BBC Travel

Lush hills and steep cliffs overlooking lively villages and cerulean coasts adorn the winding roads of Flores from one corner to the other. While I’ve been to my share of Indonesian islands I’ve called beautiful, I have to say that there is something special about Flores.

Despite Flores’s increasing popularity as a touristic destination, it still offers many off-the-beaten-path encounters. The peoples of Flores enjoy life as it is; refraining from the vices of excess, celebrating life values through creative expressions, and generously welcoming visitors from afar. Moreover, Flores is perhaps the Indonesian island where I’ve felt the safest as a solo backpacker.

Our first stop in Flores was Roë, the village in which Nila Tanzil’s first Taman Bacaan Pelangi (Jakarta Expat issue 99) was founded. It was a rainy Wednesday afternoon, but about 50 kids ages eight to 12 braved the weather to meet us at the school which manages the library.

The children seemed excited about getting visitors from Jakarta. Most of them have never travelled outside Flores. They seemed to find it a treat to be able to look at pictures of Java, Papua, and Sulawesi from my laptop screen, and asked us many questions about our families and jobs. It was amusing to watch my travel companion Tino try to explain to them what a computer programmer does.

We also listened as the children told us about life in Roë. Many of them help their parents run the family farm or plantation, but still attend school with an enthusiastic learning spirit. A number of them make talented singers and poets too. Later that evening, our hosts slaughtered a chicken for us and cooked us traditional Manggarai dishes.

Our next stop was Wae Rebo, a restricted highland village famous for its conical straw houses. Being frugal, we took an oto kayu (a modified truck that resembles an open-air bus with wooden seats) to Dintor. With speakers booming with sappy Eastern Indonesian ballads, the four-hour ride through narrow serpentine roads, mountain jungles and valley villages, made for an adventure in itself.

Dintor, a fisherman’s village on the south coast of Flores, is where our Wae Rebo hosts (or their semi-modern alter egos) live. We spent the afternoon walking through the ricefields and sitting on the shores of the white rock beach overlooking Pulau Mules. Our arrival coincided with a special ceremony officiating the renovation of a rumah adat in Wae Rebo the next morning, so we left Dintor at 3.30am in order to make it to Wae Rebo on foot by 8am.

Wae Rebo’s sacred aura, I believe, has little to do with the peculiar traditional fashion, architecture, or music. It has more to do with the respect this contemporary community pays to their land and the values their ancestors taught them, and their assertive expectations that visitors do the same.

Our next stop was Ruteng, where we visited Liang Bua, a cave where ancient hominids lived. Homo floresiensis, also known as the “Flores hobbit”, was a species of short humans that were believed to be fast runners and able speakers. We spent time with a local old man who claims to be a descendant of the hobbit.

Tino and I travelled back to Labuan Bajo and parted there as he caught a flight back to Jakarta. After spending that afternoon at the tranquil Danau Sano Nggoang with the friendly locals, I tried my luck the next day hitching a cheap ride to Komodo National Park. I ended up in a boat to Rinca with a middle-aged couple from Riau.

The journey to Rinca was one gliding on emerald seascapes, with a myriad of lush islands in sight. There we spotted a band of the famous Komodo dragon, watched some nests, and went for a short trek – which I found too short but the Mrs. found exhausting. We then went for a snorkel at Pulau Kelor, which unfortunately has a miserable underwater view of dead bleached coral.

I finally headed eastbound once more and visited Bena, a village near Bajawa that is also famous for the distinctive rumah adat. Legend has it that the ancestors of Bena came from Java, and they prayed to their ancestors by plating offerings on the megalithic altars, hence the name Ba-Jawa – plate from Java.

The local architecture is embedded with philosophies of life, procreation, and the struggle to survive. The landscapes are surrounded by lush mountains looking out to the coast.

My next stop was Ende – a beautiful coastal town laced with black-sand beaches and mountain views, where Sukarno spent some time in exile. Unfortunately every historical site there seemed to be closed for stupid reasons – the guardian of Sukarno’s house didn’t feel like working, and the theatre where the former president wrote plays had wild plants growing all over it.

When the road from Ende to Kelimutu collapsed the next day, I wish I had gone to Riung on the north coast instead. To get to Maumere I had to detour via Mbay up north – an hour’s drive from Riung – but couldn’t visit the famous white sand beach because the bus leaving for Maumere via the north coast hell road left at dawn.

In Nita, a village south of Maumere, I spent a night at Sentra Tenun Ikat Lepo Lorun. There I was greeted by the ladies who were busy making bolo plagar – riceflour cookies made in the shape of Maumere textile patterns, taught from mothers to daughters to someday make for the man who asks for their hand in marriage.

Alfonsa Horeng, the internationally reputed leader of STILL, took me on a personal tour through her gardens, showing me the plants from which her textile’s fibres and colours come. One of her weavers demonstrated the fermentation of indigo and the spinning of cotton threads. We had a lively conversation on the role of tenun ikat textiles in keeping community values alive, and compared the value of Flores’s traditional agricultural-based economy to the modern money-oriented economy.

My visit to the tricolour lakes Kelimutu the next day didn’t turn out very auspicious as thick mist descended over the view. But perhaps that’s only a sign that I should return here someday. After all, the lakes’ colours change like a chameleon’s coat – they won’t be the same lakes on my next visit.

I finished my trip in Maumere with a Christmas Eve mass in Katedral St. Yoseph and a White Christmas morning. No, it wasn’t snowing – just very bad rain that covered this coastal city with bad fog.

