, but instead issued production-sharing contracts to foreign firms. Pertamina became the regime’s main cash-cow. Transparency and accountability were not its strong points. The Duri and Minas oil fields in Sumatra’s Riau province were discovered by Caltex in the early 1940s, although production did not commence until 1954. By the 1960s, they provided 50% of the country’s oil production. Pertamina profited handsomely from the 1973-74 world oil crisis when prices quadrupled. Unfortunately, the company’s chief, Ibnu Sutowo, used profits to speculate in other sectors. By 1976, his mismanagement resulted in Pertamina accruing debts of $10.5 billion. In 1977, Indonesia’s annual oil production peaked at about 1.6 million barrels per day. Some of Suharto’s children and cronies received concessions as intermediaries

Pertamax Racing High-grade fuel. Formulated for racing vehicles and other high-performance cars for those who enjoy speeding. Price: Rp.49,000 per litre Vigas A mix of propane and butane. Not widely available. Price: Rp.5,100 per litre Envogas Compressed natural gas. Also not widely available. Price: Rp.3,100 per litre * prices may vary at different outlets

Royal Dutch Petroleum dock in the Dutch East Indies. Courtesy of Collectie Tropenmuseum

between Pertamina, its customers and suppliers. Mark-ups generated massive profits. Such arrangements were supposed to have been dismantled after the 1998 fall of Suharto. An audit of Pertamina found losses of $6 billion over 1997-98 because of inefficiency and corruption. If only such funds had been allocated to discover and exploit untapped reserves, and to develop refining capacity, then Indonesia might have averted declining production and costly fuel imports. As old fields matured, Indonesia in 2004 became a net oil importer. Pertamina lost its numerous monopolies over 2004-2010, resulting in foreign firms being allowed to sell fuel. In 2008, Indonesia withdrew from OPEC, no longer able to meet production quotas, while the world oil price soared to over $140 per barrel. In 2013, Indonesian oil production averaged 825,000 barrels per day. This year’s output is forecast to be even lower. Pertamina is presently importing about 600,000 barrels per day to meet domestic demand. SENSITIVE SUBSIDIES Fuel prices in Indonesia have been subsidized since the Sukarno presidency,

ostensibly with the aim of making life easier for the country’s poor. Yet cheap fuel has disproportionately benefited higher income earners. Cutting subsidies is a politically sensitive issue. Fuel price increases contributed to the protests that ousted Suharto after 32 years in power. In 1999, fuel subsidies accounted for almost one-quarter of the state budget. Despite some cuts over the past 15 years, subsidies in 2013 still consumed 19.5% of the budget — about $25 billion. By reducing subsidies, more money can be allocated toward vitally needed infrastructure, healthcare and education. This year’s petrol supply problems occurred after the government in June cut the subsidized fuel consumption quota by 4.2% to 46 million kilolitres. This meant Pertamina had to reduce its daily distribution of subsidized petrol by about 5% and diesel by 10-15% at gas stations across the country. The shortages prompted panic buying at many stations. President-elect Joko ‘Jokowi’ Widodo will inherit a growing budget deficit and is under pressure to cut fuel subsidies within his first 100 days in office. His political opponents could use any cuts as a pretext to orchestrate protests against him. FUEL IMPORT MAFIA? Indonesia’s crude oil and fuel procurements are handled by Pertamina’s trading subsidiary Petral. There have long been claims that fuel imports are dominated by an intermediary “fuel mafia” that increases the cost of each barrel by about $10 — and the profits are alleged to be widely shared, so the scheme continues unopposed. A group called the People's Special Solidarity for Oil and Gas recently accused failed presidential candidate Hatta Rajasa, the former chief economics minister, of involvement with the “fuel mafia”. Hatta denied any wrongdoing. Ferdinand Hutahaean, the group’s coordinator, told Tempo magazine that Indonesia could be losing $9 million daily because of mark-ups. He alleged that Hatta has for a decade been associated with Riza Chalid, the boss of Singapore-based Global Energy Resources, which has brokerage deals with Pertamina. Globe Asia business magazine has described Chalid as “one of Indonesia’s most under-the-radar oil businessmen”. Pertamina’s respected president director Karen Agustiawan resigned in August for “personal reasons” following reports she had been under pressure to divert funds to crooked legislators. She denied making any payments. Jokowi has said the Energy Ministry is highly involved with a mafia and requires better leadership. There are great expectations for the new president to clean up the oil industry, but if he doesn’t get majority support in parliament, he may be unable to push through reforms needed to eliminate costly red tape and other investment impediments. Motorcyclists and oil investors alike will have to remain patient.

issue 125 indonesia expat

MEET THE JAKARTA EXPAT

Inyigo Ardanaz A CONSCIOUS PAINTER FROM SPAIN, LIVING IN THE BIG DURIAN By Angela Richardson

Where are you originally from and how many years have you been in Jakarta? I’m originally from Pamplona in Spain and I’ve been in Jakarta just one year. What brought you here in the first place? Love. My partner got a job here and I came with her to Jakarta. I was before in Indonesia and I really liked the feeling of the country, the people especially, and that’s why when she proposed to come here, I said yes. I didn’t want to be in a really big city, which was my only condition, and here we are in Jakarta! Where were you before Jakarta? We were living in Spain for a year and I was ready to leave to discover more things. What I like about living here compared to Europe is that I feel more freedom. There are fewer rules than in Europe for everything. What did you do in Spain and what do you do here? I was an agricultural engineer back in Spain and now I’m a painter. I tried to find a normal job, but meanwhile I paint, otherwise I’d go crazy in a big city the whole day alone. I have been painting my whole life, but not professionally. Here I started to paint and I really feel the creativity and I am enjoying it a lot.

Tell us about your project ‘Indonesian CityZens’. This project came about when we decided we wanted to give something back to Indonesia. I realized that Indonesia has so many animals, but many Indonesians are still not aware of how important they are. So I decided to paint these animals and show these people, this is what you have here and if you destroy the forests, you’re going to kill one of the most valuable things in your country.

that are aiming to sell only. For me, this project has to be in the streets. Of course the gallery wants to make a profit, but I don’t want to show the animals to sell them. I just want to show them. I hope someone can sponsor, maybe a big company, to move the paintings around to show the animals.

So you’re painting to raise awareness of environmental issues in Indonesia? I’m painting because I enjoy it, and I hope through my joy that someone else can enjoy that. The animals came to me; I started to paint and I painted animals. I hope that if someone enjoys them, they will link the painting with the real animal and they will feel a kind of connection to them. The name that we chose, for me is very beautiful, Indonesian CityZen, which means that they are Indonesian too. They are not human, but they all live in Indonesia and are part of the community. I think the Indonesian citizens are the animals.

What animals have you painted in your Indonesian CityZens collection? The Javan Rhinoceros, of which there are just 40 left in a small corner of Java, the Borneo pygmy elephant, Komodo dragon, orangutan, dugong, Sumatran tiger (there used to be three types of tigers in Indonesia and there is only one left) and my favourite, the least endangered animal in the world, which is the ayam (chicken). There’s a reason for this. In Spain, we have cockfighting and there is a species called Bangkiba, which supposedly originally came from Bangka. It’s not endangered, but it’s so meaningful. If it’s true, Indonesia gave to the world one of the most important animals.

What about your project 13Rivers? This was born with Sarah Grey me over a coffee. There are 13 canals in Jakarta and we would like to work with locals in projects that are always related to a meaning. What’s the ideal situation for you in the next year or so with your art? With Indonesian CityZens, I would like to find people who would like to show our paintings and move them around as much as possible to show the animals. I’m not looking to place the paintings in galleries

Do you paint other things? Yes, I make other paintings that I sell, however the Indonesian CityZens were created not for the aim of profit.

What other projects are you involved with at the moment? I’m doing a mural project on Clean Up Jakarta Day (October 19th), where volunteers and passersby will be able to take part in painting a clean Jakarta with a beautiful blue sky. By way of this action, which is like poetry, we’re hoping to instil this clean image of Jakarta in its citizen’s minds. There are 13 main canals in Jakarta and would like all of Jakarta’s people to be able to walk along the rivers. My hometown used to have a problem like Jakarta, but now it’s perfect, so this can be the same here in the future, if everyone plays their part.

How have you adapted to living in Jakarta? I’m very lucky because I don’t have to experience the traffic, as I work at home. I realized that the best way of moving in Jakarta is public transportation. TransJakarta is good and although the Kopaja is really not comfortable at all, if you’re only travelling for 10 minutes, it’s the quickest way. Even an ojek, but that costs the same as a taxi. What do you think is the biggest problem that Jakarta faces? People! There are too many people. People can be the problem or they can be the solution. We have more people in Jakarta than the whole of Australia. You have to start to deal with people’s minds to change habits or behaviours. There is one thing I’d like to focus on in my art and that is the children. If they become more aware of the environment and public transportation, this generation are the ones that can make a change. If they want it, nobody can stop their missions like caring about the environment. The people have so much power for the bad things and for the good things.

Thank you, Inyigo! To get in touch, e-mail: inyigoardanaz@gmail.com

indonesia expat issue 125

MEET THE AUTHOR

LL. Wing is a NYC artist and writer.

Carl Hoffman By LL. Wing

This award-winning author and journalist has flown with mercenary bush pilots in the Congo, ridden reindeer in Siberia, and written the most substantive book on Michael Rockefeller’s disappearance in New Guinea: Savage Harvest: A Tale of Cannibals, Colonialism and Michael Rockefeller’s Tragic Quest for Primitive Art. He will be at the Ubud Writers and Readers Festival from October 1 – 5.

That’s when I changed things up — I learned Bahasa — not a lot, but a lot more than I would have thought possible — and returned to Papua and moved to the village, alone. I asked nothing for weeks. Just ate with them, smoked with them, talked with them, lived with them and listened to them. And I was lucky, because the village was building a new jeu, a new men’s house, and it was a time of feasting, singing, drumming and dancing and they welcomed me among them. After about three weeks, I finally began asking questions again, but this time very specific ones that had to do with village family lineages and politics, and it was the answer to those questions that confirmed for me that their parents had killed Michael Rockefeller.

What was your latest adventure? I had a piece come out in Outside magazine recently about an attack back in September in Papua New Guinea on a group of Australian trekkers. The story was a long, deep dive into what really happened and, in particular, how the attack was less about robbing the Western tourists — as was commonly reported at the time — than long-simmering internal cultural issues and economic disparities. But, like Savage Harvest, it highlighted what can happen when Westerners travel to remote and complex places that they don’t understand. What has been your most difficult project so far? Savage Harvest — writing about the disappearance of Michael Rockefeller was the most challenging and gratifying story I’ve ever written. It involved almost two years of deep archival research in the Netherlands and the USA and then deep reporting that took me to Indonesian Papua twice, each time for two months, during which I was digging into events that were 50 years old in an incredibly rich and complex culture. It meant learning a new language, or at least the rudiments of one; living in a remote village without power or plumbing or stores with a family, alone, for a month; weaving together the history of Papua, the history of so called “primitive art” collecting, the history of Dutch colonialism, the history of the Asmat, all into a coherent and hopefully riveting narrative that provides not just entertainment, but insight into all of these things. What inspired you to start your mission to write a book about the mystery of Michael Rockefeller’s disappearance? I began travelling to remote places at about the same age as Michael. In my 20s I saw Dead Birds, the film he first worked on, and his story resonated with me, not only his disappearance, but his curiosity and need to go in the first place. His death took on the quality of myth — Michael disappearing in an alien realm that was difficult to penetrate for us Westerners — an idea echoed by the press accounts of the time. Wrote a LIFE photographer, after a day of searching for Michael: “they say if a man falls in the mud he cannot get up without help...” which I knew not to be true — the Asmat had been rolling in that mud, spreading it on themselves, walking in it and living in it for 40,000 years. By the time I began thinking about the story as a possible book project, I had travelled as a reporter to some of the furthest nooks and crannies of the world, and I saw those

distant places as real places full of real people with real stories that, with effort, weren't alien at all, but penetrable, untangleable. And there was enough about Michael’s disappearance that I believed there was more to know; I believed it wasn’t a myth, but a real person who vanished in a real place and that I might be able to pierce it with patience and persistence. Initially all your questions to the jungle-dwelling Asmat were met with silence. Tell me about your investigations in New Guinea and how you broke that silence. I can’t really say I “broke their silence”. On my first trip to Asmat I visited the village twice, and once brought some elders from the village out to the government centre of Agats. At first I asked about the events leading up to his death, the events that set up its inevitability — a war between two villages and the Dutch government raid that left five dead as punishment for that war — and the Asmat were quite forthcoming and remembered events in great detail, as they do, since they are a people without writing for whom storytelling and song is a rich tradition. But when I asked specifically about Michael, I was met with prevarication and obfuscation, though never outright denial. Frustrated and running out of money and time, after 60 days in Papua, I went home and started writing. But then one day I simply stopped. It was clear to me that I didn’t know enough — I didn’t understand the complex Asmat, the place, the culture; I didn’t understand head hunting and cannibalism; and it hit me that I was guilty of the worst sin of journalism — that I had been travelling too fast, that I had been parachuting in and expecting these proud people to just spill all of their secrets, things that were inextricably linked with their sacred world. And I’d been doing it with a whole retinue of people — a translator and boat man and a cook and their assistants.

