We are at sea today after two interesting days of amazing
sights and lots of very hot weather. Between Bali and Semarang we saw several
snakes swimming in the ocean. We knew they were not eels because eels don’t
swim on top of the water like these were. Perhaps they were salt-water
moccasins. ;-)
March 1: We arrived at the Port of Semarang to a welcome of
giant puppets and dragons, even at 5:00 a.m. Semarang is the capital of Central
Java – one of three provinces of the island of Java – the largest of the over
17,000 islands that comprise Indonesia. It was in Semarang that the youth of
the city defended themselves for 5 days in 1945 against a battalion of the
occupying Japanese, thus leading to Indonesia’s independence and establishment
of the country. The port itself is surrounded by lots of industrial sites and
lacks the charm of Bali.
By 6:30 a.m. we were off on our 56-mile tour to Borobudur –
a UNESCO World Heritage site and the largest Buddhist temple in the world. As
we traveled through the city we saw examples of extreme poverty as well as
extreme wealth. As Jakarta gets more crowed, new business and citizens are
migrating to Semarang. A mansion on a hillside overlooking the city runs about
600 million rupiah, or $50,000 USD.
After leaving the city we passed rice paddy after rice paddy
after rice paddy – acres and acres all planted and harvested by hand. Workers
were still wearing the Chinese-style hats and they weren’t posing for the
tourists.
On the way up the mountain we stopped for coffee in a
jungle-like area. Coffee and bananas – all locally grown, this is Java after
all – were delicious. Thanks to a police escort both ways we were able to make
pretty good time in spite of the traffic.
Borobudur is considered one of the most incredible sights in
South East Asia, and it did not disappoint us! It was built in the 9th
century and its creation without modern equipment and engineering remains a
mystery to this day. For over 1,000 years the site was not used and was taken
over by the jungle until 1814 when Sir Stamford Raffles discovered it and
cleared it. Although many of the Buddhas’ heads are missing due to an
earthquake and vandalism, the intricate carvings on every wall and the sheer
size of the place are awe-inspiring. It has ten levels symbolizing the path to
Nirvana. I am embarrassed to say that I only climbed to the first level –
intimidated by the extreme heat, my still recovering stamina since my bout with
pneumonia, my slight phobia about going down stairs, and the sight when we
first arrived of a young woman being removed via stretcher and taken away in a
rather suspect-looking ambulance. Later, as I watched much older people, some
with canes and one man with a portable oxygen supply, descending I felt rather
sheepish. On the positive side, we circumnavigated the temple and enjoyed the
amazing carvings.
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The amazing temple notwithstanding, a highlight of this tour
was the trip home. Our karma was good because the rains that had been
threatening all day held off until we were safely in the bus. But then the
deluge began – the kind of rain that would cause us to take shelter under an
overpass if we were driving through it in the US. We were part of a four-bus
“convoy” with police escorts down the winding mountain roads, but that did not
assure that every driver knew to stay out of our way or to stop, if we happened
to be in the wrong lane. Our bus driver, like the driver on Bali, drove that
bus as if it were a sports car and the many seeming near misses provided great
entertainment for us and many of our fellow travelers.
When we returned to the ship we shared bitter-sweet moments as many crew members said goodbye to their families after a short, one-day reunion. It’s one thing to consider a career at sea as a grand adventure, and another to realize it’s not a lifestyle these young men would have chosen – 10 months a year away from home – had they had other options. Not always, of course. Our head server, Tomo, from Bali, is engaged to a young woman who also works on the ship. But some, like our favorite bartender, Jerry, and our cabin steward Bagus, have wives and children at home.
March 2: Next up was Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia. At the port we were the only cruise ship. It is a big, ugly industrial port. If we had wanted to do something on our own – not advised – we might have been hard-pressed getting to the port entrance – a mile from the ship. We were on a tour of Jakarta all day (again with a police escort to make sure we could stick to the schedule and get back to the ship on time) and not once was I able to find a post card to send.
First stop was the Taman Mini Idonesia Indah – a theme park that features life-size replicas of traditional architecture from each of the 27 provinces. We were able to visit two, one of which was Sumatra. Then it was on to the Monas National Monument – picture a slightly smaller version of the Washington Monument with a huge gold flame (think Olympic torch) on top. The flame is coated with 77 pounds of gold.
We then visited the Taman Fatahillah Square & Museum where
we met “Java man.” Some of the early Dutch settlers are buried there. Indonesia
was Dutch East India until the Japanese invaded in 1942.
After a delicious Indonesian lunch in the beautiful hotel,
Mercure, in downtown Jakarta we went to what became our favorite stop of the
day – the Museum Wayang – the puppet museum. It is housed in an old church
building built in 1640. The original building was destroyed by an earthquake,
and it became a museum in 1939. It is located in the Batavia section of
Jakarta. In addition to the displays, the museum houses performance space where
puppet plays and other cultural exhibitions are presented daily.
Finally we were taken to the old port of Sunda Kelapa where
we saw the fleet of Phinisi schooners – lined up for over a kilometer – wooden ships
that still move goods between the islands. Across the river was a fishing
village from which the small fishing boats sail every night.
The traffic in Jakarta is world-renowned for its
impossibility. Our tour guide, Asep, noted that in order to help reduce the
congestion at rush hours, the work days of government workers and private
sector workers are staggered. In Jakarta, “driving is believing,” he said.
Tomorrow we’ll be in Singapore. I suspect we will find it
far different than Indonesia.
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