An alternative universe where the ancient and the modern coexist, the lair of the dragon, hobbits in a cave, commoners wearing woven robes fit for royals embedded with secret messages, and mysterious lakes that change colours – these might as well have been written in an exotic oriental fairytale. But in the enchanted island of Flores, I witnessed these tales as real life. And sharing part of them with a fellow adventurer who stole my heart only multiplies the joy of the journey manifolds.

Country: Indonesia
Province: Nusa Tenggara Timur (NTT)
Land Area: 14,300 km2
Highest Elevation: Inerie (near Bena, Bajawa) 2,245 m amsl
Largest city: Maumere
Population: 1,500,000 (2006 estimate)

How to get there

• Daily flights to Labuan Bajo from Jakarta and Bali (Garuda Indonesia, Lion Air)
• Daily flights to Maumere from Bali and Kupang (Sky Aviation, TransNusa, Wings Air)

What to bring
Sunscreen, a hat, snorkelling and diving gear, hiking shoes.

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A Satirical Guide to Indonesian Politicians – photo: www.azies-site.blogspot.com

A while back I was watching this Metro TV program called Kick Andy and on it there was this impoverished woman who had kept changing her name when she was younger because she was always suffering from ill health. Unsurprisingly, she didn’t get any better. But after changing her name for the umpteenth time, guess what? She actually stopped getting sick! Wonders of all wonders! Apparently she had finally found the “right” name and was now destined to live a long and healthy life – well, until her death, of course.

Anyway, what with the general elections coming up in Indonesia, it made me wonder; what about the country’s politicians? Are they blessed with the “right” name or not? No, we don’t need to worry about what the politicians actually believe or what policies they intend to implement. What really matters are their names!

But how do we interpret them?

Well actually that’s not so difficult because there is ‘anagrammaticography’, a highly regarded tool which is noted for its uncanny ability to accurately draw meaningful conclusions about the political figures and their views on a host of issues. Used since the middle ages, anagrammaticography really came to the fore in the 17th century when it was noted that an anagram of ‘William Shakespeare’ revealed the phrase ‘I am a weakish speller’ (Shakespeare, of course, was noted for signing his name in at least seven different ways).

Although criticized by religious types as “the work of the devil”, the power of political anagrammaticography cannot be overlooked. An anagram of ‘Sarah Palin’ rather ominously reveals ‘Sharia plan’ (I always suspected that the US religious right had made an unholy (sic) alliance with the Jihadists, so thank God Barack Obama won the US presidential elections). Incidentally, an anagram of Barack Obama comes up with ‘Aback, a Rambo!’ – strongly suggesting he ain’t quite the limp-wristed liberal that many believe he is!

But how do Indonesia’s politicians shape up? Well, here’s a lowdown on some of the leading names in Indonesia’s political scene:

Megawati Sukarnoputri (PDIP): Although not noted for her intellectual acumen, Megawati is at least a loveable housewife with a famous father.
Verdict: Utopias wreak maturing.

Yusuf Kalla (Golkar/PKB): This Golkar Party stalwart is the second child out of 17. Although he has nationalist tendencies he also supports foreigners’ efforts to ingratiate themselves into Indonesian society: “If the janda [divorcees] get modest homes even if the foreign tourists later leave them, then it’s OK. The children resulting from these relationships will have good genes. There will be more television actors and actresses from these pretty boys and girls.” Bizarrely, he was named by PKB as their choice of a possible candidate in the 2014 presidential-vice presidential elections.
Verdict: Flaky usual.

Aburizal Bakrie (Golkar): One of the richest men in Indonesia (worth anywhere from US$3-5 billion depending on who you believe) and the protectorate of the poor, Aburizal has a less-than-enviable track record in business and he is about as popular in East Java as an anorexic at a weight-loss convention.
Verdict: I bulkier bazaar.

Hatta Rajasa (PAN): Solid minister with a good track record who married off his daughter (Siti Ruby Aliya Rajasa) to SBY’s youngest son, Ibas.
Verdict: That a jar as a.

Gita Wirjawan (Democrat): Highly successful businessmen and aspiring jazz musician.
Verdict: Jaw grain wait!

Surya Paloh (Nasdem): Media mogul who owns Metro TV, a national TV station, which is noted for its tendency to employ hot and attractive newsreaders.
Verdict: A hourly sap.

Joko Widodo (PDIP): Man of the people (hurrah!) – but without the revolutionary zeal of a Hugo Chávez – Joko is the clear favourite to win the presidency according to a slew of opinion polls.
Verdict: Wood OK Jodi.

Dahlan Iskan (Democrat): Global car manufacturers like Toyota and Ford spend hundreds of millions of dollars on testing to ensure their cars are roadworthy and safe to be driven on public highways. Such concerns didn’t bother Dahlan Iskan, however, and he drove around his flashy-looking ‘Ferrari’ electric car with wild abandon – before the brakes failed and the car crashed. Luckily, no one was hurt, although the self-made ex Java Post and PLN man still remains a long shot for the presidency.
Verdict: Ha! Kind nasal.

Rhoma Irama (PKB): Noted womanizer who is not ashamed to play the religious card, the prospect of this legendary dangdut singer becoming the president sends shivers down the spine.
Verdict: Or I am haram.

Hary Tanoesoedibjo (Hanura): Lacking charisma, Hary has been unable to generate a strong public image despite owning a number of TV stations.
Verdict: Oh Dear! Obeisant joy.