How did your quest in 2012 compare to Michael Rockefeller’s in 1961? What was his biggest mistake? Well, he was buying up art and I was looking for stories, his story and the complex backstory that led to his death. We were both treasure hunters, of a sort, but he travelled very fast, with a lot of money and as much as he wanted to understand the how and why of the objects he was collecting, he was also ignoring, to an extent, its sacred component — that he was trafficking in the souls of men. Had he had less money, had he been older, I think he might have slowed down, been forced to rely on friendships and personal relationships more, and that might have saved him. The first nine pages of your book ‘Savage Harvest’ is a step by step account of the Asmat’s sacred ceremony and Rockefeller’s fatal end. Describe that ritual and why you think it was within their cultural ethics to do so. The Asmat did all sorts of things that are taboo, or were, in Western culture. They hunted heads. They ate human flesh. The men had sex with each other. They shared each other’s wives at times. They could drink each other’s urine. But those things were as right to them, as normal, as taking communion. And although they fought with each other, they also lived in incredible harmony within their world, in balance with it, and their warfare was nothing like the destruction that occurs and has occurred throughout much of the rest of the world. Ironically, Michael was killed because a Dutch official punished a village for fighting by machine gunning its most important men. Michael was killed according to the ancient Asmat origin myths in which the first brothers of the world learned to create new men via the fruit, the seeds — the heads — of men. To us — and to them now — it seems horrific. Do you have some wisdom to share for young writers? Read, read, read. Read widely and deeply. You have seen so much of this world. What is the most common factor we all share as human beings? We are all subject to the great emotions that power everything we do — love, rage, jealousy, fear, loss, loneliness, wondering who we are and how we got here. Every myth and story and religion is struggling with those same questions.

We look forward to seeing you in Bali! Thank you!

issue 125 indonesia expat

TRAVEL

west

Java Tess Joyce's poems were recently published in poetry magazines Orbis, The Journal, Tears in the Fence, Obsessed with Pipework and in online magazines Snakeskin, The Island Review, BlazeVOX, Ditch, Four and Twenty, Anatomy and Etymology and Phantom Kangaroo. She is a writer from the UK but currently lives with her husband in Indonesia.

A Weekend Trip to Gunung Salak By Tess Joyce

dusk, we scrambled towards the campsite, quite aware that our torch certainly wouldn’t be a beacon of hope, but we finally flopped into a warung where we ordered double mie goreng. Noodles had never tasted so good.

Just two hours away from Jakarta, Gunung Salak is a large volcanic range in Halimun National Park (the largest tract of rainforest in Java) and is an ideal spot for a weekend break or a breath of fresh air. Close to Bogor, it is a great place to visit for camping or a day trip and there are places along the way for those wishing to find a comfortable bed for the night.

BORNEO

JAVA

FAST FACTS Province: West Java Altitude: 2,211 m (7,254 ft)

With a group of Jakartan friends, I recently visited this luscious park, but I will begin this tale by describing our trip to Gunung Salak backwards — with the pleasant bits first and the more extreme bits saved for last. The walk towards the Queen’s Crater is a short, four hour circuit, through a mystical forest. Moss and palms formed intricate corridors over cobbled rocks as we walked past streams and thick vegetation. Finally, we saw the sulphur plumes rise out of the boiling earth. Hot springs were located nearby, full of turquoise water, and rivers of hot and cold water rushed into these gem-like pools. The energy was intense and we sat for a while at the edge, resting on the green and white rocks, stacked in between the ancient, potent-smelling gas.

HOW TO GET THERE

Queen's Crater

Considered as a mystical, holy mountain according to the Sunda Wiwitan indigenous beliefs of West Java, Mount Salak has since been described as an ‘airplane graveyard’ (there have been seven crashes in the region between 2002 and 2012) and mystical explanations have been proposed - such as the mountain’s strong magnetic energy fields. One article described that the shaman of Gunung Salak, called Marsa, once explained that there are at least forty ancient tombs scattered over the mountain. Its name is derived from the sanskrit word salaka, meaning silver. 10

indonesia expat issue 125

Head towards Bogor, then to Pelabuhan Ratu (get off at Cimelati or Cicurug). Take the Sukabumi road and turn right after Cicurug, following the well-signposted road towards Javana Spa - just before the spa, the road crosses a river and you will see the national park office where you can buy a ticket and find maps. WHAT TO DO Visit the Queen crater (the largest) the Paeh Crater (death crater) and Hurip Crater (life crater), camping, trekking, hike up Gunung Salak peak I, birdwatching. WHAT TO BRING

The Campsite

It is advised not to walk into the crater — in 2007, eight mountain climbers from a Jakarta junior high school died after entering it and suffering from sulphur poisoning. Its emissions can be unpredictable and walkers are not recommended to enter the site at night. In fact, Gunung Salak has a mysterious and foreboding reputation — nine hikers have died in the last five years — it is advised to always listen to the warnings of the patrol team. Sometimes hikers leave the trails, looking for adventure and the safety team are forced to perilously search for them as the light fades.

Gn. Salak

Educational signs made by school groups

Trekking shoes, water, torch, food for trekking up to the peak, camping equipment.

A few hours later, in the pitch blackness of night, our friends finally arrived. They hadn’t made it to the peak and two had managed to get lost before finally returning to the trail. At the time, it was wonderful to be back — and, yes it did feel good to have done something unpredictable but it wasn’t very wise to have been so unprepared. Packing provisions and giving yourself enough time is essential for a good hike and it allows you to actually enjoy the trip and surroundings. For anyone looking for a guide to the mountain, Portibi Farms (Ekologika Lodge) provide guides and organises trips to the Citaman waterfalls on the side of Gunung Salak and hiking and rafting expeditions. Jocean founded this organic farm over ten years ago with his Javanese host family whom he met as an exchange student. “It is a place for people to escape the harsh realities of the city, and to see what village life can be here, so that the perceived distance/difference between them can be shortened,” explained Jocean. With space to host a thirty-member group, Ekologika Lodge on the farm encourages the guests to explore the fourteen hectares of land, surrounding forests and the culture of the region. “We give you an old gamelan set to jam with, invite you to help tend the plants that may make up part of your lunch/dinner. It is meant to be a collaborative project for information exchange, so interested parties

CONSIDERED AS A MYSTICAL, HOLY MOUNTAIN ACCORDING TO THE SUNDA WIWITAN INDIGENOUS BELIEFS OF WEST JAVA, MOUNT SALAK HAS SINCE BEEN DESCRIBED AS AN ‘AIRPLANE GRAVEYARD’ (THERE HAVE BEEN SEVEN CRASHES IN THE REGION BETWEEN 2002 AND 2012) AND MYSTICAL EXPLANATIONS HAVE BEEN PROPOSED — SUCH AS THE MOUNTAIN’S STRONG MAGNETIC ENERGY FIELDS.

Trekking into the forest

The area has maintained its silver — Gunung Salak is home to the endangered silvery gibbon and we heard its familiar whoops, resonating through the forest just before dusk. It is estimated that there are only one thousand individuals left in Halimun National Park, which is also home to other threatened creatures including the Javan leopard and the Javan hawk-eagle. As we made our way up to the peak of Gunung Salak, we almost became threatened creatures ourselves. We optimistically believed that we could hike to the peak in less than six hours, which

the patrol team had advised. We had a few odd items with us: a bottle of honey, a couple of flasks of water and some lanting biscuits. I had ingeniously brought a torch without its batteries. You can probably guess where this story goes. And so our hike brought us to the ‘pig graveyard’ — large impenetrable pools of mud engulfed us and we immediately slowed to a snail’s pace. At one point we even passed a sign — welcome to the extreme zone — and giggled as someone took a sceptical selfie. As the terrain grew steeper, we realised that we had almost run out of water and feeling famished, I gulped down mouthfuls of honey at every opportunity. As our legs began to cramp, we decided to split up — and a few of us (including myself) headed down the mountain. At

are invited to get in touch, if they have an endangered or interesting craft they would like to bring to the farm.” In order to bridge the gap between city kids and the country, Portibi Farms also offers learning in nature programs with local farmers, which are structured around four pillars: “First, they plant a tree, (since regrowing the forest is our long term goal),” explained Jocean. “Then, they plant or transplant seedlings, learn about fragile root systems, and how to take care of them. After that, they are allowed to harvest, to see the work involved in getting the food from the field to the basket. The last part is cooking together in the kitchen — where guests can learn and taste why fresh local food, grown organically, is better, and worth all of the effort and why taking care of nature is good.”

TRAVEL

west

Java

A Pleasant Day Trip to Loveland By Byron Black

For years I was so strongly advised against riding the trains around Jakarta, and down to Bogor, that I avoided them: pickpockets, filthy, broken-down cars and a continuous assault by various sorts of destitute folks seeking spare change. Blind beggars, street musicians (some of whom are extremely talented and funloving, as documented in my YouTube series on KONSER KERETA KELAS KAMBING, or ‘K4’ for short), physically disabled children scuttling along the floors, moving trash about with brooms. Then I became broken-down and filthy as well, so I started riding the trains, which turned out to be great fun (bicycle and monkey optional). That era is history. In the past decade or so KAI, the state railway company, has made dramatic improvements in service, with clean, modern, air-conditioned and boring trains. All used hand-me-downs from Japan, of course, and they’ve brought along the Japanese boredom with them. One excellent service you might be interested in is the recently-renovated line from Bogor-Paledang Station, just across the road from busy Bogor Station, all the way to Sukabumi and beyond to Cianjur. KAI has put on a stout German diesel with six cars, running three times a day – and it’s no longer the holiday-in-Buchenwald jamming together. Each carriage has 40-60 seats, with three-by-three seating in Economy and two individual airlinetype seats in Executive. Well, not exactly ‘Executive’ but ‘Eksekutif’ which is a bit more modest.

No more exciting rides on the roof, alas. BORNEO

Sukabumi is an undiscovered (for most folks) part of West Java, which is quite charming for first-time visitors, as the train circles through heavy second-growth jungle straight out of Bogor, rounding ominous Gunung Salak (or, as the locals jokingly nickname it, “Gunung Sukhoi”). It stops first at a nothing wide spot in the road called Maseng, then onward to Cigombong, Cicurug (the author deplanes with his stash of western food but no monkeys, alas, as animals are now verboten on the trains), Parungkuda (no horses in sight), Cibadak (ditto for the rhinos), Sukabumi (meaning “loveland” though it’s a bit of a shabby, shophouse town) and onward to Cianjur, whence the adventurous can take a bus up through Rajamandala to Bandung. There are actually some pleasant natural areas around Sukabumi, including Situ Gunung, with its ice water waterfall; most of the areas are detailed on the web. You can also get to Pelabuhan Ratu from Cibadak, and be swept to your death by the popular undertow, which still takes away dozens of cavorting Indonesian nonswimmers every year, and there is, in addition, easy access to the whitewater runs at Cikidang. It’s great to be able to avoid the Road of Death from Ciawi, which has been the principal reason for the lack of tourist traffic to that part of West Java. Aqua “galon” trucks pound great craters in the road, which is jam-packed twenty-four hours a day. Lido, a pleasant-enough

Sukabumi JAVA

vacation site along the way, has gone bankrupt several times for lack of access. This part of West Java is just a worthwhile day trip from Jakarta, and numerous cheap thrills are available, though you’ll pretty much have to have an Indonesian speaker along for the ride. It’s more fun than the doomed west coast, with its ghost hotels (Anyer, Carita, Labuan), which were popular in the 1990s but now entail a terrific struggle through traffic, down the (normally under repair) Korean-built toll road to Merak. It’s best to order up tickets beforehand online, and the convenient www.tiket. com only nicks you a nickel for charging on ATM cards, credit cards, etc. Tickets are customarily sold out, particularly on weekends, so ordering beforehand is a wise move. Show up at the window with the info printed out and they’ll buzz you up a ticket from their printer on the spot. You have to have some sort of ID, however, to board.

Byron Allen Black is a retired Canadian Grand Prix motorcycle racer with world points in the 350cc. class. He currently works as an English-language copywriter and poofreader, and lives in a kampung house on the banks of the Ciliwung, in Condet, with 7 vicious monkeys.

issue 125 indonesia expat

FACES OF INDONESIA

HERMAN

The Baduy Porter Words By Stephanie Brookes/ Photo By David Metcalf

I met Herman on a recent trip to the Kendang Mountains in the province of Banten, 167 km from Jakarta. Herman is a Baduy Dalam tribesman, who adheres to a traditional way of life and must follow village customs and laws, which do not embrace any modern living practices. The Baduy Dalam do not use electricity, they have no schools, and it is forbidden for them to use transport with a motor or a wheel. They are not even included in the Indonesian census. There are two villages in the Baduy lands; the inner village (Baduy Dalam) and the outer village (Baduy Luar). As a foreigner, you are only allowed to visit the outer village. The inner village is a closed and private world, however if you are Indonesian, you can get permission to enter. To learn about the ‘inner’ Baduy ways, it is possible to take a trekking trip and stay in the ‘outer’ Baduy village. By using porters, like Herman, I was able to learn about the culture and the local ways. His people have pursued a subsistence agricultural lifestyle, largely unchanged, for thousands of years. It is one of the most interesting places I have visited in all my travels across Indonesia. The inner Baduy adhere to their age-old beliefs and religion and follow their mystical leaders, the Pu’un, who are not allowed to leave the inner village. They follow a religious belief known as Sunda Wiwitan and honour a supreme deity. Old Sundanese language is used in their prayers and rituals. It’s easy to recognize a Baduy Dalam (also known as White Baduy), as they wear white head cloths and they carry a large white cloth bag called a gendongan. In Jakarta it is possible to see a group of Baduy walking along the railway tracks or on one of the main roads leading into Jakarta’s CDB. In fact, a group of Baduy made the front page of The Jakarta Post a few months back. Herman told me, “It takes me three days to reach Jakarta from my village. It’s 167kms. I must go by foot. I am not allowed to wear shoes.” He continued, “I have taken 12

indonesia expat issue 125

the journey to Jakarta over fifty times now. I know the way by heart. I cross two mountain ranges and then follow the railway tracks all the way to Lebak Bulus. I stay with my friends in Jakarta and I sell my handicrafts along the way.” I was fascinated with Herman’s feet. His leathery-looking feet supported wide, almost webbed toes. This ‘barefoot policy’ for the inner Baduy people includes other hardships, such as their life of hard physical labour in the fields. They are not allowed to use any modern farm equipment. Staying in the mountains with the Baduy people gave me the opportunity to bow out of contemporary life as we know it, with all its modern conveniences, and blend in, albeit for just a weekend, to a simple, peaceful, gentle way of life. Being guided through the outer Baduy village by a team of inner Baduy was for me a real honour. We walked along the many paths that linked small weaving villages and farming hamlets. Through my guide, Kelik, I heard stories of wedding ceremonies, baby rituals, hunting practices, rice harvest festivities and some village taboos. My overnight stop was in a small kampung called Gajeboh, and after a lovely meal, cooked over an open fire, I slept peacefully in the mountains, listening to the slow running river and the gentle sounds of nature. I was awoken early in the morning with the rhythmic clack-clack-clack of a wooden loom, as the grandmother of the house wove her threads and sung an ancient tune. Trekking through the Baduy villages, you seem to glide on a slipstream of serenity. There is almost no sound coming from the trees and kampungs, which are devoid of TV and radio, and this peace follows you along the pathways to another world.

