Flores and Komodo Dragons

As we mentioned in our last post, throughout the month of August it was Ramadan in Jakarta. This is a time when Muslims fast for the entire month and at the end they have a holiday called Lebaran where the fast finishes. Everyone in Indonesia gets about a week off for Lebaran. At this time there is a mass exodus from Jakarta as everyone goes back to their hometown to be with their families. So Nat and I thought it would be a great opportunity to get out and see some of Indonesia and as we knew that it would be crazy in the Muslim-populated areas of Indonesia we opted for a trip to the predominantly Christian island of Flores.

The view from the water from a hill in Labuan Bajo

Flores was spectacular! The landscape was completely different to anything we had ever seen in the South East Asian region. It is the dry season at the moment and it was completely dry! We flew into Labuan Bajo which is the fastest growing city in the province of Nusa Tenggara. This is because Labun Bajo is the gateway to Komodo and Rinca Islands where the unique and dangerous Komodo dragons can be found. However, Labuan Bajo does not resemble much of a city it looks more like a haphazard construction site.

We ventured out of Labuan Bajo on a two-day, one-night trip to Komodo and Rincah islands. The boat we took had no life jackets and no radio, even though we had been assured that these would be provided - welcome to Indonesia. We cruised around a number of different islands en route to Rincah island. Rincah is the less-famous and smaller version of Komodo. Here Komodo dragons can also be found as well as monkeys, wild buffalo and bird life. When we arrived on the island we were greeted by our first Komodo dragon that was sunning itself by the entrance to the island. The guides on the island took us around with a stop off at the kitchen used by the rangers. Underneath the kitchen were heaps of Komodo dragons. They are not fed by anyone but they apparently come because they can smell the food. After this we went on a big tour of the island and saw the nests in which the female Komodo dragons lay their eggs. We eventually came to a watering hole where three wild buffalo were bathing. Lying near by, quietly, were two Komodo dragons waiting for their opportunity to bite and kill the buffalo.

Trekking Rincah Island



Komodo dragons

A Komodo dragon can eat half its body weight in food. To kill a buffalo they will attack it while it is in the watering hole and bite it. A komodo dragons bite has over 60 types of bacteria in it therefore the bite will eventually kill the buffalo. It can take up to two weeks for the buffalo to

die but the Komodo dragon will wait patiently and then gorge itself on the buffalo. Komodo and Rincah are actually quite big and way too large to walk around in a day. There are even villages on both islands which existed before the whole area was gazetted as a national park. The locals have

grown used to living with Komodo dragons and everything is on stilts. Komodo dragons have been known to kill and eat humans (especially children) so it’s worth taking precautions.

On our way back to our boat we went by the kitchen again where we spotted two Komodo dragons passionately mating (as it is mating season at the moment)! What a sight!

Komodo dragons mating

Our trip continued on with some snorkelling around the islands. It was amazing and so colourful with millions of fish. However, you can see the damage that tourism and fishing are doing to the reefs and I am not sure that it will look so beautiful in years to come. We visited the famous “Pink Beach” which has a pinkish tinge due to red coral in the sand. Unfortunately while snorkelling we were all attacked by thousands of little prickles in the sea that must be related to jellyfish. They stuck to our clothes and hair and stung like hell! Nat: I have still not been able to identify these thorn-like creatures but perhaps they were jellyfish larvae.

The random prickles that attacked us

That night we slept out on the boat, which literally meant we slept on some mattresses on the deck of the boat. It was so quiet and so nice to be under the stars.

Pink beach - where the sand looks pink

Sunset

The next day we continued onto the famous Komodo island. The scenery here was spectacular and we saw many more Komodo dragons sunning themselves in the morning sun. We also saw jungle chickens, wild boar and deer. The island seemed to be teeming with life. After Komodo island we went to some deeper waters to try and find manta rays! What an experience that was! As the boat sailed through the water we found huge manta rays flipping there fins above the surface at the same time the guide on the boat told us to jump in (with our snorkel gear on) and follow the rays. Candice saw a couple but Nat was too slow in jumping in and missed most of the rays.

Komodo island

As close as Nat dares to get

For our last two days in Flores we went out to another island (Seraya Island) and stayed the night in some very cute bungalows. It was very relaxing and nice to lie on the beach. Nat went for an exploration of the island and found many goats running around, some were even in trees.

