As happens every week, Sunday morning is kicked up with a massive market where people hawk anything and everything from Durian Ice Cream to knock off Argentina jerseys to Austin Powers’ style male… enhancers – which definitely required a double take though I lacked the gumption to grab a photo. Markets, whether in Barcelona, Beijing or Sao Paolo, are where pickpockets earn their keep: being relatively taller than many others in the market, wearing flip flops, a wrinkled short sleeved shirt with a point and shoot camera attached to my belt (side note: it’s funny how we take up our parent’s habits), I must have looked every bit the tourist I was. Coupled with the fact there are few buleh (foreigners) walking around I must have been walking around with a target on my back. While Jakarta faces many problems, including dilapidated infrastructure and severely lacking mass transit services, personal security threats are one issue that I haven’t felt during my stay. Given the relative dearth of expats and tourists in Jakarta, I’ve occasionally felt like a B film tourist being asked to be included in strangers’ photos.

Priding myself on knowing a few words of Indonesian, markets are a great chance to practice and dispel the myth that foreigners don’t care to learn Indonesian. It usually ends up with me speaking about banalities for 2 minutes before I begin to ask how to translate certain English words. After an hour or so of jalan-jalan (walking about), pondering whether or not a cactus was worth $.025 a middle age man grabbed my leg with as much force as a grade nine boy on the wrestling team trying to grab the attention of an attractive senior. Bewildered, I looked down to see a few cigarettes near my feet. The wrestling man, who had subsequently latched himself onto my leg, ear, quickly moved his around what felt like my upper thigh but it really was a blur. Unsure of what to do, my goal was to back away into a less busy stall and keep my hands on all valuables (camera on belt, wallet in back pocket, ipod in front left and cell phone in front right – basically a walking paw shop/ATM) and try not to create a scene. I clearly failed on this last goal as with a few seconds everyone was looking at us, a few people started talking loudly and the wrestler had dropped additional cigarettes near my feet. Recognizing the jig was up and that nothing was going to be taken, he hurriedly grabbed his stuff and walked off.

I have been lucky in not having had my personal security violated too often but this was an exception. As the adrenaline coarsed through my veins, I couldn’t tell if I was more disappointed that I let myself be targeted or content that the wrestler was unable to make off with any significant booty.

A Notable Career Alternative?

if law doesn’t work then apparently I can make money spending my life on a bicycle.

Alternative Canadian Branding:

Sweet Martabak, a thick waffle/pancake like batter with plenty of dutch butter, condensed milk, chocolate sprinkles and peanuts are a staple of any self-respecting dessert connoisseur of Indonesian stall food. Our boss told us that Canada Martabak a stall in Bandung, was among the best in Indonesia. When asked, no one had any idea as to why Canada was used. At least it was the first time the word “Canada” was used without reference to cold weather or snow… Gordon, another Canadian intern, is on my left…

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Asian African Conference Museum in Bandung Indonesia

While the sky was apparently falling during the G20 in Toronto, I had the chance to see a museum dedicated to another conference, arguably of equal stature when it was held in 1955: the African-Asian Conference Museum.

As Wikipedia notes the conference “was billed as a meeting of Asian and African states, most of which were newly independent, which took place on April 18-24, 1955… The conference’s stated aims were to promote Afro-Asian economic and cultural cooperation and to oppose colonialism or neocolonialism by the United States, the Soviet Union, or any other imperialistic nations.” It was an important pre-cursor to the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).”

Countries Represented at the 1955 Bandung Conference

Original Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian%E2%80%93African_Conference

There was the Jubilee anniversary of the conference, held in 2005, an event which saw over 43 leaders of Asian and African countries and an influx of funds to update and spruce up the original building to “international standard.” – I goal that I felt was largely met. Captivating photographs and storyboards as well as relevant artefacts such as the original conference gong (8 feet across and 6 feet tall), made the experience a worthwhile visit.

Interesting notes: there was representation of two Vietnams and no representation from Malaysia or Tibet. Notable figures in attendance at the original conference including Gen. Nasser and Indian PM Singh. The 1950s were heady times: with many states in both Asia and Africa sharing similar levels of GDP/capita and heavy European/American influence in their domestic realm, there was common sentiment of wanting to be independent and on the path to development. There were representatives from over a dozen colonies that would gain independence from their European colonial masters in the next decade. What I found interesting is comparing the successes of the various development strategies and that, despite the strong claims of solidarity, countries quickly diverged in attempting to pursue their own self interest. From the Bandung Conference, the loose coalition that comprised the Non-Aligned Movement disintegrated in the following decades as divided interests proved too great to overcome.