Mohammad Mahfud (PKB): Solid credentials but lacks charisma.
Verdict: Hmm! Aha! Mad of mud.

Yusril Ihza Mahendra (PBB): Leader of a party with no seats in parliament, Yusril’s chances are slim to say the least.
Verdict: I’m zany, lush diarrhea.

Now for three noted ex generals:

Wiranto (Hanura): Amateur crooner with matinee idol good looks. Just don’t mention East Timor or the May 1998 riots.
Verdict: Rat Wino!

Sutiyoso: Selfless and tireless worker for the people, Sutiyoso’s crowning achievement was turning Jakarta into a city of huge cultural interest by establishing it as Southeast Asia’s “Venice of the East” (subject to adequate rainfall).
Verdict: So it’s you!

Prabowo Subianto (Gerindra): UK-educated ex-leader of Indonesia’s feared special ops, KOPASSUS. Now a socialist, apparently. Long-term plans to run the country, and with his financial resources who would bet against him?
Verdict: Now absorb utopia. (Now I wonder if that’s ever going to come true…)

Conclusion

The anagrammaticography is fairly harsh and rules out many of the contenders – mostly notably Wiranto, Rhoma Irama, Surya Paloh, Bakrie and Gita Wirjawan. The leading contender Joko Widodo is given a lukewarm vote of confidence, although surprisingly, the analysis clearly suggests that Prabowo (Now absorb utopia!) will win the presidential election with Sutiyoso (So it’s you!) as his right hand man! The military to stay in power? Some things never change.

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Dolphins at Lovina by Francesco Ricciardi

Wildlife tourism, in particular dolphin and whale watching, has doubled worldwide in the last decade. Since the 1980s, in Lovina (north Bali) local fishermen bring tourists to see dolphins in the wild. But with more than 180 boats today and a mismanagement of the interactions with the animals, there is a growing possibility that this activity will become unsustainable and a decrease in the number of animals are already being observed.

Lovina is a coastal area located in northern Bali belonging to the Buleleng Regency. Once a fishermen village, popular for those looking for a relaxed pace and a different lifestyle, it has recently suffered from unregulated touristic development that has modified the atmosphere towards a more ‘artificial’ feeling. Many people think that the development of the new international airport, a few kilometres away from the town, will further increase the transformation rate of the area towards a new Kuta of the North.

One of the main attractions of Lovina is the possibility of having a close encounter with free-swimming dolphins directly in their habitat and not in captivity, as these animals are particularly abundant in the coastal waters of this area. The most common encounter is the Spinner dolphin, but it’s also possible to spot other cetaceans like Grisso’s dolphin, Bottlenose dolphins and even more rare species like the Pilot whale and the Bryde’s whale.

Back in the late 1980s, local fishermen formed self-regulating cooperatives to bring tourists to see dolphins. Now, up to 180 dedicated operators use small ?shing vessels to carry passengers to watch dolphins close to shore. Most tourists come from western countries, although the industry also attracts Asian visitors. A dolphin tour normally starts very early in the morning during high season (from May to October) and lasts about two hours, for a price ranging from Rp.50,000 to Rp.65,000 per passenger. Typically boats are local jukung, bringing up to four passengers. The village of Kalibukbuk has three departure ports for dolphin trips, Banyualit, Aneka and Kalibukbuk, while Kaliasem has one, and every departure port has its own cooperative of boats, which releases the dolphin license. Each association has a different fixed price per trip. Two of the associations (Aneka and Kaliasem) use roster systems to determine which boatmen take the tourists on a particular day. The industry is otherwise unregulated.

A recent study by some Indonesian and Australian researchers (P. Mustika et al. The human dimensions of wildlife tourism in a developing country: Watching spinner dolphins at Lovina, Bali, Indonesia. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 2013) that the degree of satisfaction of tourists (Westerners and Asians) ranged from low to medium, where the main concern was the mismanagement of the boatmen during their interaction with the animals that are easily stressed if the boat approaches them too fast or too close. In a standard day, about 40 vessels go out looking for the dolphins, and with more than 180 boats available, it appears clear how the industry is already saturated.

Dolphins at sea by Francesco Ricciardi

When a pod of dolphins is spotted, every boat driver tries to get as close as possible to them to anticipate the other boats and guarantee a better experience for his guests. Of course, the animals get stressed very easily since boat engines are very noisy and they have to modify their behaviour, remaining underwater longer to avoid contact with humans. Being mammals, dolphins need to go periodically to the surface to breathe and this kind of approach can be very stressful for them and for their very sensitive hearing ability (dolphins use sounds and ‘echolocation’ to detect their prey). Propellers also pose a huge danger to the animals that can easily be wounded if boats approach them too fast or get too close.

The same study also highlighted that the garbage present in the sea and on the beach is disappointing for the guests coming to Lovina. The garbage issue still doesn’t seem to be considered by many local boatmen that leave their beaches full of plastic, like in many other parts of Bali and unfortunately the whole of Indonesia.

Since a normal trip lasts less than two hours, it would be a good idea to clean the beach periodically, maybe involving tourists who are normally happy to contribute to such eco-activities. And, above all, these cooperatives should self-regulate their affiliates’ behaviour if they want to keep their activity sustainable and profitable even in the future.