Stephanie is a professional travel writer and co-author of 'Indonesia Hidden Heritage'.

HISTORY

KASSIAN CEPHAS (1845 – 1912)

Java’s First Photographer

Hans Rooseboom is a long term resident of Jakarta. He has visited nearly all of Indonesia's provinces and worked for many years in Ambon, Aceh, Manado and a number of smaller and larger towns on Java. He now enjoys a leisurely life, playing tennis most mornings and writing his blogs and other articles.

By Hans Rooseboom

Jogjakarta, in gratitude for which the King presented him with a case of three jewelled buttons. His most important work was, however, related to the many ancient buildings and monuments in Central Java. This includes, firstly, the Lara Jonggrang complex in Prambanan, which he photographed so precisely that these photos could later be used for the restoration of the temples. And secondly, the photographs of the hidden foot of Borobudur.

Kassian Cephas (1905)

The first rather rambling title for this article ran nearly three lines as it tried to convey that Kassian Cephas (a) was the first Javanese professional photographer; (b) at the request of Sultan Hamengkubuwono VI (r. 1855 – 1877), was appointed as official photographer at the court of Jogjakarta; (c) photographed many monuments of Hindu Javanese civilization in Central Java. Born in Jogjakarta, he became a pupil of Christina Petronella Philips-Steven, a Protestant Missionary in Jogjakarta. In 1860 he was baptized and took the name Cephas. Later, he began using Cephas as his family name. Cephas married Dina Rakijah, a Christian Javanese woman, at a church in Jogjakarta on 22 January 1866. The couple raised one daughter and three sons: Naomi (b. 1866), Sem (b. 1870), Fares (b. 1872), and Jozef (b. 1881). Sem, his eldest son, became a photographer and painter in his father’s studio. A biography of Cephas, entitled Cephas, Yogyakarta: Photography in the Service of the Sultan, by Gerrit Knaap, published by the Koninklijk Instituut voor Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde (KITLV), Leiden, 1999, presents a selection of 98 pictures: portraits of the royal family, court dances, town views, and of course the Borobudur. Easy access to the court enabled Cephas to produce documentary work on its buildings, among others the Taman Sari Water Castle (now one of the main tourist attractions of Jogjakarta). He also recorded the various keraton (royal court) dances and other expressions of court culture. He was moreover able to engage in portrait photography of the members of the royal family and the sultan himself. As official court photographer, he immortalized the court’s interactions with the colonial officers and visitors. An example of the latter is the recording of the visit of King Chulalongkorn of Thailand to

Borobudur was discovered in 1814 by H. C. Cornelius, a Dutch officer in the Engineering Corps. At the request of Lieutenant Governor General Thomas Stanford Raffles, Cornelis had been sent to investigate the existence of a big monument on a hill in the jungle near the village of Bumisegoro. It took Cornelius and his 200 men two months to cut down trees, burn down vegetation and dig away the earth and ash from Mount Merapi to reveal the monument. But due to the danger of collapse, Cornelis could not unearth all galleries. The report of his findings to Raffles included various drawings. Hartmann, a Dutch administrator of the Kedu region, continued Cornelius’ work, and in 1835, the whole complex was finally unearthed. His interest in Borobudur seemed more personal than official. Hartmann did not submit any reports of his activities, in particular, the alleged story that he discovered the large statue of Buddha in the main stupa.(http:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borobudur - cite_ note-p6-31 In 1842), Hartmann carried out an official investigation of the main dome, but what he discovered is unknown and the main stupa remains empty. The site served for some time, largely as a source of artefacts for "souvenir hunters" and income for thieves. In 1882, the chief inspector of cultural artefacts recommended that Borobudur be entirely disassembled and reliefs to be relocated into museums. This was based on his belief that the monument was largely unstable. The government ordered that a further thorough investigation be undertaken to assess the actual condition of the complex. The resulting report fortunately recommended that the site be left intact. Borobudur did, however, remain a source of souvenirs; parts of its sculptures were looted, some even with colonialgovernment consent. In 1896, King Chulalongkorn, who visited Java and Jogjakarta, requested, and was allowed, to take home eight cartloads of sculptures taken from Borobudur. Several of these are now on display in the Java Art room of The National Museum in Bangkok. Due to the lack of written records covering the construction of Borobudur, much of the

Sultan Hamengkubuwono VI

Borobudur before restoration at the end of the 1800s

“IN 1891, AT THE REQUEST OF SULTAN HAMENGKUBUWONO VII, THE PANELS WERE PHOTOGRAPHED BY HIS COURT PHOTOGRAPHER, KASSIAN CEPHAS. IT SHOULD BE EMPHASISED THAT THESE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE THE ONLY ONES IN EXISTENCE THAT DEPICT THE PANELS.”

An example of good karma

The Hidden Foot of Borobudur Temple

Coveting thy neighbour's wife makes the neighbour very angry and more punishment follows in the hereafter!

Don't disturb animals, do not even catch fish

monument is still enveloped in a cloud of uncertainty. And when, in 1885, a hidden structure under the base of the temple was accidentally discovered by Isaac Groneman, first chairman of the Archaeological Union, a new layer was added to this unknown. The hidden foot was originally the first level of the temple; it contains 160 relief panels. Why this first level was closed and turned into a new foundation is not known. One theory states that during construction it was needed to prevent subsidence of the monument. Another is that the original base was incorrectly designed. Whatever the reason, the 160 panels (not all of them completed when the original first level was encased) were enclosed in a new foundation. In 1891, at the request of Sultan Hamengkubuwono VII, the panels were photographed by his court photographer, Kassian Cephas. It should be emphasised that these photographs are the only ones in

existence that depict the panels. The hidden foot was opened panel by panel, and after having been photographed, closed again. The budget for the exercise was prepared by the colonial administration, but for unknown reasons, Cephas received 3,000 guilders of the budgeted 9,000. Maybe it was felt that a native [photographer] operated at a different cost-level, or maybe the original plan to produce 300 photographs was considered excessive and unnecessary. In the end, 160 photographs of panels were produced, plus an additional four providing an overview of the site. For a long time it was unknown what was depicted on the reliefs of the hidden foot. Only in 1929 was the French orientalist, Sylvain Levi (1863-1935), able to relate the panels to the Buddhist text of Mahakarmawibhangga, which had been discovered in Kathmandu, Nepal, in 1922. Apparently, the reliefs illustrate the theory of karma — the idea that an individual's actions determine his fate, in the here and now, or in a future life! Quite a few could therefore be deciphered, but the meaning of others is still being discussed. The readingsequence of the reliefs starts at the eastern stairs and skirts the temple clockwise. The panels are therefore to be read from right to left. In the south-east corner, the hidden foot has been left open to offer a glimpse of what remains hidden. issue 125 indonesia expat

FOOD & DRINK

Nasi Kapau

INDONESIA'S MOST WANTED FOOD

Nasi Padang By Donny Syofyan

Ayam Balado

Rendang

Asam Padeh

Donny Syofyan is a lecturer at the Faculty of Cultural Sciences at Andalas University. Despite majoring in English literature, his interests are wide and varied. He is a regular writer for The Jakarta Post and Republika. Feel free to contact him at donny.syofyan@gmail.com

indonesia expat issue 125

It is public knowledge that Nasi Padang (literally translates to Padang rice, but meaning Padang food) has become the country’s most famous contribution to Indonesian cuisine. When you pay a Padang restaurant a visit, you will enjoy a very unique dish. Instead of going to the counter for a direct order, you simply sit down and waitresses will bring various dishes to the table. Padang Restaurants are spread across Indonesia; no matter which city you go, there is always a Padang restaurant around. One of the most delicious Padang foods is rendang, a dry beef curry cooked with coconut milk and spices for several hours until almost all the liquid has been evaporated. Every Padang restaurant is based around this dish, and families love to cook it at home, especially during the holidays. There’s a deep philosophical connection to the food. The beef is a symbol for the ninik mamak (tribal leader), coconut is connected to cadiak pandai (the intellectual), chilli relates to the alim ulama (spiritual leader) and condiments represent society as a whole. In the past, rendang was only for the aristocratic. Now everyone eats it. As a true Minangnese, who was born and grew up in Ranah Minang, I dare say that I really rely on nasi Padang for breakfast, lunch and even for dinner. I will always go for nasi kapau (made from young jackfruit mixed with other vegetables), ayam balado (spicy fried chicken) and sate Padang (spicy satay) over imported fast foods. One might say that I make overstatements. You have my word! Many Padang people favour it. Despite their extensive network and lengthy journey of life, Minangnese are still dependent on Padang cuisine for breakfast and lunch, let alone a great meal like dinner. Some of my friends— particularly those with Javanese or Sundanese backgrounds—often shake their heads and are astonished by my seemingly tacky culinary behaviour.

Let me tell you, this is not about a blind love for local food. Rather it deals with the Padang gastronomy. Having shared with other Padang food lovers, the Minangnese rely much on their local cuisine by reason of three major things: cabe (chilli), gulai (curry) and beras (rice). On many traditional functions, such as weddings and thanksgiving ceremonies, the three— spicy chilli sauce, thick curry and perfectly steamed rice—should be served to the guests. Spicy chilli is instrumental in increasing one’s appetite. How could you eat a meal if it doesn’t give you a good appetite? In addition, not simply do spicy dishes make you eat more and more, but they also make your lunch and dinner more ritual. Though food served is not much, Padang people would have a delicious meal so long as there is chilli in it. They believe that dishes without spicy chilli sauce are not real dishes. Yet Padang chilli sauce is not the same as various chilli sauces found in Java, called sambal, since it is made of curly red chillies.

is so unique that Padang people can only enjoy steamed rice. They would never eat sticky rice like their Javanese brothers and sisters. No matter how poor they are, Padangnese never shift to corn, potato or sweet potato as an alternative to rice. For Padang people, a meal without rice is like a day without sunshine. Padang food is not only made of meals, but also traditional snacks. While organizing functions and events, for example, I resort to serving and mixing modern cakes with local snacks. Along with brownies or muffins, kelamai (a sweet coconut palm sugared snack), kue talam (sweet glutinous rice cake) and lapek (banana pudding) are dished up as well. A small change has begun to occur in recent years, thanks to the development of information-technology and burgeoning young people who are always interested in learning something new. In the past few years, Javanese food and beverages have failed to attract Minangnese customers because they are too sweet for the taste

DESPITE THEIR EXTENSIVE NETWORK AND LENGTHY JOURNEY OF LIFE, MINANGNESE ARE STILL DEPENDENT ON PADANG CUISINE FOR BREAKFAST AND LUNCH, LET ALONE A GREAT MEAL LIKE DINNER.

What about gulai? This turns out to be the next essential element as we take our tour around Padang cuisine. In Padang, smart cooking means the capability of preparing gulai (curry). Rendang, asam padeh (sour and spicy stew dish), kalio (watery and light-coloured gravy), to mention just a few, are variations of Padang gulai. You are not ‘good at cooking’ for making fried chicken, griddling pancakes or stir-frying vegetables. When someone excels at cooking gulai, he or she is knowledgeable about spices. That is why, to many Padangnese, ingenuity in cooking is identical with gulai cooking skills. Last but not least, rice should be taken into account. The majority of Indonesians consume it as their staple food, however, it

of Padang people. Noted restaurants in Java, like Wong Solo and Ayam Goreng Nyonya Suharti were unable to survive in West Sumatra. Now, restaurants and cafes serving dishes of the archipelago such as ayam penyet (chicken with tempe and sambal) and pecel lele (fried catfish and rice with a side of sambal) are welcomed in many cities around Ranah Minang. The key lies in their ability to adapt to the taste of consumers in Padang. Like it or not, Padangnese culinary traditions are truly extreme. While Javanese, Sundanese or Jakartans can enjoy different meals without effort across the country, Padangnese still have trouble finding ‘foreign dishes’ suitable for their palates.

issue 125 indonesia expat

BUSINESS PROFILE

Sebastien Laurent In this Business Profile, we meet Sebastien Laurent, a Frenchman who works in the antique and decoration industry from his base in Jogjakarta, Central Java. By Angela Richardson

Bonjour, Sebastien. Tell us, why antiques? What is it about old things that fascinate you? At a very young age I was already fascinated by old things. I admired old buildings and I always had the feeling that I was born in the wrong century. But I came into this business because of my dad, who was also an antiques dealer. I would follow him when he was buying beautiful, old antiques at auctions. I remember the first time, at a small auction in the city of Melun in France, he allowed me to bid on a green terracotta. I was only eight years old! Indonesia’s history is long and complex, however there doesn’t seem to be enough awareness or interest in this subject matter. Why do you think that is? What got you interested in Indonesia’s history in the first place? Honestly, it’s a sensitive subject. History and art are linked, of course. If you don’t care about your own history then you don’t care about your arts and traditions. I am not an expert in Indonesian history or art. My knowledge is all about Europe, but of course, after years and years here, I’ve learned about the amazing Javanese culture and its arts. Unfortunately, the art foundations are few and far between. A few years ago, one of the most extensive Javanese antique collections went into auction here — the David Smith and James Tirtoprodjo Collection. Each piece was sold individually. I was very surprised to see that no one had the idea to buy the entire collection and donate it to a national museum. The price was not even that of a nice apartment in Jakarta for hundreds of well selected pieces. You can still read the book of Bruce Carpenter about this collection: Javanese Antique Furniture and Folk Art. Didier Millet, Csi; January 16, 2010. Big western companies or banks are used to sponsoring major art events or to donate a fortune to have their names associated with architectural renovation. They could do exactly the same here.