At the end of the museum was a room that described the 2005 conference. The gem that I found telling was the statement acknowledging that little follow up work had occurred since 1955 and that basically relations were starting afresh with new ties of solidarity in ensuring Europe and America would not overreach into their domain. Looking at the list of over 43 countries, I couldn’t help but wonder how effective or important the 2005 conference was as counties pursued their onw independent strategies. For instance China’s decision to quietly foster stronger relations in helping to develop and support African leaders, in return for secured access to natural resources, exist entirely independent and perhaps even contrary to goals of such solidarity networks. At least there were no wrestlers!

Too much Godfather?

A few times a year my office gets together on a retreat outside of Jakarta where everyone can relax and unwind. As most of us are under 35 we often have common ground of things to discuss, even if it’s a mishmash of Indonesian, English, lots of laughter and hand signals. This year the office decided to go to Kulung National Park, like Indonesia an archipelago of islands dedicated to species preservation. The park is 6 hours outside of Jakarta on the western tip of the Javanese island. Our intended departure time of 4 pm quickly turned into a 7:30 pm as colleagues put the finishing touches on projects meaning we ended up arriving at a cottage at the edge of the ocean around 2:30 am. We could smell and hear the ocean and yet all we could see were bamboo structures in the distance with bright lights. After some inquiring we found out they were fishing structures that, employing a team of three men, work through the night by using the lights to attract the fish during the night. Scrambling to sleep on whatever we could find we got up around 6:30 am to take a boat which would tour us around the national park.

Being on a 20 foot boat with 40 of your closest friends for an hour makes for good conversation however after 5 hours it becomes a little more trying! Highlights included stopping and canoeing up a stream whose source lies deep in a heavily forested jungle and is used by the incredibly hard to see rhinoceros native to the area. For the rest of the ride, everyone in the boat slept and shifted to avoid the sun as it reached its apex. A stickler for wearing sunscreen, I kept reapplying leaving a thin white paste on my face much to the amusement of my Indonesian friends. We finally arrived at our location – a remote nature preserved island with a few buildings and cabins for eating and sleeping. Exploring the island was incredible: a herd of deer grazed in the field in front of the cabin, while the occasional wild boar and her sows pranced around the newcomer hoping for some scraps. After settling in for a few hours, the monkeys began to grow comfortable enough to approach us. We were told to lock and barricade all doors and windows and be careful with anything in your pockets as they are able to steal virtually anything as I found out when they stole my camera. Despite my lanky appearance, apparently I’m scary enough to make a 15 pound monkey drop his booty. It probably didn’t hurt that it’s nutritional value was rather limited.

We finished the weekend off teaching our colleagues how to play ultimate frisbee on the beach while they reminded us that work friends and colleagues can have an incredible weekend away with out a drop of alcohol! As all students

This meant there were considerably fewer hangovers compared with similar excursions at home! Overall, it was a great chance to speak with colleagues about concerns beyond work.

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Bali – Monkey Experience #2

As is seemingly customary for travellers and Indonesian expats alike, I had the chance to have a weekend trip in Bali with an old friend last week.

The island of Bali was considerably larger than I was expecting. Densapar, which is the largest city in the south where most foreigners go for surfing, and not coincidentally, where the bombings took place, is hardly indicative of the rest of the island.

Bali’s cultural differences stem from its religious background. As I’ve written about briefly before, Indonesia has 5 state recognized religions – Christianity, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Islam. Bali, with its strong Hindu roots laid down by Indian traders and immigrants from centuries ago retains a distinctly unique identity from its predominately Muslim compatriots on the island of Java, which includes Jakarta. There are less mosques and more offering shrines thoughout the island. A more “live and let live” attitude and an accepting outlook on alcohol has allowed Indonesia’s largest and most important breweries to successfully run out of Bali. Coupled with exceptional beaches for surfing, swimming and sun bathing this island has become a tourist hot spot. This combination has attracted tourists of all demographics and income levels from 5 star resorts to hostels for Aussie surfers.