In many areas of the world, the self-regulation of whale-watching operators is very effective in guaranteeing an appropriate interaction with the animals and to ensure they don’t run away from the area if too harassed. For example, a minimum distance from the animal should be imposed, as well as a maximum approaching speed and a maximum number of boats surrounding the dolphin pods. In the same study, it was reported that in many cases the number of boats in an encounter normally exceeds the number of dolphins.

An appropriate management is necessary for the sake of both the local boatmen that will be able to keep their job, of the animals that will remain safe, and for the tourists who will enjoy a more responsible management of this experience.

No national regulation on cetacean watching has been issued for Indonesia yet. In addition, as developing countries have limited capacity to deliver effective compliance, a self-regulation coming directly from the dolphin boats association is really needed, in the same way the diving centres of South Bali are trying to regulate the manta rays and mola mola encounter in Nusa Lembongan. If the situation remains the same, it has the potential to cause significant disturbance to the local cetacean population and, with at least 60% overnight visitors in Lovina joining the dolphin tours, a decline in tourist satisfaction that could harm the current tourist industry.

Travel Tips

Province: North Bali

How to get there: Lovina is located on the northern side of the island. You will need about 3 hours by car to get there. Expect to pay about Rp.500,000 for a one-way transit including car and driver. Since Dolphin trips start early in the morning, better to plan at least one night in Lovina.

Where to stay: Lovina offers many accommodations, from basic homestays to high-end resorts.

What to Bring: Sunglasses, sunscreen and a hat, seasickness pills, a camera with a good zoom and possibly a waterproof cover.

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The Business Profile this issue is Vinod Kannan, General Manager of Singapore Airlines Indonesia. Mr. Kannan has been with the world-renowned airline since 2001 and is a passionate player in the aviation industry.

Vinod Kannan

Singapore Airlines has been around for a long time and is still a favourite of many Asian travellers. Could you please give us a brief history of the airline?
Singapore Airlines’ (SIA) history can be traced back to 1 May 1947, when a Malayan Airways (MAL) Airspeed Consul took off from Singapore Kallang Airport on the first of three scheduled weekly flights to Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh and Penang. The Airline also started services in 1947 to Jakarta, Palembang and Medan. SIA has come a long way since then, evolving from a regional airline to one of the most respected travel brands around the world. SIA flies one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world to 62 destinations over six continents, with the Singapore Girl as its internationally-recognised icon providing the high standards of care and service that customers have come to expect. SIA has made a habit of leading the way, and along the way developed a reputation for being an industry trendsetter. The ever-growing list of industry-leading innovations includes the first to offer free headsets, a choice of meals and free drinks in Economy Class in the 1970s, and the first to fly the A380 from Singapore to Sydney on 25 October, 2007.

What is your story behind becoming General Manager of Singapore Airlines Indonesia?
I hail from Bangalore in India, but moved to my second home, Singapore, in 1996 to study. After my Bachelor’s degree in Engineering in Singapore and a Masters in Computing from Singapore and Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, I joined Singapore Airlines in 2001. After stints in marketing, route planning and sales, I moved to Kolkata, India as Manager of Eastern India. This was followed by stints in Saudi Arabia and Italy. I moved to Jakarta in Dec 2013 as General Manager Indonesia and am enjoying and learning new things with each passing day!

How many flights a day does Singapore Airlines have from Indonesia to Singapore?
SIA currently operates nine daily Jakarta flights, four daily Denpasar flights and since 26 July, SIA has taken over one of two daily Surabaya flights, which was operated by regional subsidiary SilkAir.

What new routes have you opened, and will you be opening, this year in and out of Indonesia?
Last year, in Indonesia, SIA introduced a ninth daily service to Jakarta, and simultaneously added its fourth daily service to Denpasar (Bali) while SilkAir (MI), a subsidiary of SIA, has commenced services to Semarang, Makassar and Jogjakarta extending the group’s reach to 14 destinations in Indonesia. From the Northern Summer 2014 season, MI will operate to Kalibo in the Philippines, Mandalay in Myanmar and Hangzhou in China this year.

SIA will be making adjustments to selected markets across the network during the Northern Summer season. A third daily flight to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport has been added, increasing the number of daily services to Tokyo to five. A380 aircraft will serve Mumbai and New Delhi daily from 30 May 2014, taking over from two daily flights that currently serve each city with smaller aircraft. A380 services to Shanghai will increase from five times weekly to daily, while frequency to Istanbul will increase by one flight per week to six times weekly. To cater for peak summer demand, SIA will resume Athens twice weekly between 9 June 2014 and 9 October 2014, while capacity in selected markets in Europe and Japan will be increased.

Is it difficult to find manpower to support your growing business in Indonesia?
Finding the right people is key to any organisation in any market. Singapore Airlines offers attractive remuneration to aspiring joiners and I am glad to say that we have a dedicated, talented and cohesive team here in Indonesia.

Why do you think that Singapore Airlines is the preferred airline for short-haul journeys, especially to Singapore, of many Indonesians and expatriates in Jakarta?
We believe that the overall travel experience is one of the key motivators for choosing Singapore Airlines. Since its establishment, Singapore Airlines has earned a reputation as an innovative market leader, combining quality products with excellent service. Excellence in customer service has been integral to Singapore Airlines’ success. Superb in-flight service is the cornerstone of its reputation for customer service and hospitality.