You’re originally from France, where antique markets pop up almost weekly in so many towns and cities, which are extremely popular among locals and tourists. Would this concept work well here? There are few projects in Jakarta or Jogjakarta to set up a real antiques fair with 20 to 50 exhibitors from all over Indonesia, but organisation is such an issue and organisation is not really a word that fits well with antique dealers! Let’s talk business. How long have you been buying and selling antiques in Indonesia? Is this a profitable trade? I have been selling antiques for 25 years now and about 10 of these years have been

BUSINESS SNIPPET

New Regulation on Hiring Expatriates By Richard D. Emmerson and Indrawan D. Yuriutomo First published by Amcham Indonesia

The Indonesian Government has issued a regulation on the employment of foreign workers and the implementation of education and training programs for Indonesian companion employees. Presidential Regulation No. 72 of 2014 (Regulation No. 72), which came into effect in July, revokes Presidential Regulation No. 75 of 1995 regarding the Employment of Expatriates. 16

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In principle, companies in Indonesia are allowed to employ foreign nationals with due consideration that there are no Indonesians with the necessary skills and/ or knowledge for the position offered. Companies employing foreign workers are required to appoint Indonesian nationals as understudy workers or trainees to work with the foreign employees for the purpose

in Indonesia. It can be profitable enough to live. I will tell you something, antique dealers are the most secretive people in the world. What about your clientele. Who are they? An eclectic mix of westerns, locals, and others dealers. What kind of things are your customers usually looking for? Indonesians mostly ask for decorative pieces in the sense that it has to be a bit impressive. They love teak wood, glass and porcelain. Westerners are different, especially the dealers who export to Europe or the USA; they are looking for something unique or unusual.

Where is the best spot to go antiques hunting in Indonesia? Jakarta, Jogjakarta, Semarang, Malang, Bandung, Bali. But most of the serious dealers don’t have a shop, so you have to know them. I told you, it’s a small, secretive world! A lot of people visit Jalan Surabaya in Menteng, Jakarta to go antiques hunting. Can you tell us what you think about this road and can we actually find genuine antiques here? Depends what you are looking for but Jalan Surabaya is certainly not the place to go if you’re looking for serious antiques. It’s more of a flea market.

“LEARNING ABOUT ART IS LIKE LEARNING A LANGUAGE; IT REQUIRES TIME AND EXPERIENCE. DON’T COUNT IN YEARS WHEN IT COMES TO KNOWLEDGE OF ANTIQUES, MORE IN DECADES. WE LEARN FROM BOOKS, AUCTIONS, MUSEUMS, AND EVENTHOUGH WE STUDY FOR DECADES, WE STILL MAKE MISTAKES FROM TIME TO TIME.”

How can you tell when an antique is original or a replica? Are there any tricks you can share with us? Learning about art is like learning a language; it requires time and experience. Don’t count in years when it comes to knowledge of antiques, more in decades. We learn from books, auctions, museums, and eventhough we study for decades, we still make mistakes from time to time. The first trick is to dare, to buy, to fail and to re-buy, re-dare and re-fail. Then you start learning. Learning the beauty of something that you don’t really like is the most challenging thing. This is antiques. What is a rookie mistake to make when you’re just starting off in the antiques trade? Thinking that you know better than the guy who is an antiques dealer and believing the crazy magic stories of the rarest Chinese Ming porcelain found in a 14th century boat two weeks ago in Sumatra which is for sale at USD200 because the guy needs money!

What is the most valuable piece that you ever discovered? Tell us the story. 14 years ago, at an auction in Normandy, France, where I didn’t want to go — my colleagues practically forced me to join — I found a 13th century wooden, traveller message box, something very special and highly collectible. I bought it for a reasonable price and sold it for an unreasonable one! But, as my father always said, if you join an antique dealer’s dinner, they always talk about the fantastic deals they did because you can mention them in few hours. The bad deals, you need a lifetime to mention!

I would like to see a local version of The Antiques Roadshow in Indonesia, a travelling TV show visiting different cities and seeing what gems people have to share and value. Wouldn’t you? I love this programme! I used to watch it with my girlfriend's father in London at the end of the 1990s. He was a good antiques collector and we would always guess the prices. I’m sure it could work very well in Indonesia, but valuable antiques are extremely rare here and the success of the program is based on some amazing things that reappear quiet often. I have the whole collection on DVD. I’m not even kidding! What challenges do you face as an antiques dealer in Indonesia? Finding fewer and fewer interesting pieces. But on the upside, I am surrounded by friendly dealers. There is always a silver lining.

Thank you, Sebastien. To contact this antiques dealer, e-mail: sebastienlaurent@hotmail.com

of training the Indonesians and transferring skills and knowledge. The education and training process for the Indonesian workers can take place in Indonesia or overseas and must be confirmed by a competency/ training certificate. These companies must also submit semester reports to the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration (MoMT) outlining the following: a) information on currently employed foreign workers; and b) implementation of the mandatory education and training program for

Indonesian trainees. The 1995 regulation did not require companies employing foreign workers to submit reports on the implementation of the mandatory education and training program.

Richard D. Emmerson ( richardemmerson @ssek.com) is a foreign legal advisor and Indrawan D. Yuriutomo (indrawanyuriutomo @ssek.com) is an associate at SSEK Legal Consultants, the 2014 Who’s Who Legal Indonesian Law Firm of the Year.

issue 125 indonesia expat

MUSIC

Rocking The Capital in Bali

Paul V. Walters is a bestselling author of two novels, Final Diagnosis and Blowblack. He is temporarily living in Sanur while he completes the trilogy. www.paulvwalters.com

By Paul V. Walters

A year ago, a music-loving couple, Leo and Liz Sinatra, decided to stage a concert at their shop in Batubulan and just 48 hours before the show was due to start, the local banjar informed them that there was no way they could accommodate 1,200 ‘guests’ in their street. Within two days, a new venue was found, equipment set up, posters re-printed and with Bali’s underground communication system working at warp speed, the crowds came, the bands played and a splendid time was had by all. Move forward one year, and this time round things were a lot different, as I discovered when I arrived at the venue in north Denpasar. Situated inside a huge walled field that now contained a giant stage (complete with large video screens on either side), police and security present in abundance, and a phalanx of pop-up stalls selling refreshments and band merchandise, this was no amateur hour. St. Lucas Fest 2, Rock in Capital 2014 was about to kick off! Catching up with the organizers, Leo and Liz Sinatra, both of whom looked remarkably calm, was an absolute delight. This couple bubble over with boundless energy, enthusiasm and talent and their love for music knows no bounds! This year they managed to bring together a bigger and perhaps better concert than the year before (if that’s possible). With the success of this foray there is no doubt that Rock in Capital will be around for many years to come. The event featured ten bands all in one spectacular location. To accommodate all the artists, the first act began playing at 4pm when the sun was still high in the sky. The crowd at that time of day was a little thin, however, Liz who was manning the gate whispered, “Paul, as they say, if you build it they will come.” I snuck off to a little warung to grab some dinner, as the night ahead was no doubt going to be busy. Returning an hour or so later I realized that Liz’s prediction was spot on for there was barely enough room in the car park to slot my bike! Queues now stretched way back from the entrance, with eager patrons scrabbling to get inside before one of the big bands of the night, Superman Is Dead, began their set. Making my way through the crowd, the place was jumping with JackKnife Blues in full flight, belting out some of the best — let’s call it country rock — I have heard in a while. The stage organization was flawless with a five minute 18

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break between acts, where a small army of black clad roadies descended, getting one band off and the next on and tuned up. With little fanfare, one of Indonesia’s biggest bands suddenly took to the stage and they certainly didn’t disappoint. Here is a group that has come a long, long way since they formed in Kuta in 1995. This is Superman Is Dead (SID), and at last I had the experience of seeing them live. With several albums under their belt and tours to the USA and Australia, any early kinks in their sound had all but been eliminated. This was a flawless and tight set and judging by the crowd knowing all of their lyrics, they have lost none of their star appeal; they certainly deserve their spot as one of the country’s best. Their early inspiration came from American band Greenday and eight years on, in my humble opinion, they now far surpassed their mentors. What I liked about this music festival was that even with a headline act such as SID, they were not the headline act, and after ripping through their set, there were lots more to come, even though filling their shoes was going to be a hard act to follow. Not so, for Double Black, the Melbourne-based rockabilly/ rock band were flown in especially for this concert. Made up of Travis Demsey, Matt Black and Jason Skewes, this was a first for Bali’s music fans to get a taste of the rock/ punk sound from down under. It took a couple of numbers for the crowd to fully appreciate what they were seeing, but then the groove took hold and looking out over the crowd all one could see was a couple

of thousand concertgoers bopping to the rollicking beat! Jason Skewes' antics with the double bass, Matt Black’s stunning guitar riffs and Travis Dempsey’s thumping drum rhythms, would bring even the most die-hard Ramones fans to ecstasy. Maybe it was pure modesty that kept the Suicidal Sinatras’ late entrance to the stage (after all it was Leo Sinatra’s organization that brought this concert together) but they were certainly worth waiting for! I had the privilege of seeing this band at the first St. Lucas Concert in 2013 and if anything, these guys were better second time around. Leo Sinatra’s guitar playing was sublime and the band’s tight set was one that once again lifted the crowd to a virtual frenzy. Keep watching out for this bunch of talented guys, for there is no doubt we will be hearing a whole lot more from them. All too soon the concert came to its inevitable end and the organizers should certainly give themselves a pat on the back. As the crowd made their way slowly to the exit gates, one got a sense that they would have liked a lot more. However, noise restrictions in the Denpasar area dictated that the concert had to finish at a respectable hour and that rule was respected. Still, seeing ten bands in fewer than eight hours, those that came certainly got their money’s worth. There is no doubt that Rock in Capital will become a permanent fixture on the Bali concert circuit. It deserves to, for it was a sensational night out. If I don’t get asked back next year, I’ll simply have to gatecrash!

issue 125 indonesia expat

LITERATURE

EHENG

A Journey to the Dayak Afterlife An excerpt from Looking for Borneo, images, words and music inspired by the book, Crazy Little Heaven. By Mark Heyward

Not far from here, at the end of an impossibly potholed jungle track, traditional Bahau Dayak ways are preserved in this rapidly developing region. The isolated village of Eheng sports a fine sprawling lamin or longhouse where families live the old way and continue to enact the rituals which ensure respect is paid to ancestors, and ancient spirits are appeased. On a previous occasion when visiting Eheng with my family, I was greeted with the evocative sounds of a village gamelan orchestra mingling with the beat of mallet and chisel as a huge tree trunk was transformed into a heavily carved, symbolic totem pole. I watched for a while. Human figures with grotesquely exaggerated genitals and facial features emerged from the raw timber entwined with snakes, dragons and classic swirling motifs. I climbed a notched wooden pole to enter the raised longhouse. As my eyes adjusted to the dim interior, I took in a remarkable scene. A small group was huddled around playing the gamelan gongs in the slatted light inside. In one corner of the communal space which ran the length of the structure, a group of old men sat around a Dayak shaman chanting in an unintelligible local language. A large area was separated with hanging dry leaf strips and floored with rattan mats. Beyond this, women squatted beside a pair of large Chinese porcelain jars, busy in the preparation of a range of festive foods. Villagers wandered about, smoking and chatting with a sidelong glance or sometimes an open stare at our intrusion. In the centre of the cordoned area hung a large and brightly painted wooden box, decorated with a profusion of colourful rags and plaited reeds. Looking up to where this arrangement was attached to the ceiling high above, I could see a cluster of cheap china plates and bowls suspended upside down amongst the dust and cobwebs. “What is all that for?” asked my son, Oliver, then eleven years old and trying to make sense of it all.

“Beats me,” I replied, my Indonesian language not then good enough for me to find out. By this stage, the economic opportunities that our visit presented were being asserted and a range of carved and woven artefacts

the disinterred and ritually washed bones of those family members whose spirits were to be released for their journey on the ship of the dead to a Dayak heaven.

GLORIOUS MUD 2014 pencil, pen and wash on paper by Khan Wilson

was spread out for our inspection. My attention was diverted from speculation on the meaning of it all, and I set about the more pressing business of souvenir shopping. It was not until some time later that the significance of this scene became clear. On a second visit to Eheng, a few months later, Tim and I met Michael Cope, an Australian anthropologist who for two years had been living on and off in the village and studying the Bahau people's religion and changing society. Michael looked rather like a tall and bearded version of the scrawny kampung chickens that scrabble about beneath the longhouse, this appearance perhaps being the effect of a prolonged diet of nasi putih and local cigarettes. He was happy to have the opportunity for conversation in his native tongue with visitors interested in his research. “Eheng,” he explained, “is a typically young lowland Dayak village. It was established around thirty years ago when the villagers

Mark Heyward has lived and worked in Indonesia for over twenty years. His 2013 book, Crazy Little Heaven, an Indonesian Journey has become a best seller in this country. This story is an excerpt from a new coffee table book titled Looking for Borneo, words images and music inspired by the book Crazy Little Heaven. Looking for Borneo is a unique collaboration between three internationally respected artists: the writer and musician, Mark Heyward, artist Khan Wilson, and photographer, David Metcalf, all of whom

indonesia expat issue 125

migrated from the inland. Since that time only three traditional funeral ceremonies have been held. It just costs too much.” The elaborate three-week-long rituals are apparently a financial burden few families can bear. To cover the costs of the funeral we had stumbled into on the previous visit, it is likely that the host family would have sold one of the priceless antique ceramic jars that were once traded upstream by Chinese merchants for precious jungle products, and have now become collectors’ items coveted by antique traders from the coast. The totem pole or sepunduq I observed being carved was to be erected in the clearing in front of the longhouse, where it would serve as a hitching post for a sacrificial beast at the climax of the ceremony. In earlier times a human sacrifice would have been offered. After the funeral, the carved pole was probably sold to help offset costs. The colourful box hanging inside the longhouse had contained

contributed their work for free. Proceeds to the Ransel Buku Dayak children’s education program, The Darung Tiang Dayak dance studio in Pelangkaraya and The Pelangi School Scholarship Program. As Bill Dalton says in the foreword: “Looking for Borneo is a celebration of the island of Borneo, its environment and its people. At the same time it is a call to action, a plea to save this special place from the ravages of development. A collection of writings, drawings, photographs and music inspired by Kalimantan and Mark Heyward’s acclaimed book Crazy Little Heaven,

“On the final night of the three weeks of rituals,” Michael went on, “those bones were taken from the box and given a wild party before they were put in their sandung.” As he talked he led us to the village cemetery where the sandung were to be found. A row of five or six carved wooden sarcophagi rested a couple of metres above the weedy ground on carved poles. “The relatives and friends of the deceased sang beautiful songs to the dead on that night. It's really very moving. The songs are incredible, quite haunting. I was at the last funeral held here. They sing songs which celebrate their lives in a very personal way. If the dead man liked a smoke, he is given lighted cigarettes. They give them their favourite food and a share of the grog too. They even dance with the skulls. The party would have gone on all night. It's quite amazing.” Such is the nature of the traditional Dayak culture, where the spiritual and the temporal are never far apart. The presence of both a Catholic and a Protestant church in the village, alongside the longhouse, indicates a flexibility of religious thinking that could perhaps be usefully emulated in other parts of the country.

an Indonesian Journey, this new volume is a unique artistic collaboration and a fine contribution to the body of Indonesian travel literature.” Looking for Borneo will be released at a special event at the Ubud Readers and Writers Festival, at the Ubud Botanical Gardens on the evening of Friday October 3rd. The event will feature an exhibition of Khan’s artwork and David’s photography, live music from Mark’s album by Qisie and friends, readings accompanied by music and images - and traditional Dayak music and dance. All are welcome.