My brief time there confirmed these thoughts. There were plenty of Aussies as well as a handful of Europeans and South Americans. Exploring Kuta beach, the main beach/highway strip was more or less what I was expecting: plenty of t-shirt vendors, overpriced restaurants and off-meter taxis as well as many locals hawking everything from kites to fake ray bans. Don’t get me wrong – the beach was long and beautiful however there is something about pure sunshine and a muggy 35 degree temperature that I find insufferable. So, coupled with my fear of the sun, I was quick to seek a respite, usually meaning a cold Bingtang beer in the shade whenever possible. We had a chance to check out some of the local nightlife and it met expectations entirely. Many drunken foreigners walking around and having a good time listening to music that sounded identical to what I heard in Ottawa 7 weeks prior.

A few highlights: we had a chance to go white-water rafting one morning which was great. Within a 20 minute drive outside of Pensanar it was as if we were in another country. No more Quicksilver board shorts or Roxy bikinis, but instead plenty of Balinese working in the rice paddies and going about their daily lives. Lacking large 3-4 lane highways, the island is connected by a handful of single lane highways that snake through every village and small town. Whereas I found the “milk run” bus route between Ottawa and Toronto to be a poor use of time, this trip was a chance to see the island. The whole rafting experience was exceptionally well run and organized and a blast to complete with Catherine, an old friend from my time with Junior Team Canada.

We had a chance to explore Ubud, the Balinese cultural capital where local artisans sell their wares. The highlight for me was exploring the local temple/wildlife park (aka: monkey sanctuary) where I was given the privilege of buying “official bananas.” A sucker for all things offical, I forked over the $0. 95 cents for a handful of mini bananas. The guide books were clear that the largest health risks in Bali was being bite by a rabid dog/monkey. Remembering this, I tried to convince myself that given my prior experience of successfully taking back my camera through a show of strength I would be able to keep the monkeys away and carefully feed those monkeys who appeared to be the most in need. This plan crumbled within around, say 8 seconds. After giving away the first one to a small chimp, his larger and considerably scarier friends (probably no more than 14 pounds) caught wind that another foreigner was ready to be fleeced. My plan to intimidate this gang of monkeys with a loud voice only served to attract more. With the situation spiralling out of control I tossed a half dozen bananas 10 feet away from me and let the scavengers figure it out.  Darwin took over and my egalitarian banans distribution model collapsed. Worse, any self respect I had left quickly dissipated when, approach by an insistent group of monkeys, my antics began to arouse a few laughs from my friend Catherine and others, I tossed my remaining official bananas to her in a moment of desperation letting her deal with the fallout.

The final highlight was watching one of the opening World Cup matches between England and the US starting live at, wait for it, 2:30 am Bali time. Convinced this was going to be an event not to be missed, we showed up around 1:30 am and were not disappointed. The bar packed with over 100 English supporters and even a half hour before kick off the English chants started. It felt like being back in London watching qualifying matches. We sat with the two lone Americans, who we had met earlier in the night, in a sea of English revelry. The 1-1 outcome was slightly disappointing but leaving a bar at 5:00 am just as the sun is rising after sitting among hundreds of locals and foreigners cheering on a team in a sport that usually I couldn’t care less about, was special. Similar sentiments were felt the next day when, during a six hour tour of the island, we would drive through small villages which would be draped in large English, Argentinean and Italian flags. Despite being hours from any large urban centre in the middle of Bali and not having a team that qualified for the World Cup, seemingly every village was glued to a TV screen once the game started. Like so many others, this is a soccer mad country after all. Coming home late over the last couple of nights in Jakarta has only reinforced this. Eating in a restaurant during a game means inevitable (though understandable) delays based around corner and free kicks. From well-placed securities traders working out in the gym to street cleaners, the overused notion that the World Cup brings down class and societal barriers seems to bear itself out here. Love it.

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Shout outs – No monkeys mentioned

I was worried at the beginning of this blog that I wouldn’t have enough to write about: clearly I was wrong! It’s been a momentous week for family and friends with Dwayne, my sister Kim’s husband celebrated his 40^th birthday in Burlington. Wish I could have been there!

Also, my good friend Earl and his wife are expecting their first child any day now. Being my first close friend who is starting a family, I wish them all the best and also wish I could be back in Ottawa to celebrate with them! Indeed as I write this something related to dilating has happened which I take it means something’s going to happen…

Hope you’re well wherever you are…

Andrew

PR: I know this post was thin on policy and more on travel thoughts I’ll try to integrate the two a little more next time…

However, in those brief 20 pages, the Indonesian National Museum was listed as one of the best in South East Asia. That said, in talking local friends and colleagues about the best things to do as a foreigner interested in learning about the country, the common refrain seems to be checking out the old Dutch town followed by shopping and going to the movies, which was a bit of a red flag. Of course, it could be that I’m asking the wrong people and thus experiencing sample bias – in many ways, leisure time is a strong indicator sign of wealth in being able to take the time to voluntarily go to a museum to derive no benefit beyond personal enrichment is a luxury that few can afford especially in a developing country with virtually no safety net.