With so many low-cost carriers in operation now, does this affect your business?
As the air transportation industry becomes challenging with airlines offering aggressive fares amidst increasing capacity, and fuel prices remaining high by historical standards, it will be natural that we face competition within the industry. While we will respond and adapt to the immediate and short-term challenges; we also plan well ahead and keep a keen eye on opportunities and challenges that may emerge in the long term.

Does SIA have a low-cost airline as well?
Yes, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, called Scoot (www.FlyScoot.com). Scoot operates medium-to-long-haul, low-cost flights between Singapore and Australasia, China and others. Scoot is independently operated and has its own management team. Another subsidiary is Tigerair for the short-haul flights.

How is SIA working towards being the preferred airline in the region?
Singapore Airlines focuses on its premium positioning and on the fundamental values that drive our success. The key elements of safety, a zealous focus on our customers, product innovation and leadership, as well as network connectivity, form the foundation of our competitive offering and will continually be strengthened. Our products will continue to evolve, with attention to comfort, design and look and feel, the in-flight experience, the in-flight entertainment experience, and the servicing element, which wraps up the whole package.

How many passengers do you fly a year?
In the financial year that ended on 31 March 2014, SIA carried 18.6 million passengers, an increase of 2.3% over last year. Passenger carriage (in revenue passenger kilometres) rose 1.4% on the back of 1.9% growth in capacity (in available seat-kilometres).

How many aircrafts does Singapore Airlines own worldwide?
As of May 2014, SIA has 104 passenger aircraft in its fleet.

What was your annual turnover in 2013? What are your projections this year?
In the financial year 2013-14, SIA’s operating performance improved $69 million (+36.9%) as a $93 million increase in revenue outpaced a $24 million increase in expenditure.

Since the tragic disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight, have you increased security measures for your airline?
Being in the airline industry, SIA will look at all the incidents relating to airline operations. SIA has a thorough review that would require us to work with various parties; aircraft manufacturers, the authorities, etc. Rest assured that such things are taken very seriously. We have dedicated resources to look at what we can learn, and we share those with our friends in other airlines.

And finally, what do you believe to be the key to success in your business life?
Based on my experience, the key to a team’s performance is how well they can interact and gel together. People make any organisation or business successful, more than anything else. The secret is to ensure that the people in the business are motivated, committed and always performing to their potential. The other important aspect for personal success is family. In my case, my wife and three year old daughter are the support mechanism that keep me grounded when things get a little crazy!

Thank you, Vinod. If you would like to get in touch, please email vinod.kannan@gmail.com.

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Gold Panning with mercury

The western foothills of the volcano look rather desolate, consisting largely of dry shrubland with a few stunted trees. During the wet season some upland rice is grown, but the soils are eroded and poor. The few villages exude poverty, although many of their inhabitants are involved in small-scale gold mining. The mines are illegal as the required documents have not been obtained, let alone approval of an environmental assessment management plan. Makeshift shafts are dug by hand to haul up the alluvial mud and the lack of proper reinforcements makes them extremely dangerous. Mercury is subsequently used to amalgamate the grains and nuggets of gold in the mud.

The miners are poorly compensated for their efforts—a very familiar pattern in small-scale gold mining—as most of the profits typically go to the organisers, investors, traders and suppliers of tools and other inputs. A classic worldwide problem. During the California gold rush (1848-1855) for instance, the San Francisco businessman Levi Strauss greatly profited from selling canvas for tents and denim overalls to miners; it is probably there that he developed ideas for the famous Levi’s blue jeans.

I had come to the area by accident on a Sunday outing when I had stupidly lost my way and had stumbled upon one of the mineshafts. A friendly old man pointed out the way to get back to the main road. But before I went on my way I had asked whether he worked in the mine. “Sometimes,” he replied, “In the past every day. Now I’m too old. It’s very hot and uncomfortable down there, and dangerous. Only last week my neighbour’s mine collapsed, killing the two inside.”
“But is it worth it? Is there any gold in these hills?”
“Oh yes, there is gold, enough to keep us busy. But its price has hardly increased for a long time. The trader always has a reason to charge more for transport and for the chemicals we need. There is not much else we can do here, so we have to accept it.” And then he told me to wait as he wanted to show me a piece of gold he had found. It was a little nugget shaped like a small crown cork. If there is gold in these hills, there also should be some in the river!

The following week, together with two mates we went to try our luck at gold panning. After two hours and no gold, just as we wanted to give up and enjoy a few fried bananas made by his wife, a little boy appeared with a beat-up wok. After a few swirls he shouted, “Grandfather, is this gold?” We all went over to have a look, and yes, there it was, a little nugget shaped like a small crown cork! Someone must have taught the old man how to raise an interest in and promote the operation, or maybe it was his own idea.

When I went back with my mates we got lost again and never made it to the shaft. I thus never learned whether my brilliant advice had been put into effect. Obviously I cannot direct you to the place, as I can’t even find it myself. It is to the west of Bogor township, north of the Mt. Halimun Salak National Park. Who knows, if you somehow manage to get there, the following simple instructions will help you with panning:

1. First, fill your pan nearly full of the sand and gravel. Remove the largest stones from the pan.
2. Place the pan under water and be sure that all the material gets wet. You may have to mix the contents of the pan with your hands.
3. Quickly move the pan from side to side, either under water or while it is full of water, and rotate the pan’s contents (but don’t spill the contents). This action gives the gold particles a chance to settle to the bottom.
4. While continuing the side to side motion, gently tip the pan away from you. Lighter material and larger pieces that come to the top will move to the front of the pan. These can be skimmed or scraped over the brim of the pan with your thumb or hand.
5. Continue the motion described in steps 3 and 4, allowing water to wash lighter material over the brim until only a small amount of material remains in the pan. You’ll need to add water to the pan.
6. The remaining heavy material is the concentrate. If you haven’t yet seen gold in your pan, pour out excess water until enough is left to barely cover the concentrate. Swirl the pan contents to ‘string out’ or ‘feather’ the concentrate. Lighter particles will be washed farther than the heavier particles, leaving the gold (because it is the heaviest) in the ‘tail’ of the concentrate.
7. Continue swirling water in the pan to further clean the concentrates, being careful not to lose any gold. Recovering gold by panning takes practice!