Kenneth Yeung is a Jakarta-based editor

Social Media Sins By Kenneth Yeung

Indonesia has about 70 million active social media users, spending an average of over five hours online daily through computers and mobile devices. This has led to a proliferation of online flirting and dating, much of which is harmless. Indeed, it’s increasingly common for people to make initial contact with their future spouse via the Internet. But social media is also ripe ground for sexual predators and thieves. One of the most insidious forms of online exploitation involves grooming children for sexual abuse. In one well-documented case, a 14-year-old girl in Depok, south of Jakarta, accepted a Facebook friend request from a 24-year-old man. Charmed by his compliments and offers of new clothes, she met him in person at a mall. At their second meeting, he took her to a house where several other young teenage girls were imprisoned. She was drugged, raped repeatedly and informed she would be sold to a brothel on Batam, the island playground for sex tourists from Singapore. The man ended up ditching her at a bus station after massive media coverage of her abduction. The National Commission for Child Protection says many young victims of abduction are targeted via Facebook. Young girls can be lured by promises of gifts such as smartphones, jewellery and designer handbags. Children are less likely to activate maximum privacy settings on social media accounts; thus, predators can view their photos and personal details. In March, a 19-year-old man in Jakarta befriended a 16-year-old girl on Facebook, kidnapped her and informed her family she would be murdered unless they paid a ransom of Rp.200 million. Survivors of such ordeals are not always treated with compassion by society. In the case of the Depok girl, her school expelled her when she tried to return. An education official later claimed the expulsion was a misunderstanding. In East Java, a paedophile posed on Facebook as a young female doctor and befriended elementary school girls. Under the guise of discussing reproductive health, he convinced at least four girls to take nude photos of themselves and send them to him. Reports said the photos were then posted online and given captions that claimed the girls’ virginity had been sold by their parents.

There are numerous pages on Facebook offering the “booking” of Indonesian girls for sex, although some of these may be scams, tricking paedophiles into transferring money for nothing. Indonesia has strict anti-pornography legislation but it is infrequently enforced. In February, police arrested a man in Bandung, West Java, for operating several websites that sold porn, including child porn. Martakusuma Deden (28) is now on trial and faces a maximum penalty of 12 years in jail and a fine of Rp.6 billion — mostly for violating the 2008 Law on Information and Electronic Transactions. In the East Java city of Malang, police last month arrested a member of the Air Force who used a dating application called BeeTalk to meet women and then robbed them. BeeTalk, which launched in Thailand in November 2013, operates on Android and Apple iOS devices. Users can browse profile photos of other members and automatically become friends if they ‘Like’ each other. A ‘Look Around’ feature enables users to locate those in their near vicinity. There’s also a ‘Goyangkan’ feature, where you can shake your phone to connect with complete strangers who are also shaking their phones. Angger Yugo Prasetyo (27) used BeeTalk over June to August to meet at least four women, ranging in age from 20 to 40. He posted a photo of himself wearing a borrowed police uniform and gave himself the name Zhue. He took his first victim to an amusement park. After getting acquainted, he suggested she use a musholla — an Islamic prayer room. When she was praying, Angger stole her handbag. His second victim was also robbed while praying at a musholla, this time located at a petrol station. A third victim was taken to a tourist resort area. Angger later asked her to go out and buy a meal. When she returned, her online lover had disappeared with her valuables. The fourth victim was taken to a hotel for sex. When she was having a shower, Angger left with the contents of her handbag. Police arrested Angger at a shopping centre on August 28. During interrogation, they discovered he is a member of the Air Force’s Special Forces unit. He was subsequently handed over to Military Police. He had reportedly sold the loot — cash, jewellery and mobile phones — to buy a new phone and a motorbike. issue 125 indonesia expat

WORTHY CAUSES

Kolewa

The Star of Seminyak

British-born Polly Christensen is a documentary film maker, features writer and environmentalist. She can be contacted at www.madefromstardust.com

By Polly Christensen

Syta Plantinga, Kolewa founder (right)

Seminyak on Stage recently pulled out all the stops for their musical event at Red Carpet Champagne Bar on Jalan Laksmana. Without a doubt, Red Carpet Champagne Bar is among the favourite drinking spots and social hangouts of countless local expats and returning visitors to Bali. The venue raised money for a Medi-car, mobile clinic that will be used by their favourite non–profit charity organisation, Kolewa Foundation. During the evening, talented children of all ages were given the chance to perform, accompanied by a live band on stage. The two assigned age-categories were juniors aged from 8-15 and seniors aged 16 plus. Some of Bali’s most famous singers were judging the fun event, including Mia Samira and Marina Sedik. They performed for free together with VJ and graphic artist Micha Klein from Holland. And of course plenty of champagne was available to the adults while the venue overflowed with positive energy. All entertainment at this event was in the hands of Centerstage Rockschool (a place where lots of kids enjoy music as a part of their daily life). There were judges present to select a winner for every category, and the winners received great prizes that will kick -off their career in the halls of eternal fame!

“Eleven contestants performed in the junior category, with five performers in the senior,” explains Mel. “It was wonderful to watch such great kids, willing to share themselves live in front of an audience. The Grease ensemble, were all members of the live Canggu Club show on the 6th and 7th of June this year, where 25 kids performed GREASE the Musical to a crowd of 600 people over three shows. The amazing talent quest encouraged Seminyak shops and restaurants to promote themselves by way of a raffle. Donated vouchers and free gifts were attached to hundreds of balloons suspended in a big net above the merry crowd. “Famous singers such as Mia Samira and Marina Sedik gave a great live performance and were also were members of the jury,” comments Nadeche Agterberg, from Seminyak On Stage. “Around twenty kids performed during the fundraising talent contest, under Chairmanship of media-artist Micha Klein. The winners were Ziggy, Storm, Lente, Reily, Senna but all the kids were great!” Throughout the evening, an auction was held by Fred Gerritsen and Kerry Ball. Many sponsors donated generously, raising money towards the Medi-car. Red Carpet Champagne Bar donated 20% of all its drinks sales to Kolewa Foundation. “A second-hand double-cabin Ford Ranger means that we require a total of Rupiah 250,000,000 to cover costs. The event at Red Carpet brought in the beautiful amount of Rp.150,000,000,” says Syta Plantinga, Kolewa's founder. “Another donation from a German Rotary club member this week provided Rp.15,000,000 together with the gift from Mathieu Nagelkerke (a Dutch expat in Bali) of Rp.25,000,000 who held a fundraiser at last year’s triathlon.”

Melanie Jones from YPKR Centerstage displayed her aptitude for presenting Musical Theatre performances and bringing together talent from multiple schools — forging friendships and creating collaborations for future performers. “I started teaching vocal lessons in 2011 and then slowly incorporated more instruments and then drama as the expat children were given little scope for performance development in and around the Seminyak/Canggu areas,” says Melanie. “My passion to build confidence in children and adults by offering regular opportunities to perform has been supported by some amazing families, and through Montessori School. I love to watch them grow and flourish on stage.”

The Kolewa Foundation is doing a wonderful job helping children in need all over Indonesia and is run by volunteers. Their goal is to work towards a better future for children and older people with disabilities by focusing on projects in the field of small business and providing education for young people with disabilities, as well as improving housing conditions and providing medical care within existing shelters for children or vulnerable groups in society.

“Our Medi-car will be a 4x4 wheel-drive car, which allows us to go off-road and offer assistance in areas like Karangasem close to Mount Agung,” explains Syta. “We scout and collect data on the patients and discuss solutions with our field-partners Yayasan Swara Swari, Yayasan Senyum, John Fawcett Foundation and doctors from Sanglah hospital. All this work is done in cooperation with nurses from puskesmas, kepala desas and Indonesian volunteers and professionals.” Other projects on the Kolewa agenda include Swara Swari Preschool for children with hearing-impairment, and Harmoni Hearing Test Centre. A yearly family gathering is held for families who have a child with hearing loss. Every three months there is a medical outreach in cooperation with Yayasan Sedasa Sunar, and a weekly scouting in Bali in cooperation with fieldpartners, which focuses on impairment on areas of the face, eyes and ears. Kolewa brings the patients into their headquarters and guides them during the process. “We are facilitating all the scouting and travelling of the patients. Surgery and treatment is often a matter for BJPS (government) or sometimes made possible by finding private sponsors,” comments Syta. “Cleft lips are directly brought to the Smile House in Denpasar. Most funds come from Europe and, like today, from concerned expats in Bali. For example, in the past two years we brought more than 150 children to Smile House for palate or cleft lip operations and gave hundreds of people the opportunity to get a hearing test and hearing-aid.” Syta concludes, “We are convinced that before the rainy season Kolewa Foundation can serve the rural areas in Bali. We are able to bring doctors and patients together and save children from a hidden and shameful life! The Seminyak On Stage event was a great chance for us to get a big step forwards.” Donations for Kolewa Medi-car can be sent to their bank account at: Mandiri Bank: 145-00-1042164-8. Account holder: Sytske Plantinga citing Kolewa. BICcode: BMRIIDJA. Their Dutch account: NL79ABNA0980910668. Acc.holder: Stichting Kolewa citing Medicar. For more information please visit the website at www.kolewa.com

DUA TA NGA N CUKUP — ACT IONS F ROM ACROS S T HE A RCHIPEL AGO To celebrate Independence Day this year, the children of an NGO in Jogjakarta shared their pride in their country by cleaning up their neighbourhood. Little Care is a children’s charity based in the foothills of Mount Merapi, Jogjakarta, providing English education for children in the local villages, giving these children a chance for a brighter future. On Indonesian Independence Day, the children of Little Care spent an hour cleaning up rubbish from the areas surrounding their reading rooms, and separated their waste into recyclable and non-recyclable materials.

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“It’s important that children have an understanding from a young age about not littering, and also that rubbish has value, and that’s why we teach them how to separate their waste. In our village here, we have large shared bins which villagers use to throw their rubbish away, separating plastics and glass from organic materials, which we compost,” says Ibu Indah, Little Care’s Director and Founder. After the clean-up, the children participated in Independence Day games, enjoying fun with their friends after the hard work of cleaning up their village. These children are

setting an excellent example for others out there, adults included, not to litter and to separate our waste at home. Thank you to the children of Little Care!

To learn more about this charity, please visit www.littlecare.org What’s your Dua Tangan Cukup action? Send them to cleanupjktday@indonesiaexpat.biz and we’ll print them here to inspire other readers!

LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT

* Answers in the next edition!

FOR THE MACET MIND

2.5 Men Jumps the Shark By Eamonn Sadler (www.eamonnsadler.com)

When Charlie Sheen got fired and written out after season eight as an “exploded bag of meat” under a Metro train somewhere in Paris, I thought Two and a Half Men had surely jumped the shark and lost its magic forever (had the Sheen/CBS love affair continued to the end, Charlie would surely have died under a pile of gorgeous women and feeling no pain). But then for season nine, the very funny and talented Ashton Kutcher was brilliantly cast as Walden Schmidt, the suicidal billionaire replacement, and I really thought the show had been snatched from the scrap heap. The f irst post-Charlie episodes were very funny and I thought we wou ld have many more years of laughs to enjoy with an even-moredislikeable-yetlikeable Alan Harper (played by Jon Cryer) and an even more l a dy-k i l l i ng- a nt ihero-playboy than Charlie Harper in Walden. I won’t talk about Angus T. Jones (Jake) who apparently found God, quit the show after season 10 and called it “filth”. He even called himself a “hypocrite” for continuing to take the money (around US$350,000 per episode) even after he grew up and realized the show’s subject matter sometimes conf licted with his personal morals. I wonder if he’ll stop being a hypocrite now and give the US$15 million he made from it to charity. It’s easy to have a conscience about these things when you’re a multi-millionaire - let’s see if he accepts a return appearance in the final episode for a hundred thousand bucks when he’s broke. CBS has announced that the 12th season will be the last and I can see why. It all went a bit wobbly for me when the story line had Alan go completely bonkers in season nine, episode eight and start believing he was Charlie. Then loveable idiot Jake disappeared “to Japan for a year” at the end of season 10 (although it had to become Two Men and Another Man at some point anyway, whether Angus quit or not) and the jokes started to centre around people smoking illegal substances

and talking about funny or strange things Charlie used to do even though we never saw him do them (as if we didn’t see him do enough). Apparently it took two people to replace Jake; Jenny, Charlie’s illegitimate heavy-drinking lesbian daughter (played by Amber Tamblyn) who we never knew about, and Barry (Clark Duke), a chronic masturbator who appeared by virtue of a tenuous link with one of Walden’s exgirlfriends. All starting to reach a bit, in my opinion. Luckily for me I was on an SQ f light a couple of days ago and I got to see the two latest episodes ahead of general release in this part of the world. It was the final nail in the coff in for me and saved me a lot of wasted time watching t he pr e v iou s episodes I had yet to catch up on and the future episodes yet to be made. I won’t tell you what happens, but it’s painfully clear that Chuck Lorre was the brains behind the storylines — his disappearance from the writing team coincides with a major nosedive in quality, which happened just after the start of season 11. All I will say is that when writers resort to having characters go mad or get drunk or fall face-first into a cake to get laughs, you know they are writing on the wall. When they have them do all three simultaneously, it’s just sad. It’s an ignominious end for me to CBS’ longest running and most successful comedy show because I won’t be watching season 12 or the season 11 episodes I missed. It’s over as of now because I want to remember it as it was. I know you think I will be tempted to watch anyway, but I won’t because I know that in the finale at the end of season 12, the writers plan to have Walden and Alan perform same sex marriage so they can adopt a baby. I can’t watch that. Too obviously and deliberately controversial, and they’ll probably be stoned, drunk and temporarily insane as they fall hand-in-hand into a giant wedding cake. Ha ha ha….