Regardless, museums, especially public ones that are national in scope, can offer a glimpse into how a country wants the outside world to perceive it, and how the nation would like to perceive itself. I think the American War museum in Vietnam, though a tourist trap in some ways, exemplifies this idea. In this respect, this past weekend was a real treat.

A recently added wing with modern design was created and, as we read numerous times, was created to “international standard” (no s required) was l found thematically, what continually struck me was the lack of inevitability surrounding Indonesia’s current cultural and religious situation. The museum was thematically laid out with artifacts from all over Asia on display. Compared to rooms of similar objects, it was telling that the curator chose to use a small room tucked away in the corner of the building to demonstrate the Dutch colonial era complete with a small collection of furniture and a fading poster reproduction of a portrait from a governor. Juxtaposed just a few rooms were cases upon cases of clothing, spears, masks from all across the Indonesian archipelago. From Aceh to Papua, hundreds and occasionally, centuries of years of history were put on display demonstrating a wide spectrum of distinct cultures across thousands of islands as demonstrated through distinct dress, language and traditions.

Despite this rich mosaic of backgrounds and histories fast-forward to 2010 where around 90% of the population is Muslim though there are admittedly pockets of Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism. This figure doesn’t represent influence but rather extreme penetration and indeed is the world’s most populous Muslim state. Watching a colleague unfurl a prayer carpet in the office behind mine or hearing the multiple call to prayers while walking to grab dinner after work are reminders that Islam is a part of everyday daily life.

What amazes me is that there was nothing inevitable about this process; prior to the spreading of Islam, there were competing Hindu and Buddhist kingdoms relying on both agrarian abilities and naval force to enforce their rule. It required Islamic missionaries to come to the Archipelago, beginning in the 13^th century, and actively exert their influence. Battles were waged, blood was spilled which eventually gave way both to victory and to brokered compromises.

In this way, the fact that Indonesia has a population that is almost entirely Islamic is no more the natural order of this country as Catholicism is in the Philippines. In this way, religion is an artificial set of forces. I don’t mean to argue that consequently religion should be considered illegitimate or rendered unimportant. Rather, and though I recognize this may not seem novel, the idea that for millennia larger kingdoms and hundreds of micro societies possessed their own distinct ways of life, only to largely be supplanted by a competing set of beliefs is striking. It shows how fallible and fickle fidelity to faith can be.

Efforts by the state though legal mechanisms to retain the existing social order – as currently exists in Indonesia where you can only marry someone within your religious group – demonstrates the role of the state. Yet despite these efforts the possibility of societal change, however remote, lurks in the background. I should be clear that I’m not trying to judge but rather share with you my thoughts and surprise in realizing that cultures and beliefs are far from static and are in flux, even if theses changes move at a glacial pace. This lack of permanency demonstrates that cultures and religions ebb and flow – an idea that I’ve been prone to overlooking in typecasting one country as being of one faith as if it was forever of that religious tradition and forever will be that way. My last couple of days in Indonesia’s museums couldn’t have done a better job of belying this assumption.

In the three weeks between Easter and arriving, I underwent the annual right of passage faced by millions of post secondary students in North America in writing final exams. Always ready to use an excuse to procrastinate from studying, reading travel blogs and websites quickly became a new hobby. Between watching streamed episodes of Battlestar Galactica and trying not to be lulled to sleep in reading administrative law cases, I was surprised by the relative dearth of materials on Jakarta.

As a region, South-East Asia (SEA) has become a backpackers’ mecca among friends and colleagues– just look to the map people can put on their FB where you can pin what counties you’ve visited – SEA countries are pinned as often as NYC or Canadian March Break Special Sun Spots like Cuba. SEA countries possess a GDP/capita hovering between $2,000-$4,000 which allows tourists to lounge, surf, travel, eat out and generally enjoy life. Despite all this, with the notable exception of Bali and a few other islands, Indonesia was hardly mentioned. Indeed some travel blogs went so far as to state that Jakarta especially should be avoided. What gives? Surely one of the factors is Jakarta’s deplorable traffic situation.

