The Thousand Islands and Pulau Tidung

There is a group of islands north of Jakarta known as Pulau Seribu (The Thousand Islands), many of them very close and reputedly dirty and polluted as a result, while others are privately owned, although you can stay on them for a small fortune. I have had several different people recommend one of the more distant ones, Pulau Tidung, one even saying it is like Bali before it got popular. So that is where I went last weekend, joining a cheap tour with a friend, which meant travelling on the public ferry, and staying in some pretty basic accommodation. The ferry left at 6am, and was crowded, uncomfortable, and looked as if it had been found in the land that health & safety forgot. But no matter, three hours later we arrived at the island. There are actually two Pulau Tidungs, a large inhabited island, connected to a smaller one by a wooden walkway.

After dumping our stuff in the accommodation, we were taken for some snorkelling on a smaller boat. It was lovely to be out of Jakarta and sailing between tropical islands, but the weather wasn’t great and not dissimilar to a beach trip in Wales: it was drizzling and not all that warm. The snorkelling was ok, nice enough water but a lot of dead coral. We explored the town a little; the people seem to lead a basic and quite traditional life, and although the streets are quite narrow, you do still have to keep dodging bikes and scooters, just like Jakarta.

The Sunday, however, was much better. We walked the length of the island (about 2km) and across the walkway to the smaller island. The weather was hot and sunny, the islands stunningly beautiful, and suddenly the comparison with Bali didn’t seem quite so fatuous. The walkway is fantastic, stretching between the islands through super clear water, and with a little bridge that people take turns jumping and diving off. Although the islands are beautiful, and the sand is nice, the beaches themselves are not amazing, being short, very shallow, and slightly dirty.

The return to Jakarta was significantly less smooth than the trip out. Essentially, there were too many people to fit on the ferry. There were also too many people to fit on the fishing boat the island laid on, which departed looking dangerously overcrowded. So the remaining island goers sat around in the sun, getting hotter and more agitated as no one seemed to know what was going on. Eventually another ferry turned up, from where I don’t know, as it certainly wasn’t scheduled. There were blissfully few people on it, so despite the wait and uncertainty, the journey back was relatively comfortable and quick.

It didn’t take long to come back to earth; as we neared Jakarta we sailed through rubbish and what smelt like sewage, we were then forced into a sweaty and crowded angkot before driving through the stinking fish market, and into the deafening traffic where every driver seemed to be leaning on his horn – hello Jakarta!

Jogjakarta

A few weeks back I had a long weekend, so flew to Jogjakarta for a few days. Jogja, as it is normally known, is a Javanese cultural centre and a good base for exploring the surrounding area. The city itself is much like the other Javanese cities I’ve visited; the big draw is the presence of several temples an hours drive away. Before heading out sightseeing I first had to sample the cities food. Jogjan food is famous for two things; nasi gudeg, and nasi kucing. The former is a very sweet and spicy chicken dish cooked with jack fruit, and the latter translates as cat rice. Since Java is not Sulawesi (where they tuck into delights such as dog, rat and bat), this isn't actually cat with rice, but very small portions that are only enough to feed a cat. There are whole streets in Jogja selling this stuff, where students lounge around chatting and getting their main meal of the day for about 20p. 

While I was there, it was the annual Vesak celebration, a Buddhist festival commemorating the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha. Monks from all over the region come to the temple of Borobudur for the celebration, which involves a procession to the temple followed by prayers, chanting and meditation. The atmosphere felt quite sacred, as most of those watching seemed to be Buddhist as well, so took the whole thing very seriously. The monks then moved through the crowd sprinkling holy water, and I'm pleased to report that some hit me, so I may well be blessed. The monks would then have walked seven times around the temple, but I didn't get to see this as it had started to rain, so I scuttled off to find somewhere to hide. As interesting as the celebration was, it meant the temple was closed for the duration, so I was unable to climb to the top. Photos of the monks, and a few of the temple here: www.flickr.com/photos/amnewman.

Also in the vicinity of Jogja is the Hindu temple complex Prambanan. They are very beautiful, more so because they are set in some lovely green and well maintained gardens, a distinct rarity in these parts. I could happily have spent the rest of the day chilling out and watching some of the dances troupes in the area, but I had to get back for my flight. 

Many times I've wondered, when I've got out of a car and left the door open, whether anyone would be fool enough to drive into it. I lived in the UK for 32 years without it happening; after five months in Indonesia, and two days in Jogjakarta, it finally has. I got out of my taxi at the airport, and in the time it had taken me to check to see if I had all my belongings, a lorry had driven into the open taxi door and got itself stuck. The driver did seem to be reasonably alert, he noticed my shouts and stopped to allow me to free the door, before driving off leaving me with an irate taxi driver to contend with.