On our last day in Flores we headed inland to a beautiful waterfall. It was incredible to see the ever changing land scape of Flores. The people up in the villages were extremely poor and it was

a bit of a shock to the system after seeing all the wealth in Jakarta. We trekked through rice fields and forest to get to the waterfall while a hoard of local children followed us and taught us words in their local language, Manggarai. The waterfall was beautiful and freezing and well worth the trek. Once we trekked back to our staring point we sat down and some of the other people who were with us shared their food around with the local children. It was amazing to see the children break biscuits in half and share them with the other children. No one asked us for money and no one tried to sell us anything. They were a group of people who were as intrigued to see us, as we were to see them.

To cap off our trip we popped in to Bali for a couple of days to visit fellow-volunteers Dennis and Deborah. Whatever the criticisms of the fact Bali is too touristy, we have to admit Legian beach has beautiful sunsets!

Ramadan and getting out of the big J

Ramadan

The last few weeks have been interesting as it’s been the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan and we’ve had some family visit from Australia. Jakarta is mostly Muslim and so when Ramadan started on the 1st of August, it means most eateries are shut (or at least visibly shut) during the day. The month of Ramadan is supposed to be when Muslims reflect on spiritual things and fast between the hours of about 5am and 6pm. This includes abstaining from drinking water, smoking, swearing and marital relations. This means things generally slow down, work finishes an hour early and everyone else feels guilty for eating. For me (Nat), work continued to cater for us as many people at Komnas Perempuan are non-Muslims. The nightlife in Jakarta appears to quieten down a bit during this period and many establishments pretend to be shut so that they are not smashed up by zealous Islamic moral hardliners.

Excited Muslims riding atop a van on a highway at high speed

While Ramadan is not always the most exciting time for tourists, it does present an interesting cultural perspective to the visitor – plus it meant our pool was usually free during the day!

Trips here and there


Tiger Island

We try and get out of Jakarta as much as possible on weekends. We have a few expat friends who share this passion too and together we’ve been trying to experience as much of Indonesia as we can while we’re here. In our last post in July we mentioned a bit about some of the things we get up to but we forgot to mention Pulau Macan (Tiger Island).

Candice wading between Tiger Island and its sister island

If you’re on a tight schedule or only have the weekend to spare, taking a trip to the Seribu Islands is a great choice. The word ‘seribu’ means a thousand but there are more like about 50 islands. These islands are just off the coast of Jakarta and can be reached by boat within a few hours. They range in size, popularity, accommodation price and standard but one of the pricier options is the Tiger Island Eco Resort. Mainly visited by expats, a night here will set you back about $200 (including transport, food and accommodation) but it’s totally worth it. The island is tiny and is privately owned. About 100 metres away is another uninhabited island also owned by the same mob which you can swim, wade or kayak to. Accommodation is in open-air huts and the food is excellent. There are some great snorkelling trips and by the end of the two days it feels like you’ve been there forever. Gee this is starting to sound like an ad. Anyone in Jakarta with a weekend to spare check out the Pulau Macan website.

In July we went with friends Leslie, Cambria and Manuela. Here are some pics:

Cianjur and Oz Visitors

Candice: My sister and her boyfriend, Larissa and Michael, came to Jakarta for a couple of days. We were able to show them the massive shopping malls and constant traffic jams that Jakarta has to offer. It was a great time with a trip to the Magnum restaurant where you can make your own magnum and a night out at Karaoke.

Enter Sandman karaoke

About a week and a half after Larissa and Michael left my other sister Odette came to visit. She had been living in China and was on her way back home to Australia with a stop off in Indonesia. We took Odette on the standard tour of Jakarta, again visiting the shopping malls and the famous Magnum cafe as well as the old town of Jakarta and the markets out at Tanah Abang.