Quite a complicated and time-consuming process!

“Professional” miners therefore tend to speed up the process by using mercury to amalgamate the gold grains. And rather than scooping up the mud from the riverbanks they dig shafts, or break down alluvial deposits with high pressure water jets. This certainly has increased their productivity, but at a high environmental cost – downstream from the mining operation the river water is brown from the silt and highly toxic from the mercury.

Grasberg Mine

That is not only the problem faced by individuals on the micro-scale of a few dollars a day, but also on a mega-scale by large mining corporations such as Freeport Grasberg in the province of Papua, which is the largest gold mine in the world and the third largest copper mine. It consists of a large open pit mine and an underground mine. The former is visible from space as at the surface its crater is more than a mile wide. And in spite of the very high investment costs—the mine is located between 2,500 and 4,000 metres above sea level, which requires complex technological problems to be solved—the mine is a low-cost operation.

And as with the small scale [illegal] mining, the environmental effects are considerable. Some of the 230,000 tonnes of tailings that are generated each day wash into the Aikwa river affecting the lowland areas—no wonder the fish have nearly disappeared from the river. But Freeport states that its discharges meet regulatory requirements. Those in favour of the operation point out that the Grasberg mine has 19,500 employees and is the main tax payer in Indonesia (USD1.4 billion in 2009).

It is interesting to note that the Grasberg production of around 60 tonnes is less than the estimated 65 to 100 tonnes produced in 2013 by Indonesia’s 1,000,000 illegal miners in some 850 mining areas spread from Aceh in the west to Papua in the east.

Whether these production volumes and the derived incomes justify the environmental and social costs does depend on one’s point of view. But it is clear that the ones performing the hard and dangerous labour are compensated the least.

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Thirty six years after his death at the age of 116, the first complete presentation of the works of I Gusti Nyoman Lempad is now available. On June 19^th 2014 at Arma Museum in Ubud, the book was formally launched. Edited by Ana Gasper and Antonio Casanovas with ‘Pictures Publishers’ of the Netherlands, it is the first meaningful catalogue and biography of the most famous Balinese artist. The 300 page tome is a complete presentation of Lempad’s work; biography, social and cultural environment, all accompanied by rich illustrations. The book launch included among its honoured guests, prominent members of Ubud’s royal family. The Ubud palace was Lempad’s foremost patron. The guests were addressed by one of Indonesia’s most influential literary icons Goenawan Mohamad.

The book is the result of seven years of work to produce a definitive book on this unique artist. Ana and Antonio were mesmerized by the works of Lempad when they first saw his drawings at Neka Museum two decades ago. They searched for books on him to no avail. The project has taken them all over the world, looking for the art of the most distinguished artist of Bali whose works were carried and shown abroad as early as the 1930s. They collaborated with author Jean Cocteau, an expert on Balinese art who has written several books and essays on various artists of Bali.

Born sometime after the mid-nineteenth century, Lempad started his work as a Balinese Undagi (master architect builder) and a Sanging (religious artist). These works integrated the coded knowledge of architecture, art, religion, and sacred formulations; of space and the relation of the human body to that space, iconography and mythologies of the culture. His works included traditional sculptures of temple statues, masks, wayang puppets, cremation towers, sarcophagi and nagas. Identifying some of his creations is complicated as he never signed his works. Any ‘signed’ were done so by family members to write the title and artist acknowledgement. The most reliable source for Lempad was his son, I Gusti Made Sumung who worked with John Darling and Lorne Blair on an award-winning documentary which tells the story of the artist at the end of his life and films his cremation. The documentary is titled ‘Lempad of Bali’ (1980).

Lempad Bali

Lempad built most of the temples and palaces in Ubud and its neighbouring villages. His exact birthday is unknown, but we know he was married when Krakatau went off in 1883. When he died on April 25^th in 1978, he gathered his family around him and asked them to bathe him and then died. The Balinese said he chose the most auspicious holy time to pass on, surrounded by his loved ones.

He maintained close friendships with Rudolf Bonnet and Walter Spies. Lempad is most famous internationally for his drawings done after 1925 after meeting Walter Spies, who provided him with paper and materials and most likely introduced him to other illustrators’ works. He continued to draw in black and white through the Great War, the Indonesian struggle for independence, and post independence, until his death. He never compromised his distinctive identity as a Balinese artist. He is a bridge between traditional and modern art. Lempad’s art is beyond influence. His drawings are not limited to one style, although his ‘lines’ are identifiable; his styles vary from traditional to surreal, to simple depictions of everyday life. He drew history, all the while continuing his tradition as artist, architect and sculptor for the House of Sukawati in Ubud.

Lempad, a Timeless Balinese Master is available at Periplus bookstores. For other locations, contact www.picturespublishers.nl. 