To read more by Eamonn Sadler, go to www.eamonnsadler.com to find out more about live Stand-Up Comedy in Indonesia please e-mail info@jakartacomedyclub.com text or call 0821 1194 3084 or register at www.jakartacomedyclub.com

Across

DOWN

5. Tubular structure erected round building (11)

1. Fleet — blue (4)

7. Problematic (4)

2. Casual (7)

8. Be uncertain about decision (8)

3. Velvety fabric (5)

9. Staying power (7)

4. Autocrat (8)

11. Be on one's feet (5)

5. It needs a special surface to ignite (6,5)

13. Correct (one's ways) (5)

6. Be obstructive (3,2,3,3)

14. Stiff and formalistic (7)

10. Having only one mate (8)

16. Become inactive (and malodorous) (8)

12. Endeavour (7)

17. Bird, maybe domestic (4)

15. Be uncertain about decision (5)

18. System of alternative medicine (11)

17. Destiny (4)

Answers of issue 124 ACROSS — 1. Bush telegraph 8. Run 9. Reclaimed 10. Howitzer 11. Undo 13. Become 14. Wombat 16. Lobe 17. Bully off 20. Headdress 21. Sum 22. Paddle Steamer DOWN — 1. Birch 2. Sandwich board 3. Term time 4. Locket 5. Goad 6. Almond blossom 7. Hide-out 12. Coalesce 13. Bellhop 15. Rubens 18. Femur

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issue 125 indonesia expat

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Hatten Wines Scoop more awards at the 2014 CWSA Wine Competition HONG KONG Hatten Wines celebrates their 20th Anniversary by being recognized again as a leader in winemaking, winning a total of seven medals at the China Wine and Spirits Awards 2014, in Hong Kong. The prestigious Double Gold was awarded to Hatten Wines Pino De Bali & Hatten Wines star duo Alexandria and Aga White were awarded Gold, with their sparkling white Tunjung awarded a gold medal and their sparkling rosé Jepun awarded a silver medal. Hatten Wines were also delighted that their flagship Rosé and the Aga Red also received Bronze awards. All the award winning wines are made strictly with grapes grown in North Bali, either in the company’s own vineyards or from private vineyards with which Hatten Wines has management agreements.

MetaMan Bintan IronMan leads the way for sports tourism in Indonesia BINTAN The 2014 MetaMan Bintan IronMan, Half IronMan and Blitz distances took place on Sunday 24th August in Bintan, in the Riau Islands province of Indonesia. The event was a great success, with over 400 athletes from around the world participating, either for a chance at the USD130,000 total cash purse or just for personal achievement.

Cameron Brown of New Zealand gained first place for the IronMan, with a time of 08:28:21, followed closely by Courtney Ogden of Australia (08:32:03) and Fredrik Croneborg of Sweden in third place (08:35:04). The Half IronMan distance was won by Matthew Ledgar of Australia, with a time of 04:40:38, followed by Kira Flanagan of Australia (04:41:42) and

New regulations for credit card transactions in Indonesia ACROSS THE ARCHIPELAGO According to regulations from Bank Indonesia, starting on January 1st 2015, all credit card transactions in Indonesia must be made using a six digit personal identification number (PIN). Major lenders, Bank Central Asia (BCA), Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) and Bank Mandiri are on track to comply with the central bank’s regulation that will require the use of a six-digit PIN for credit card transactions, their senior executives said. The central bank claims that the use of PINs will provide higher security for customers during each transaction.

Monica Torres of the Philippines (04:44:51). Local athlete Andy Wibowo took third place of the Half IronMan distance in the men’s division, with a time of (04:47:51). The course was tough due to undulating roads for the bike and run, however light rains in the afternoon provided much solace for athletes running through heavy humidity

and heat. MetaMan Bintan is organized by MetaSports and is a yearly event not to be missed for athletes in Indonesia, due to smooth and successful implementation and execution, as well as a beautiful setting of beaches, coastlines and forests of Bintan for the athletes to enjoy.

Special opening promotion rates at Citadines Kuta Beach Bali BALI Make an advance booking with Citadines Apart’ hotel in Bali and enjoy the special opening promotion rates starting from IDR 880,000 nett. You will also receive complimentary daily continental breakfast for two persons, complimentary early checkin and late check-out (subject to availability), housekeeping service and complimentary wireless internet access. This promotion is valid for stays till 30 November 2014.

Citadines Kuta Beach Bali offers a prime beachfront location in vibrant Kuta, famous for its long beach that connects the nearby districts of Legian and Seminyak. The serviced residence is near Beachwalk Mall — an open-air shopping complex with over 200 luxurious retail outlets. It is also within walking distance to the famous Hard Rock Café and a short drive to the swanky Potato Head Beach Club. For enquiries, please contact enquiry.bali@the-ascott.com or call +62 21 2995 6888.

25 days for 25 years of Eastern Promise JAKARTA In 2013, Eastern Promise bar and restaurant in Kemang celebrated their 24th anniversary with a 24-hour-long party. This year, celebrations went up a notch to a period of 25 days! One of the festivities was the '25 Day Bintang Drinking Challenge', whereby 40 patrons signed up for a chance to win Rp.25 million in drinks tabs by visiting Eastern Promise for 25 consecutive days to drink one beer a day. There were 10 winners in the end. 24

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Eastern Promise gave away a barrel of beer for 25 days, deciding the opening time of each barrel by 'Spin the Wheel'. On the halfway mark of the 25-day celebrations, Eastern Promise filled their carpak with sand and celebrated 'Indopendence Day' on August 17th with a beach party. The 25 days of partying ended on August 31st with a big party, drawing a close to this year's festivities. What will their 26th anniversary have in store?

The Gandhi Memorial International School Jakarta Providing a safe, stimulating all-round learning environment to all its students is at the core of the mission and vision of the Gandhi Memorial International School, a premier international school of Indonesia, centrally located in Jakarta, inspired by the Gandhian philosophy of ‘drawing out the best in body, mind and soul’. In the last 50 years since its establishment, the school management and teachers have diligently worked towards this goal. The growth in student enrolment and the endorsements from the alumni have demonstrated that we have been successful in our mission. FROM PRE-SCHOOL TO GRADE 12 From the time children enter the pre-school, they are under the nurturing umbrella of the caregivers, the teachers who are with the children instructing, showing and sharing. Hands-on doing is as much the norm as the instructing is. Learning through questioning, researching, collating, thinking, evaluating and synthesizing is the straightforward methodology adopted. From the IB Primary years Program, Cambridge Primary Checkpoint, IB MYP and Cambridge IGCSE, till the IBDP the teaching – learning strategy is creative, consistent and comprehensive. While the school has embraced the latest technical innovations in learning through its emphasis on the use of ICT, e-assessment, traditional value-based education still forms the backbone of its curriculum. EXCITING ACTIVITIES The dynamic morning assembly procedure, where each pupil of the school gets an opportunity to show and shine the jewel inside them, is unique to the school. With each class hosting the assembly three

days of a week, every single student contributes and in the process hones oratory, presentation, organization and other skills. This whole school exposure is bolstered by art, singing, dancing, costume designing, model-making, science project competitions at class level. The production and staging of 13 plays each year, one by each class from preparatory to grade 12 ensures that all integral aspects from publicity, production, composing music and background score, set and prop designing, costume designing, light and sound, keeping accounts, community service project, direction and acting are all handled by students under the tutelage of teachers. These projects not only foster in our students the values of coordination, team work, time management and multitasking, but enable them to understand the challenges and constraints of real world issues, making it easier for them to decide career options for life. SPORTS Due to the vast range of training for sports such as golf, capoeira, taekwondo, yoga, cricket, soccer, basket ball, badminton, students actually have a field day. Through our dynamic sports regimen implemented during the week and on Saturdays they have enough time to enjoy the best of both worlds - academic and sports. ALUMNI School-leaving graduates from GMIS are sought after and get accepted into the best universities and courses around the world, many with scholarships and credits. Placement in multinationals and entrepreneurship comes easy to them. Our students truly become global citizens contributing to society.

Jl. H.B.R. Motik, Kemayoran, Blok D6 Kav. No. 1, Jakarta Pusat 10630 - Indonesia For Information contact Ms. Yuni: 085 813 311 217 Tel: (+62-21)658 656 85 / 71 / 74 / 75 / 82, Fax: 658 656 77 headmaster@gandhijkt.org | www.gandhijkt.org

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EVENTS

JAKARTA Automotive

Indonesia International Motor Show 18–28 September 2014 This year’s international motor show adopts the theme ‘smart and safe mobility’, featuring multiple vehicle brands. Public show tickets are available at Rp.100,000 for opening day, Rp.40,000 for subsequent weekdays and Rp.60,000 for the weekends. Tickets may be purchased on the spot. This highly anticipated event will take place at JI. Expo (Gedung Pusat Niaga 1st f loor, Arena PRJ, Kemayoran). For more information on the exhibition, call (021) 3199-6077 ext. 335 or email mirna@dyandra.com. www.indonesianmotorshow.com Culture

Jak-Japan Matsuri 15-21 September 2014 Japan and Indonesia unite in one celebration of the Japanese culture in Jakarta. The opening ceremony of Jak-Japan Matsuri will be held on the 14th of September, while ‘Japan Week’ is a weeklong celebration of the IndonesiaJapan diplomatic relationship — featuring dances, cultural ac tiv ities a nd competitions — that w ill be held at Plaza Senayan Mall (Jl. Asia Afrika, Senayan, South Jakarta). The closing ceremony (21 September) will take place at Parkir Timur Senayan (Senayan East Carpark). For more information, call (021) 3192-4308 or email jw-jakarta@ hotmail.co.jp. Charity

and entertainment, where stand up comedy, musical performances, improv performances and of course the Red Nose Teen Troupe’s performance will take place at the Le Meridien Hotel grand ballroom. This is a charity auction night to benefit the foundation a nd your entr y ticket s (Rp. 1,250,000 for individuals and Rp. 9,600,000 for a group booking of 8 or more) includes a four-course dinner, free flow of wine & beer and a chance to win prizes. The event will be from 7pm to 11pm. Email info@rednosefoundation. org to RSVP or call (021) 769-1162. www.rednosefoundation.org Community Action

Michelin Star Chef at Hotel Mulia

Indonesia Spa & Wellness Expo

4&10 October 2014 Two-time Michelin starred chef, Michael White is a respected New York city chef and is making a visit to Hotel Mulia Senayan (Jl. Asia Afrika, Senayan, South Jakarta) on the 10th of October and to Hotel Mulia Nusa Dua (Jl. Raya Nusa Dua Selatan, Nusa Dua, Bali) on the 4th of October. His arrival in both hotels is to showcase his delightful gustatory creations. A special rate on accommodations at the Mulia Hotel will accompany the Chef White experience at Hotel Mulia. For more details and to RSVP, call (021) 574-7777 ext. 4802. www.hotelmulia.com

25-28 September 2014 There is no doubt that Indonesia has a market for spa and wellness services, this is a conference dedicated to the f ield and its development. The event offers classes and workshops on the art of reiki, past-life regressions, aromatherapy, meditation and s t re s s rel ief me t hod s. Th i s expo will take place at the Bali International Convention Centre, in Nusa Dua, Bali. To register for the expo and for fur ther information, visit www.iswief. com.

13 September 2014 Join the Hidung Merah (Red Nose) Foundation for a night of goodwill

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JOGJAKARTA

20 September 2014 Led by the charismatic Vieux, Afronesia is a world music band, heavily influenced by traditional A f r ic a n music f rom Vieu x’s homeland of Senegal, as well as Afro-Funk, Latin & Reggae. Vieux plays a beautiful instrument called a ‘Kora’ and his lyrics speak of Senegalese folk tales and everyday life. You can catch Afronesia at Jazz Café (Jl. Sukma, Ubud, Bali) at 8pm. For more details, call (0361) 976-594 or email info@ jazzcafebali.com. www.jazzcafebali.com

Food

Arts Sports

Music

Clean Up Jakarta Day 2014 19 October 2014 Clean Up Jakarta Day returns for its second year! This city-wide clean-up encourages all citizens of Jakarta to participate and learn about the importance of recycling and the detrimental effects of littering. Clean Up Jakarta Day is a day that connects communities to clean up the city in the spirit of gotong royong. To register, visit the website (www. clea nupja k a r t aday.org) a nd choose a site, then register by sending your information to the site’s team leader. Nominating a site is another way to join. For more information, please email cleanupjktday@indonesiaexpat. biz. For a better Jakarta! www.cleanupjakartaday.org Festivity

BII Bali Marathon 2014

Shane Filan 'You and Me' Tour 13 September 2014 Per for m i ng l ive i n Ja k a r t a for only one night, the former Westlife boyband member is set to lay his sweet lyrics and melodies at the Upperroom Annex Building (Jl. MH. Thamrin No. 59, Central Jakarta). Tickets are sold through www.rajakarcis.com for Rp.800,000. This will be an intimate concert starting at 8pm. For more information, visit www. marygops.com.