Candice and Larissa

We were also able to take Odette on a weekend trip to Cianjur. Cianjur is about 2 and a half hours drive from Jakarta. We stayed with an awesome home stay program, as this trip was really off the beaten track. It was so great to breathe in fresh air and experience what life is like

for Indonesians who live outside of Jakarta. On the Saturday we went to a floating fishing village and saw how they farm fish and live on a dam. On Sunday we did a trek to a traditional rural village. It was so relaxing to walk through rice paddy fields and to take in all that precious fresh air. The people in this village not only farm rice, but they also farm zucchinis, beans, palm sugar, lemon grass and bananas. All this they take to the markets to sell. When we arrived at the house all the women were making a traditional sweet out of the palm sugar, which they then go and sell back in Cianjur. It was a very interesting experience and such a great time to show Odette a different side of Indonesia.

Riding a boat through the water village

The water village on the dam

Our preferred mode of transport: back of truck

Village rice paddies

Three little pigs

Making palm sugar to sell at the market

Delicious lunch in the Sundanese village

Back to town after a long day's trek

Work and other stuff

Nat: Compared to July, work at Komnas Perempuan has been a lot slower. I’ve mainly been working on translations with a bit of research here and there but things are going to pick up come September and the Eid-il-fitri holidays are over. This has meant though that I’ve been able to start an English Club at work. This is part of the effort to improve and encourage the use of English at the commission and due to the number of people interested, I hold 3 sessions a week after hours. Although I have stressed that it’s not a class, I am not an English teacher and I am not really qualified as such, my colleagues persist in calling me ‘teacher’ and asking about ‘class’. I have given up and embraced the misnomer. English Club has been fun so far – we read articles, have discussions, play games and learn new words. The only drawback is that I have to do brief ‘lesson plans’ that can impinge on my actual daily duties. Thankfully so far it hasn’t been too much of a problem.

Candice has been edging closer to getting an official assignment with Sahabat Anak as well. Fingers crossed that everything will be sorted by September.

Before we arrived in Jakarta we thought we would definitely purchase bicycles to get around. This way we’d keep fit and save money. A few weeks ago we went looking for second-hand bikes but couldn’t make up our minds. We’re still undecided at this point as my office is fairly close to home, we can get around cheaply by public transport and cycling in Jakarta is not as pleasant as we had envisioned.

Having a 'creambath' and posing with a pig hat

Life in Jakarta

(we've been slack and this post was meant to go up in early - mid July)
We've now been in Jakarta for the last over a month. In that time Nat has started work at Komnas Perempuan, and we went on a massive accomodation hunt and found an awesome apartment (left) in central Jakarta. We moved in about 4 weeks ago. We are living on the 28th floor so we have a great view of the city. Well at times its a great view when there is a wind that blows away all the smog. On other days like today the view is spoiled by the smog and you can't see very far at all.

The same view from our place on a normal day (top) and a good day (bottom)

Jakarta is an massive city with a greater metropolitan population bigger than Australia's entire population. Traffic is always crazy and taxi drivers will always say macet, which means traffic jam. Everything is so much more expensive in Jakarta then the rest of Indonesia. We could eat a meal for 5000 rupiah in Yogyakarta but in Jakarta its hard to eat for 15,000 rupiah. So many Indonesians move here to earn more money, but prices are pushed up by the extreme wealth that you can also see in Jakarta. While we were looking for a place to rent, we were staying at a hotel in a suburb called Menteng. Menteng is full of massive houses for rich Indonesian politicians and foreign embassies. On the other hand, right near this suburb there is a "river" which is more like a drain it’s so flithy. Undernearth the bridges that cross this river we saw whole families living there. The massive gap between wealthy and poor here is so obvious.

Looking for a place to rent on an 'ojek' or motorcycle taxi

Jakarta does not have many tourist hot spots to offer except for copious amounts of shopping malls. The shopping malls vary from massive malls with rip off hand bags and watches or massive malls with authentic Chanel, Hugo Boss etc. etc. The only thing for Indonesian families to do in Jakarta on weekends is hang out at shopping malls. So we have seen many a wealthy family with their one child and two nannies. One nanny to mind the child while the other nanny pushes the empty pram. Nannies also have to wear a uniform with nanny written on the side of the arm. These shopping malls are a strange environment where an Indonesian women will happily buy a $17,000 hand bag. And then the minute you step out side you can find children begging on the streets.Many poor people live either on the streets or under any available shelter, such as this bridge located over an open sewer near where Nat works.