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I first met Serbian artist Mikro Kosmos (Miroslav Dukic) in Borneo earlier this year. He played a didgeridoo which he created himself and I was intrigued by this tall, mysterious figure instantly – he did not chit chat, but spoke about the darkness and light and he spoke lovingly of his partner, whom he described as a goddess. I later discovered that his exhibition Dark and Light – Dreaming Kosmos, held at Via Via Café & Alternative Art Space in Jogjakarta, displayed his batik creations which he had made during his one year tenure in Indonesia.

“When I arrived in Jogjakarta, batik greeted me. It was really a big surprise, naturally I was very interested – the process of batik nurtured the next episode in my life. I use painting to study, not only the technical process of creating but the explanations of reality that my being needs to raise on this planet. So batik painting is the inverted image in front of me – it was a new thing to learn, to grow my being with one more perception of reality.”

Batik by Mikro

In the beginning of his explorations, Mikro met Indonesian artist Sony at his residence where the two rivers Elo and Progo meet, on the outskirts of the Borobudur temple, and Mikro posed the question: “What is the male and female energy in all?” Sony replied, “If you keep working on this answer on that place supported by all Elo Progo magic you can have every answer.”

Using the canting (a pen-like tool used to apply hot wax) for drawing and colours such as indigosol and naaptol, Mikro made his first steps in batik by the riverside and the end result was Meditation – a selection of visionary, cotton batik pieces.

Later, Mikro studied in the small, ceramic village, Bayat, outside Jogjakarta with the organisation Indoartamiks (which aims to infuse traditional Javanese ceramic and batik techniques with modern street art) and the director Melanie Mclintock invited Mikro to collaborate for one month with students from a local school. At this stage, Mikro learnt more about Indonesian culture, communication and batik and ceramic techniques. Finally, in Southern Borneo, Mikro studied traditional tattooing from the Dayak indigenous people and these influences can be seen in his batik.

I was curious to find out if other artists were also helping the processes of batik to evolve creatively and I spoke with Annissa Gultom, director of Museum Kain (Fabric Museum), which opened in Badung, Bali, in November 2013 and houses many antique and modern items of batik. “Museum Kain is a dream come true for its founder, Obin’s late husband, Roni Siswandi, an archaeologist-anthropologist who became a cloth innovator along with BINhouse,” explained Annissa. “It combines centuries-old weaving and batik-making methods with new styles of shape and colour. Museum Kain is also an embodiment of what a modern museum should be, combining antique artifacts with new methods of communicating, interaction, discussion and giving impressions.”
The processes of batik are in a state of constant change as Annissa Gultom explained, “Let me share with you what Roni Siswandi once shared to me; the essence of batik, is the use of hot molten wax. Whether you are using canting pen, stamps, or computerized wax applicator, if you’re using hot-molten-wax, that’s batik. Batik has survived the industrial revolution in the 1700s; when machineries were found to speed up production, the wax-stamp was founded, but it did not kill the canting pen method. It survives until today. Batik motif-printed cloths emerged because there are so many people who dearly wish to have batik in different aspects of their life, but they could not afford it. Yet the people who can afford it will choose the traditional method-made batik. There is a different market niche to every form of batik. Everybody still tries in any way they can to have batik as an inseparable part of their life.”

Before the introduction of synthetic dyes in the 1700s, batik tended to use the colours blue, red and brown – and modern batik now has access to a larger palette of colour. Yet I was curious to learn more about the differences between traditional and modern techniques of batik – were philosophical motifs and symbols used or were people able to capture their own personal experiences?

Batik from Kain Museum – Sarong from Semarang

“Spiritual philosophy, nature observation and social culture occurrences are among inspirations that made batik motifs, then and now,” explained Annissa. “There is one piece from Semarang, a sarong that was passed on through five generations of the Siswandi family. The first owner was the grandmother of Roni’s grandmother. On this sarong, there’s a drawing (made using wax and canting) that shows the situation of the colonial city of Semarang at the time, complete with a Dutch man walking a dog, a long-haired girl walking nearby him, and a wagon with a man and his daughter on board. This piece demonstrates that batik is not always about spiritual meanings, court symbols or life stages, but also the expression of the makers – what surrounded them at the time, what was the trend or what they saw everyday on the way to the field.

“In our exhibit, you will also see batik from Solo with badminton motifs (Indonesia first won the badminton World Cup in 1950s); cotton flower; GANEFO symbols (Game of Emerging Forces, Soekarno’s project in the 60s); Peoni flower on hokokai batik (Japanese favourite flower, made during Japanese occupation) and so much more. These pieces are amazing – each telling the story of the maker and their life back then, making batik, actually, a very personal art expression. The unique ones give us more insight of real people and life back then. That is how batik should be seen, owned by the people.”

Mikro’s batik is a beautiful exploration of his cosmos – the spectrum of light to dark which he was not afraid to investigate – by portraying his personal experiences he has demonstrated that batik can be a very personal tool for expression. “Fear is a feeling that occurs when our perception of reality receives the ability to rapidly expand. Trust and love can transform and illuminate every part of existence because we learn to allow it to lead us through the universe – introducing us to this incomprehensible hugeness.”

Further Information

Kampung Batik Jakarta – Jl. Pal Batu in South Jakarta

Kampung Batik Laweyan Solo

Museum Kain: www.museumkain.org

Indoartamiks: https://www.facebook.com/Indoartamiks

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Grace always knew that honouring the dead is central to Toraja culture. But on her second visit to Tana Toraja during the festive season, she learned surprising perspectives on what this really means.