14 September 2014 The BII Bali Marathon offers the full marathon category, half marathon category, 10K run and children’s sprint in the Gianyar region. Registration is available online and at walk-in locations, although they differ in price. Walk-in registrations can be done at Panorama Tours’ locations and BII bank branches (see the full list on www.balimarathon.com). For inquiries, contact the organizers directly through the website. www.balimarathon.com

Perspective by Michael Jonsey; Photography Exhibition

Singapore International School Bazaar & Open House 27 September 2014 Experience a Pasar Senggol event, where an array of international fo o d , c u lt u r a l g a me s , a nd entertainment will be had by all. This event is organized by and held at the Singapore International School Bona Vista, Jl. Bona Vista Raya, Lebak Bulus, South Jakarta from 7.30 am to 1pm. For more details, call (021) 7591-4414. www.sisschools.org

Stomp Live in Jakarta 1 October 2014- 6 October 2014 Fo r t h e f i r s t t i m e e v e r i n Indonesia!!! An origingal Broadway, West End & International Sensation celebrates its most successful year and coming to Jakarta!! L o c a t i o n : Te a t e r Ja k a r t a , Taman Ismail Marzuki Jakarta, Indonesia 10350 Website: http://ismaya.com

24 April - 31 December 2014 Bridges Bali Restaurant exhibits a collection of black and white photographs by British artist Michael Jonsey. The beautiful photographs show glimpses of Balinese daily life; recorded and captured by the artist that has been living in Bali since a long time. The photographs are not just technically correct; it also has soul, tells a story and reveals personality. The proceeds of the exhibition will be donated to safe Childhoods Foundation (www.safechildhoods.org); an organization to combat crime against children which also has developed a range of projects designed to protect and support some of the most vulnerable, traumatized and at-risk children. Bridges Bali Restaurant- Jl. Raya Tjampuhan, Ubud.

BALI

Wellness

Canggu Classic Tennis Tournament 13-21 September 2014 13-21 September 2014 The Canggu Classic Open Tennis Tournament is back this year with more conviction, this time with three floodlit undercover courts. The tournament will be held at the Canggu Club (Jl. Canggu Club, Canggu, Bali) and slots to play are filling up. For more information on the event, send an email to tennistournament@ cangguclub.com or call (0361) 848-3939. www.cangguclub.com Music

Jogja Food Expo 12-14 September 2014 A food trade show, the Jogja Food Expo will place importance on the newest tips and tricks on the culinary sector. This will be the first international trade expo on food and beverage products in Central Java. The expo will take place at the Jogja Expo Centre, Jl. Janti, Jogjakarta from 10am until 7pm. For further details, call (021) 2664-5313 or email info@ berkania.com. www.indonesiatradeexpo.net

ABROAD Photography

Beauty

Cuisine Hidung Merah's Festival of Laughs and Charity Auction

Afronesia at Jazz Café Ubud

Beauty Talks 13-14 & 22-28 September 2014 Beauty Talks will be a two-week event at the Beachwalk Kuta Mall (Jalan Pantai Kuta, Bali) featuring hair and make-up demo as well as make up classes and a talkshow by Harumi Sudrajat, an expert beauty blogger. All located on the 1st f loor of The Gallery, the talkshow will be held on September 13, make up classes and demo on the 14th and hair tips and demo on the 22-28 September. For more details on the event, call (0361) 8464-888. www.beachwalkbali.com

Hornbill Festival, Nagaland, India 28 November-7 December 2014 This cultural adventure trip is centred around the Hornbill Festival in North East India, a cultural extravaganza celebrated by the tribal people in the state of Nagaland. If you have never heard of Nagaland that is because it has only been open to foreigners for four years. If you like tribal travel and indigenous cultural exploration, this trip is for you. Join Dav id Metc a lf on this adventurous (small group size) trip into an enchanting land. Learn some photography tips, gain valuable feedback and inthe-field guidance by masterclass photographer, David Metcalf, who will help you get that "great shot" and explore and develop your camera skills, all wrapped around a spendour of colour, dance and folklore magic. Don't delay. Bookings close very soon. Email now for full itinerary: davidmetcalf3@mac.com and www.davidmetcalfphotography. com

If you want your event to be posted here, please contact (+62) 0 21 7179 4550 or e-mail: events@ indonesiaexpat.biz

HUMOROUS OBSERVATIONS

Daniel Pope is a part-time hedonist, residing mostly in Jakarta, where he still finds everything a bit of a rum do.

Indonesians are among the friendliest people on the planet, keen to avoid confrontation at all costs. Just don’t ever give them a good reason to form an angry mob on your doorstep, as Daniel Pope recounts. By Daniel Pope

For newly arrived expatriates in Indonesia, adjusting to local cultural settings can be difficult, especially for those accustomed to personal privacy. In traditional Indonesian neighbourhoods, there is no concept of closed doors. To an outsider, the constant conviviality within crowded communities can seem like neighbourliness gone mad. If you resist this state of affairs and try keeping to yourself, you’ll be considered sombong: lofty or arrogant. Neighbours may seem needlessly inquisitive but generally they’re merely being friendly. You should always respond with a smile. Never get angry. And never, ever, become violent. Punch one neighbour and you've punched them all. And then you’ve got big trouble. Not that I was ever throwing punches in my local kampung. No, the pugnacious party was my housemate, Judd, a larger-than-life Bostonian who felt his bravado made him indestructible. I vividly recall him outside our front door in Central Jakarta at two o’clock one morning, brandishing a samurai sword, which he’d grabbed from its ornamental spot on our living room wall. He’d thumped a taxi driver over a disputed fare and been chased the rest of the way home by an angry mob. Judd never needed an excuse to hit anyone. With a temperament and physique that would not have been out of place in an American professional wrestling ring, he had a romantic image of himself as a bar-room brawler. He was intelligent, erudite and believed his fists delivered poetry. When not being belligerent, drunk or sailing his boat in Jakarta Bay — or all three at once — one of Judd’s favourite pastimes was rat hunting. Jakarta’s unashamedly public population of huge rats would cause pandemonium in most Western cities, and inspire volumes of horror novels. Judd enjoyed going out at night, onto the local waste ground, armed with an air rifle. A breathless Judd talked a lot on these nights about having been born in the wrong era, lamenting that fate had denied him an opportunity to excel as a soldier in World War II. He never did say which side he’d have been on, or whether he’d have wilfully applied the three-shot kill to his enemies in the field. When he raced into the house in record time after punching the taxi driver, the pursuing mob halted outside and calmed down. Two of its members knocked civilly on the door, as if hoping to settle the matter amicably with a financial solution. But Judd was all wound up for a fight. He opened the door while gripping the sword in one hand behind his back, kicked the two callers into the gutter, and then swung the weapon in the manner of someone who has fantasized over too many samurai films. Rage rekindled, the mob withdrew to the end of our alley and began hurling stones. Judd dodged the thudding rain of missiles from beneath an awning. He even had the audacity to bat some of the stones back with his sword, as if playing baseball. Two uniformed neighbourhood security guards marched intently toward our house and promptly reversed when Judd charged at them, waving his sword. He seemed invincible. I observed proceedings from the house, terrified the night would end in bloodshed, possibly including my own blood.

“Upon being informed that a swordwielding lunatic was confronting the entire community, he merely responded, “Judd, is it?” and replaced the receiver.” By this time, someone had telephoned the neighbourhood chief, the rukun tetangga. This minor official’s duties usually involved nothing more strenuous than issuing ID cards and birth certificates. Upon being informed that a sword-wielding lunatic was confronting the entire community, he merely responded, “Judd, is it?” and replaced the receiver. Eventually, Judd was forced to retreat indoors. Reinforcements for the mob were trickling in from other neighbourhoods. I helped Judd to barricade our front door by piling furniture up against it. Even the big television set was added to the heap. At least now there was no further risk of his blade making contact with anyone. Projectiles began to shatter our windows, which were covered by strong metal latticework that prevented people from clambering in. We were safe unless our attackers switched to Molotov cocktails. But that would have been insane. House fires in dense Jakarta neighbourhoods, such as ours, tended to incinerate entire blocks indiscriminately. Judd briefly considered mounting his motorcycle, which was parked in the hallway, and escaping down the alley. I reminded him that he wasn’t Evel Knievel, and was unlikely to get far before being dragged off his bike and torn to pieces. In truth, I was afraid of being left alone. I imagined the rallying cry from outside if Judd escaped: “He’s gotten away! Let’s kill his skinny English friend instead!” The siege continued until salvation came via the pre-dawn call to prayer. The mob hushed, the Muslims dispersing to nearby mosques, and the Christians going home to bed. Nobody can say we didn’t help promote inter-religious cooperation that night. At last I could lie down and listen to my heart gradually stop pounding. I allowed myself to gibber a bit and tried to sleep. Occasionally, lone footsteps would pass the house and a voice would cry, “F*** you, bule,” followed by a tinkle of glass. In the morning, we received some friendly advice from our landlord, who lived next door, though last night you’d never have known it. “If you don’t move out today, they will come back tonight and kill you.” It had never been the nicest of neighbourhoods. Too many hoodlums with unlimited schemes for conning two foreigners out of their money. I was glad to be lugging my bags out of the alley, which was still strewn with stones and shards of broken glass. Since then, I’ve managed to avoid further confrontation, largely by being slightly more discerning in my selection of housemates.

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HAVE SOMETHING TO SELL? Looking for something to buy? Looking for staff? Selling property? Or need a place to live? Why not place your classified ad with Indonesia Expat! Your classified will be placed once for 2 weeks online and once in our printed version which has a circulation of 16.500 copies bi-weekly. Next deadline: 16 September

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Property listings are considered as Commercial. Adding an image incurs an extra charge of Rp.150,000. Business Listings can only be placed on the Business Listings page (p.30) Send in your classifieds to ads@indonesiaexpat.biz

JAKARTA JOBS

Jobs available Indonesia Expat is looking for an editorial assistant! Being a member of the editorial team, the editorial assistant will work w ith the Editor-in- chief to proofread articles, liaise with w riters, conduct inter v iews and reviews, perform ad hoc administrative tasks, as well as work on preparations for Clean Up Jakarta Day 2014. The ideal candidate should have excellent English and Bahasa Indone sia , be creat ive a nd detail-oriented. Please send CV to info@indonesiaexpat.biz. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted. Ba r t ele Ga l ler y Kema ng is looking for an assistant to join their team, to help with the dayto-day running of the gallery. Specific tasks and duties: • Sales and customer services in the gallery • Artwork and giftware displays •Sales and delivery administration The ideal candidate will be female * Has good command in English * Is creative *Has good proactive communication skills (essential) * Is self-motivated * Is able to work independently, and as part of a team * Is trustworthy * Is reliable

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Ba r t ele G a l ler y i s t he on ly dedicated gallery in Indonesia for original rare antiques maps from all parts of the world, some over 500 years old. Besides maps and prints, we also sell historic books, old photographs and antiques. Please send your CV to sake@ bartelegallery.com Want to volunteer with a young social enterprise? At ‘Ffrash’ we offer a challenging volunteering opportunity for a target-driven, experienced sales professional (f lexible hours, 3 days a week). ‘Ffrash’ is a recently introduced interior design brand, with a social and sustainable character. ‘Ffrash’ produces high-quality sustainable design furniture and home interior products from Indonesian trash. The products are designed on a pro bono basis by internationally renowned Dutch designers and created by former Indonesian street children from the ages 17 to 19. We have recently started selling our products in Indonesia. The proceeds benefit the further development of the ‘Ffrash’ young adults, production, and training. Remaining revenues will be put aside to finance the start-up costs of their own enterprise in the near future. The higher the sales, the more will be saved for the ‘Ffrash’ artisans for their future plans and the more street children will be able to join the project. Therefore, we are currently looking for a Sales Volunteer for Jakarta. For more information, please contact Gina Provó Kluit at 0811-9107399 or gina@ffrash.com. For more information about ‘Ffrash’, please visit our website www.ffrash.com

Ne eded! Berl it z i s a g loba l leadership training and education company with a comprehensive por tfolio for developing communication skills, providing global leadership training as well as customized solutions for cultural competency. We provide language training to private and corporate clients. As we continue to grow, we are looking for energetic, highly motivated, responsible, talented and committed individuals who possess strong interpersonal skills to be part of our Instructor team. We are looking for Native/Fluent speakers, with a Bachelor’s Degree and Professional maturity, who are living in Jakarta. KITAP holders are preferred. All teaching materials and on-going training will be provided. We also offer a competitive salary. Send your C V & recent phot og raph t o recruitment@berlitz.co.id. The latest CV received by August 31st , 2014. “ F u l l T i me a nd Pa r t T i me vacancies are now available for experienced English language instructors for corporate courses around Jakarta. Competitive rates and travel allowance are offered. Please send your CV to recruitment@kpiconsultancy. com” Jakarta Players is a non-profit community theatre group and they a re hold ing aud itions! "Status: It's Complicated" is one of Jakarta Players’ favourite kinds of performances -- five short, excellent one act plays in every show - each between 10 and 20 minutes long. As the name suggests, each plays explores a different aspect of romantic relationships in a fascinating and entertaining way. Some of the plays are hilarious, some are touching, and all have something to say! There are plenty of roles up for grabs in the five short plays, both on stage and off stage. So please come along and audition, or tell us what backstage role you'd like to try! Auditions on September 13th at Chand Garden, Jl. Kemang Raya no. 78B, 1-5pm. For more info visit: http://www. jakartaplayers.org/status-itscomplicated-audition.htm Looking for Work Is your company looking for a data analyst? I have 3 years experience in processing and analyzing data. I work with microsoft: excel, word, and power-point and internet. Please contact 085212655387

I am a 37 year old Irishman currently living in Kuala Lumpur, but I would love the chance of living and working in Indonesia. I have a wealth of experience in Food & Beverage Operations and General Management based over 3 continents and am wondering if anyone knows of any such roles, has any contacts or can be so good as to offer me any advice? My email is adrian.macgoey@ hotmail.com. I thank you for your advice and look forward to hearing from you. Adrian MacGoey English speaking driver available. Went to school in US and used to work ing w ith A mer ic ans and Australians. Call Leo @ 088808744543 or 08158050349 Looking for a job as a maid, part-time. I’m 37 years old, I have some references from my experiences. I speak English, live out, Monday-Saturday. Please call me at 0817763990. I need a job as a part time maid. I have some references from my experience. Please text/call me on 0817763990. Thank you Hi guys.if you looking for taxi motor in Jakarta you can call me 082111852823. Foreigner only, the cost depends on the distance. L ook ing for a job a s dr iver. My name is Sugiarto. I live in Mampang South Jakarta My experience is with British Petroleum 2005-2013. My phone number: 0817129515 English speaking nanny/maid with long experience in American / European families looking for new employment, preferrably looking af ter babies or kids. Good cooking and baking skills available also. Please contact Misna 081310655881 Looking for employment for our former butler. Tri worked for us for 4 years as Cook/Houseman/ Gardener/Poolman/Driver. Can highly recommend. We live in Bali but he needed to return to Jakarta for family. Call/SMS 0817122755 or Email tony_hermecz@yahoo. com Senior Expat; Ed.D, MBA, BS, in Executive Leadership seeks missionary position/ Educational Foundation position. If you're int erest ed, plea se phone: 081398989033/ 081355033805

Expat, Dr.Ed.D, MBA, BS, in Executive Leadership seeks to open international homeschool needs silent Indonesian financial partner. A-Beka curriculum Ca ll: 081398989033/ 081355033805

Growing rapidly, rapid price increases every year. Beautiful, and comfortable, free from flood. crowded. Sale price $. 150,000 USD. seriously direct ow ner contact : 081318747770.