Jammed Jakarta

(It was brought to my attention that the link to the original site of the photo that was here was broken and has since disappeared so I have deleted it. Thanks for letting me know!)
The greater city of Jakarta, with a population of over 20 million, has an official city plan which provides for 1 million vehicles yet has at least 1.5 million on the roads and those are the ones that are officially registered. “Vehicles” should be defined loosely – motorcycle varities by the dozen, foodstalls being transported by foot mounted on bicycle wheels, cars, an assortment of taxis including (orange three wheeled rickshaws), 1970 era heavy steel buses that bear a strange resemble to troop transport vehicles and mikrolets (think a mini van missing the side door that runs a loop and picks you up and drops you off where you wish).

Ojeks, the small motorcycle taxis, offer an inexpensive mode of transportation and dart in and out of traffic, driving occasionally along sidewalks and on the wrong side of the road when convenient. Though I should note that my ojek experience seemed to confirm that there truly is no such things as a free lunch. Feeling adventurous one morning, I wrapped a t shirt around my face (in a vain attempt to prevent myself form inhaling too many particulates) and took an ojek ride to work. Though cheap and relatively quick my driver had no idea of the downtown core and we spent the better part of 2 hours circling talking to random security guards and cops about how to get there while I finished 5 podcasts scolding myself for trying to save $1.34 by not taking a taxi.

Traffic circles become so jammed pushing in to get a spot becomes a Darwinist choice: put your nose out and cut in lest everyone behind lays on their horn to the point that you can’t think straight. Since buses stop wherever the knock on effects are incredible. The fumes from all these vehicles, coupled with an already incredibly hot and humid climate, create a sort of noxious cloud that sits permanently in the air. Sitting in traffic and wondering to what extent the air filters in the 2008 Toyota taxi remove these particulates for the air I’m breathing, I often try to ask myself what would the quality of life be like for those in Jakarta had they foregone industrialization? I then use this to conclude that almost inevitably the price of development and industrialization is considerable pollution. I try to comfort myself that many developed countries had similar issues during their respective phase of industrialization and that, as predicted by the Kuznets curve, as incomes rise and living standards improve, public goods such as the environment, can be given greater priority among competing demands on policy makers. Still, all the traffic means the air is consistently awful.

Traffic is almost unimaginable during the peak commuting times. Our 14 kilometers commute takes between 45 minutes and up to 2 hours depending on weather conditions, day of the week and seemingly, sheer luck. The economist argues that Jakarta loses $1 billion annually due to traffic congestion, an estimate that may seem small compared the $5 billion loss Toronto suffers annually, as recently cited by the Toronto Board of Trade, except with a GDP/capita of almost 1/20th Canadian standards the marginal impact of Jakarta’s loss is significantly magnified. Though solutions abound, few are able to materialize.

Transit woes

The Transjakarta, a mass public transit project that runs air conditioned, reasonably priced buses using dedicated lanes, has alleviated some of the congestion. However, despite barriers separating the lanes and the booming bus horn, motorcycles and cars weave in and out of the lane with impunity rendering buses, and their passengers, to be snared in the same traffic as everyone else. This is considerably that some projects, such as a planned metro line which was announced to much fanfare, were never implemented and remain purely conceptual.

Between these two options lies those projects that remain partially completed. The monorail project, for instance, was commissioned in 2005 and construction efforts ensued along the city’s main arteries. Hundreds of large (1 m x 1 m ) concrete pillars were built, reaching 6 m in height and including large hunks of steel rebar reaching to the sky reaching an additional 6 m. Unfortunately, the project was abandoned due to a deteriorating financial market in 2008 and a myriad of murkier reasons which in a country often ranked as being among the most corrupt in the world, is probably not that hard to ascertain. The result: a scar of perfectly distanced concrete boxes that cuts along the city’s main thoroughfares and are more reminiscent of an urbanist’s critical work of art than a failed infrastructure project in one of the world’s most populous cities. Waiting for the Transjakarta one night, I watched as a tropical rainstorm lashed one of the pillars moving the rebar slightly. Around the base of the pillar, pooling water mixed with street garbage and oil began to flow unabated into the overflow canals headed, so face as we could see, straight to the ocean. I could only begin to imagine the sorts of tradeoffs policy makers face when deciding how to prioritize spending.

As other Asian cities have been able, or at least moving toward implementing solutions to solve such traffic quandaries, Jakarta besieged by the issues of funding, governance issues and a lack of political will (thanks for the link Simon). Congestion charges or higher prices for gasoline, economically efficient solutions I haven’t talked about, are not seem as politically viable, meaning for the foreseeable future, transit in Jakarta is seemingly doomed to remain an intractable issue.