Skeletons in rock caves decorated with tau-tau ancestral figurines; tongkonan traditional houses and corresponding rice barns, decorated with horns of bulls slaughtered in burial feasts; baby graves in tree trunks: it seems that the Toraja people live in constant reminder of how finite life on earth is, and spend this life preparing for the next.

Visiting with family and friends during Christmas time, we started our day at the buffalo market Pasar Bolu, which trades every six days. The slaughter of buffaloes is an essential part of the Toraja burial ceremony, as they are traditionally believed to be the vehicle, which escorts the departed into eternity. Ordinary black buffaloes cost 20-70 million rupiah. The most expensive breed is tedong saleko, the black-and-white mottled buffalo with yellow horns, blue eyes, and white legs, priced between 200 million to well over a billion rupiah.

A wealthy family with high social status may slaughter up to 28 buffaloes in a ceremony. That said, success among the Toraja community has also made these ceremonies competitive – it is not uncommon to find those that sacrifice more than 100 buffaloes. This does not include the pigs, which may cost between 3 to 7 million rupiah each. On top of that, the family has to pay for the elaborate tongkonan-shaped coffins, construction of the ceremonial grounds, and food for those who help out with or attend the funeral.

“Why go through all this trouble and financial tension for a dead person?” one may ask. According to local guide Nathan Salenna, “It is our expression of delivering the absolute best in paying the final respects to our parents, those who gave us life. As they settle in the afterlife, may they receive these offerings and arrive there happy.”

Christmas happens to be the time of the year when most diaspora Toraja return to the homeland to perform rituals. It is common for a funeral to celebrate someone who has passed away months or even years ago. In Tana Toraja, a burial ceremony is more than just a show of wealth and prestige – it is a time to reunite with relatives and friends not seen very often throughout the year.

Since evangelisation in 1913, most Torajans today are Christians, but these burial traditions stem from their ancestral religion Aluk Todolo. Though polytheistic, Aluk Todolo also recognises a Supreme Creator called Puang Matua, and most Torajans do not appreciate the label “animism” on Aluk Todolo. Ancestral worship—central to the religion—draws on Chinese influences. Along with the Batak of North Sumatra and Dayak of Kalimantan, Toraja are descendants of the same branch of the ancient Chinese migrants from Yunnan.

“Islam didn’t penetrate Toraja successfully because it doesn’t allow us to continue our ancestral rituals and animal sacrifices, which includes pigs. That said, out of tolerance to our Muslim brothers and sisters in Toraja, we usually set aside one buffalo in a ceremony for halal slaughter,” said Nathan.

I attended a burial ceremony in Sangalla, and in the ceremonial grounds, a female ceremony leader was praying a Christian prayer in the Toraja language. The ceremonial house was ornately decorated in red and gold – somehow it felt a little bit like Chinese New Year, except that instead of having knots and lanterns, it had parang (Toraja daggers) and buffalo horns. Barefooted men clad in mostly black, young and not-so-young, took their places to carry the coffin. It was covered in fancy red and gold textiles, decoratively sheltered under a red buffalo-horn roof characteristic of traditional Torajan houses.

A parade leader led the chants, which the mourners sung along to in canon. The parade stopped often for the coffin bearers to do a little dance. At first I assumed they did this to rest from carrying such a heavy coffin, but it was always at the most awkward places, with icky mud squished between their toes. As we got near the rice fields by the side of the main road, it became clear that my assumption was wrong.

Within seconds, I was soaking wet in buffalo-poop water from the rice fields. There was chaos all around. The coffin bearers stomped harder in the puddles to wet the mourners. The mourners retaliated by jumping in the rice fields and splashing them with the same poop-water that got me seconds ago. Within a few blinks, buckets and bowls started appearing. Moving the coffin forward became a game of stop-and-go doused with generous water fights, chanting, and laughter.

“Oh, they got you too!” some old women started laughing at me. The fact that I wore a pink quick-dry sports shirt didn’t help—I ran out of black and ended up sporting a dead giveaway that I wasn’t local. “Watch out for your camera! Here they come again!”

I spent the remaining hours damp, cold, smelling like manure, and laughed at by my family and friends. But if there’s something I learned from a Toraja funeral, is to move on. As Nathan puts it, “After mourning comes joy. As we believe the departed has arrived happily in their eternal home, we honour them with a celebration of love and laughter. If you got splashed, that’s not for you to get upset with. They’re just cleansing you from their mourning spirits to make way for a new and happy beginning to carry on with this life. It is a shower of blessing.”

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Fast Facts

Country: Indonesia

Province: Sulawesi Selatan (South Sulawesi)

Land Area: The Toraja Regencies – 3,205,77 km²

Sulawesi Selatan – 46,717.48 km²

Highest Elevation: Sesean – 2,100 metres amsl

Largest city: Rantepao – now capital of Toraja Utara regency, tourist central

Makale – capital of Tana Toraja regency

Population: 437,843 – 2010 estimate including both regencies

How to get there: Flights from most major cities to Makassar daily.

AviaStar flights twice a week from Makassar to Makale

or eight-hour drive from Makassar to Rantepao

What to bring: Hat, sunglasses, sunscreen lotion

Camera – rainproof cover or dry-bag optional

Black attire and change of clothes

Money for ceremonial offering (couple hundred thousand rupiah)

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