PROPERTY FOR R E N T 350 Hou se s at Kemang, Cipete, Cilandak, Jeruk purut, Pondok Indah, Big Garden, Swimming Pool, U$ 2000 - U$ 7000. Phone: 0816859551 or 08170093366 Apartment Rent: Hampton's Park Apartment is available for rent from October 2014. 82 SQ M. 2xBed, 2xToilets, 1xMaid toilet, 2xBalcony, Full furnished Tower C Pool & GolfView. Excellent view. Only 10M IDR/Month. Other conditions applied. For details pls contact oceania_bd@yahoo.com

For Rent a bra nd new un it apartment Casa Grande Tower Montreal at Casablanca, South Jakarta. Unit size 78 sqm, 2 Bedrooms, 2 Bathrooms, Living and Dining Area, Service Area, Very Nice View. Fully furnished condition TV LED 42”, Fridge, Washing Machine, Microwave, Dispenser. Facilities including swimming pool (exercise pool, jacuzzi and children’s pool), jogging track, modern and complete fitness center, basement parking, 24 hours concierge and security ser v ices, secur it y g uards, pr iv at e a c c e s s c a r d , C C T V camera. Direct access to Kota Kasablanka shopping Mall from the Apartment (Private access card). Rent : USD 2.400/Month. Inquiry and Appointment Call : Judy 0858 11353 530 / 021 2555 8994 Sweet home strategic at east Bekasi, for Sale(Cheap) Good to invest. new lu x ur y home minimalist classic. 2 f loors. (125/252) SHM. Hook. Full lu x .6 be d ro om s, 1 m a id's room. 5 bathrooms following furniture set, 2200 watt power, strategically. Near. Tol east bks. very good for investment boarding house, mes employees, offices.

Puri Casablanca Apartment for rent. In Kuningan, 3 + 1 Bedroom (1 Bedroom is converted to office / study room). 2 + 1 Bathroom, 21st f loor, balcony, city view to sudirman / rasuna Said, fully furnished with 4 ACs, minimalist, bedding, 1 TV, separate kitchen / ser v ice area, stove, fridge, microwave, cutlery, crockery, c o o k i ng u t e n s i l s , w a s h i ng machine, 1 free parking, nice lobby, strategic location: next to Park Lane hotel, ten-minute walk to Kota Kasablanka mall, close to offices & embassies. Facilities: swimming pool, sauna, fitness center, jogging track, 3 tennis courts, 3 children playgrounds, putting green, gazebo, foodhall supermarket Size: 110 sqm , price: USD 1500 / month, service charge included, min 1 year. If you need more information, please contact: amalia.frese@gmail.com or call 081317722271

A VERY STUNNING A PA RT ME N T FOR R E N T! Only for 6 months. Permata Hijau Residences. 3 bedrooms + 1, located on the ground level precisely in front of the swimming pool. A cozy living room with built-in book shelves, SOFLEX leather sofa, two chandeliers, and LF Flat Screen TV. TEK A kitchen with built-in microwave and oven. HITACHI refrigerator, and CRYSTAL water dispenser. 2 bathrooms + 1 (all showers) with water heaters. All rooms with individual wallpapers. Mattress from KING KOIL and SERTA. Facilities: Swimming pool, Gym, Jaccuzi, Sauna, Jogging track, Mini Golf, Playground, ATM, Mini Store, Parking lot. Rent is USD 2500/month + utilities. Pay

package, send C V to judy@ limajaricargo.com or PT Limajari Cargo Jl Raya Kerobokan No 100X Dps. Looking for Work Expat seeking employment as Project Manager / Supervisor. 081 2362 9939. balicontractor@ dps.centrin.net.id.

BALI PROPERTY

by month with 1 month security deposit. No children, no pets. Contact: patriciasilalahi@yahoo. com, Cell: 081617168413 Beautiful house for rent. Located at Pejaten Barat, 10 minutes to Kemang, near to Australian International School and New Zealand International School. Land size 210 m2, building size 200 m2. Located on a private Residence complex w ith 24 hours security. Fully furnished, 3 bedrooms + 1 maid room, 4 bathrooms, carport for 2 cars Price is 2500/monthly including, sw imming pool and garden ma intena nce, a nd secur it y. (Min 1 year). Please contact ama lia .f rese@g mail.com or 081317722271 For Rent 3 Bedroom Apartment located in Permata Hijau. Fully furnished and brand new bed in master bedroom. Asking price USD. 1700 monthly, min. 6 months. Need more info please email: frese.edo@gmail.com F O R R E N T (m i n . 1 y e a r) T H A MR I N R E SIDE NCE (c e n t r a l l y l o c a t e d b e h i n d Kempinski) 2BR+1 bathroom, pantry, brand new & stylish, fully furnished apartment, immediate availability, 65sqm,Tower E, 29th Floor, USD 1.100/month. Call owner pak Tom direct: 0815 810 2741 or 0816 782 391. SERVICES Expat Insurance: We are a full service broker providing Medical and Life Insurance for expat families living in Indonesia. For more information or a free quote please inquire to: insurance@ jakres.com. www.jakres.com Expat housing / Insurance / Pension / Investment Spanish Tutor — Learn Spanish at your place with a DELE Certified Examiner from Spain. Most of my students come from International Schools (JIS and BIS). Please call me (Raúl) +6282110502786 Email: unascartas@yahoo.com Bahasa Indonesia lesson for expats at your house or office, given by experienced instructor. Letter of recommendation available. Please call pak Chairuman 0812 1037 466 or email: chairuman2013@ yahoo.co.id Teacher come to your place. Experienced teacher will help you with your Mathematics &

Science. Easy to understand make your score better than before. For grade 2 to 12, IB/ IGCSE/GMAT/SAT curriculum. Fee is affordable. Satisfaction is guaranteed. Please call 021-96021800 (Mr. Fernando). OTHER K id s Nu mb e r s 1 2 3: L e a r n Numbers 123 is a basic educational start for kids. It’s an early part of mathematics for toddler. “Kids Numbers 123” is an educational app for kids. Through this app they can learn 1 to 10 numbers through colorful objects and audio translator. There are two options available “Start Learning” option and “Start Activity” option. In “Start Learning” option you can learn about numbers 123 and in “Start Activity” option you need to give the answers of given questions about numbers 123. It’s a free app and available for iOS devices. Moving Sale — We are moving and have the follow ing it em s for sa le:women s/ mens clothing,shoes,English book s,mov ies,computer & monitor,Barbie dolls,standing mirror. Please contact me by WA/ sms for more details: 0817 6600 925 or 087 87731 5920. Gemstone and antique. For sale private collection gemstone are padparadscha , r uby burma , yellow sapphire, blue sapphire and cat eyes. large size & good quality + certificate (gold diamond ring) and antique ceramics and old painting Indonesia. Artist lee man fong mosses, rosar, s. sudjojono and hendra gunawan. Interested please contact 02136416047. Selling My Pre-owned Stuffs in good condition. Check out my F B PAGE " Mov i ng Sale Jakarta Pusat". We sell Women Clothes, Gemstones, Accessories,Bags,Electric Grill "Severin" Germany, Pop Up Toaster "Morphy Richards" USA, Antique Wooden Carved from 1951,Vintage Hollywood Movie Posters, and Many More. Phone: 021-996-13-118 or PM me on FB.

BALI JOBS Jobs available Major Cargo company in Bali is looking for Sea Freight Customer Handling, experience, English & French speaking, attractive

INFO: Villa Furnished 2 BR with Kitchen and Plunge Pool for Short Term Rent (Daily,Weekly or Monthly) at the strategic and very popular area Double 6 Street, 5 mins access to the exotic Double 6 Beach Legian Kuta Bali, For Rsv 081210329293.

Villa for rent in Bali, Canggu, 4 0 0m f r om t he b e a c h a nd 600m from Canggu Club. Nice cosy place, 3 bedrooms with en suit bathrooms, fully equipped kitchen, fully furnished. Wifi, TV installed. House consists of two buildings partly built from old wood w ith a sw imming pool in between. Canggu Club membership provided. Long term rental. One year rental USD 26,000 (one cleaning person included) nego. Shorter term rentals also available. Please contact Tary: 0817 802366. OTHER

Do you have any plates, cups, saucers etc which match this (made by CV Bali Permata)? We would like to buy some to replace breakages over the years. Jeremy 0811918446 For sale; Beautiful teak wood bar and 8 bar chairs for sale ! 3 and half metres by 180 metres. Bought for 20 mill selling for 10 mill or nearest offer. Jalan Raya Semer Kerobokan. Gazebo Restaurant. Contact 0857 3934 6953. Custom digital design & editing ser v ice. C olor cor rec tion, retouching, item replacement/ remova l, phot o rest orat ion plus a dver t isement desig n, displays & posters, photo & fashion, advertising & product image editing. Professional, ontime and cheap. Ready to get things done! Email for info to iCanEditThatForYou@gmail. com. For Sale; Google Nexus 7 tablet 2013 (2nd gen.) 16GB, WiFi model, in new condition with original box, cable and charger, screen protector and new folding case. bought in the US a few months ago, rarely use it. Rp. 3,300,000 ONO. Call or sms 0361-746-0113. Legian. issue 125 indonesia expat

INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

Services offered: • Complete Security Solutions • Mobile Patrol • VIP Security • Alarm Response Services • Mine Security • Residence Security • Event Security • Consultancy Services • Security Survey Services

Relax. We carry the load.

#1 CUSTOMER CHOICE ASIA PACIFIC REGION

Jakarta: (021) 780 7851 Surabaya: (031) 749 8377 E-mail: info@alliedpickfords.co.id Web: www.alliedpickfords.co.id

We Deliver Stroopwafels in Indonesia to your home or office 1 pack/ quantity of 8 pieces regular plain (9cm) for Rp. 60.000 1 pack/ quantity of 8 pieces regular choco (9cm) for Rp. 65.000 Call: 021 766 4465/ 081 114 90400 or e-mail: info@aaltjebakery.com

INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

indonesia expat issue 125

INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

Cilandak Commercial Estate Unit 407 Jl. Cilandak KKO, Jakarta 12560 Ph: 021-788 36107 or 081-211 22070 (Penny) E-mail: penny.rahayu@id.g4s.com or info@id.g4s.com Web: www.g4s.com

Santa Fe provides moving services — International, domestic, local & office, document storage & management services, real estate, property management & maintenance, orientations, visa & immigration and home contents insurance. Call us Jakarta: +62 21 2961 2990 Balikpapan:+62 542 713 4334 Bali: +62 811 889 2445 Surabaya: +62 812 304 4775 or E-mail: indonesia@santaferelo.com and visit our website www.santaferelo.com for more information

INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

INTERNATIONAL, DOMESTIC, LOCAL, OFFICE MOVING, STORAGE Call Francois 085 8838 98678 E-mail: francois@safeway.co.id or Firdaus: 0812 945 6005 E-mail: firdaus@safewayrelo.com Website: www.safewayrelo.com “RELOCATION MADE EASY’’

Medical evacuation health and life insurance. Let us diagnose your needs. Contact: Paul Beale Mobile: +62 816 137 0663 Office: +62 21 522 0990 E-mail: paulbeale@gms-financial.com

INDONESIA EXPAT DIRECTORY

Bartele Gallery is the only dedicated shop in Indonesia which focuses on antique maps, prints, photographs, books and antiquities, ideal for a unique gift for that special someone. Come and browse through hundreds of old and original maps and prints from all across the globe!

Call us +62 (0) 21 719 0087 or E-mail: sakesantemagmail.com and visit our Facebook: facebook.com/ bartelegallery for more information

Safe Stories Counselling Service for Children and Young People Offering Play, Art and Drama Therapy Global Doctor Indonesia Jalan Kemang Raya 87 12730, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia Phone: +62 (0) 21 719 4565 E-mail: tessa@globaldoctor.co.id

TO BOOK SPACE ON THIS DIRECTORY PAGE CALL: 021 7179 4550

issue 125 indonesia expat

indonesia expat issue 125