Nannies and maids are the norm here. Each apartment that we looked at comes with a place for the maid to sleep. It is a tiny room, think Harry Potter under the stairs type of situation. To have a full time maid who works 7 days a week it costs about $70 for a month. Not much at all. And the maid will do everything for you, cook, clean, wash clothes and even run errands. One Indonesian woman told me how it is just so difficult having children, you have no time to yourself. This is a lady who has two children, one is 6 years old and the other is 18 months. She has two nannies to look after them, she doesnt work and the 6 year old goes to school on week days. I am not sure what could be difficult about that, sounds like a life of luxury. Maybe its difficult because it would be easy to become bored with nothing to do.

A colourful 'bajaj' or auto-rickshaw which appears to be sponsored by the United Kingdom

The 'economy class' train which is so full that people risk their lives sitting on the roof

Motorcycles, what would you do without one?

Nova and Candice ride a bajaj

Nat:

I’m writing this section a couple of weeks after the rest of this post. On the 15^th of June 2011, I started my assignment at the National Commission on Violence Against Women (aka Komnas Perempuan). Having never worked professionally outside Australia, my first day was a daunting experience, although after Candice and I were introduced to most of the staff I was told to come back the next day to formally start. This let me catch my breath a bit. I’ve now been there for over a month and I’m quite enjoying it.

Now although Komnas Perempuan’s title appears to confine it to ‘violence’against women, in actual fact it is one of the foremost women’s human rights defenders in Indonesia (and probably the region). The commission was set up under legislation in 1998 after the infamous riots in which ethnic Chinese businesses were destroyed and ethnic Chinese women were raped in various cities around the country. Despite the government connections, it is entirely independent and has been responsible for documenting, reporting and researching various human rights abuses against women around Indonesia, including events as far back as the 1960s. Many of its work and data is used by UN independent experts and it is held in high regard by UN bodies and other international organisations working in the region. Komnas Perempuan also plays a large role in law reform and advocating for legislative changes on discriminatory laws and acts as an intermediary between grassroot activist organisations and the government. My position title is Research Editor and my responsibilities include editing English language publications, international legal research and assisting generally in its English language output and capacity.

Due to my Bahasa Indonesia skills, one of my main duties has become translation of documents and publications into English, which suprisingly I quite enjoy. This last week and a half have been quite busy as we’ve just hosted an international conference on discrimination against women in the context of religion and culture in conjunction with the UN Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. I was fortunate to have been involved in helping organise the conference and I’ve met some very interesting and incredible people. Anyway, I’m sure there will be more posts on my job to come!

Candice:

Nat and I are getting into the swing of things living in Jakarta. We even had a house warming the other night with some friends from AVI and others we have met along the way. Two weekends ago we did a day trip to Bogor, a city/suburb nearby with our American friends Leslie, Kate and Amy. It has a massive botanical garden which was quite interesting. Although in true indonesian style there was still rubbish everywhere. However we saw cocoa trees with the cocoa fruit on them and many beautiful orchids. We also made our way to the gong factory in a little industrial side of town. Quite the experience! We are quickly learning that there is no such thing as safety standards here!

The MONAS (Monumen Nasional) also known as Sukarno's last erection

We’ve been trying to use our free time wisely by being proactive and seeing as much of Jakarta and its surroundings as possible. A few weekends ago we went to Old Batavia and Sunda Kelapa, the old port and Dutch colonial side of town which is sadly now falling apart. Buildings built in the 1500s simply lie abandoned and rotting away. Some have been turned into museums but the lack of conservation and hordes of local tourists sitting on antique furniture and touching artifacts will mean they won’t be around for much longer.

Some scenes and videos of Old Batavia and Sunda Kelapa:

Fatahillah Square - this 16th century building is now a museum

Candice and the old Portuguese cannon dubbed 'Si Jaguar' by the locals

Indonesian primary school students love practicing their English and taking photos with white tourists. It gets exhausting but they're really cute.

The old canal


Colonial-era buildings in need of repair

A drawbridge from the 1500s - the oldest in Indonesia

Ironically, this monument was erected in 1996 to commemorate the efforts of preserving the old town. Look at it now.


Children play soccer in Sunda Kelapa amongst the rubbish



View from the old Dutch tower into the slums