Southeast Asia: later travels with friends

Background

While Brian and I were living in Jakarta, I befriended some guys in the neighborhood who worked near the Puri Sakti house. I passed by their shop every day coming home from work and got to know them. Two of them became very close friends, Lono and Anto. I enjoyed spending time with them and focused on encouraging their future plans as they were both young men. Lono was a father with a daughter and he wanted to make a good life for her. Anto was just 18 and not sure where life would lead him. He had come to Jakarta at the insistence of his family, but he clearly did not like living and working there. Both guys were astounded at how much Brian and I traveled. I told them they could, too (if within ASEAN). I advised them to make passports. Travel at that time was exploding domestically in Southeast Asia, and cheap flights and reasonable hotels abounded. I encouraged them to consider travelling, but they were not confident at all. Inside Indonesia, ok. Abroad? too "difficult".

So - I invited them to take a trip with me to Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore (as I had done with my friend Masaki about 15 years earlier). From my perspective, travel helped people understand more about the world and I hoped it would do the same for my Indonesian friends. They both got passports (a long procedure) and I arranged the trip for us. Brian thought I was crazy - but I felt steadfast that my friends should have a life "wake up" moment just as I did.

We got on a flight from Jakarta to Bangkok and I hoped it would go well.

April 2000

Bangkok

Arrival at Bangkok's old airport, Don Muang was easy enough. We caught one of the airport buses downtown - in those days, the worst part of Bangkok (besides the traffic) was simply getting to and from the airport.

I no longer remember where we stayed, but the location was convenient to the then newly opened BTS (Skytrain). Visitors no longer had to be slaves to Bangkok's traffic. We glided above the city between our hotel and the river. There we took the ferry upriver toward Wat Phra Cheo (the royal palace). Not much had changed from the visit with Masaaki except there were more tall buildings [see: First Trip to Southeast Asia]. Anto and Lono silently took it all in. Java has no large rivers and Jakarta does not have a large body of water bisecting it. The temples along the river appeared completely alien to them - even the Hindu temples of Bali still had an "Indonesian" style. They silently watched.

We made it to the royal palace and walked around. They were amazed by all the gold and jewels (as I had been on my first visit). They kept telling me that Thailand was a rich country and I responded that Indonesia was far richer. I don't think they believed me.

Lunch

It was time to eat something and they wanted to be sure that it was halal food. I was certainly not going to order pork, but I had no idea how to determine if things were halal or not in the average restaurant (we were eating locally). I tried to order fish and chicken and just told them "this is halal". After all, if there was a mistake, the sin was on me not on them. I still remembered my searing experience with Amri in Bali when he refused to eat anything [see: first trip across Java]. Anto and Lono only mentioned halal food once the entire trip - I appreciated both their trust and their lack of fanaticism. They found the food "strangely familiar". I was never sure they really liked it.

Ayutthaya

We took the boat tour to Bang Pa In and Ayutthaya that Masaaki and I had done. They loved being on the river (it was a novel experience for them). I am not sure what they thought of the ruins of the former Thai capital. On that score, Java has older and better preserved sites (and they had visited some of them). For them the highpoint was simply cruising on the river and having a nice meal. They were also starting to relax and enjoy the trip.

Most of my memories of Bangkok are jumbled having visited the city so many times with different people. Anto and Lono were troopers - I felt relieved that they didn't experience huge culture shock. Perhaps because Indonesia is already a very multi-ethnic country? Mostly, they were quiet and just took it all in.

After a couple of days, we made our way back to the airport. Next stop, Kuala Lumpur.

Kuala Lumpur

We arrived in Kuala Lumpur (old airport) and took a bus into the city. I can't remember where we stayed, but the hotel was adequate. KL had developed a lot since my trip with Masaaki. It had a new monorail, Bukit Bintang was transformed into a high end shopping area, and the Petronas towers were open. Additionally, Indonesian and Malay are virtually the same language, so suddenly Anto and Lono could read everything and understand much more. They instantly felt more comfortable.

They agreed that Malaysia was more developed than Indonesia and drank in all of it. I hoped they could see a brighter future for Indonesia in Malaysia's great progress. Indonesia's potential was (and is) vast.

I took them to my favorite place, Masjid Jame (in the photo), but they were more impressed with the monorail and the Petronas Towers. Most importantly, I think they were starting to like traveling. Food was no issue either since Malaysia borrows a large part of its cuisine from parts of Indonesia. In short, Anto and Lono were happy. Perhaps Bangkok was too "different" a place in which to start a first voyage abroad?

After spending a few days roaming around, it was time to go to Singapore. I was very keen on showing them my new home.

Singapore

We flew into Singapore without a hitch (I was a little worried about immigration for Lono and Anto as first timers). Everything was more relaxed because I was at "home" and we were no longer staying in a hotel. We did a tour of the most "famous" places and took the MRT everywhere. They were shocked at how easily we got around. Lono and Anto enjoyed it - but they were ready to go home. I remember Lono calling Singapore "kota lari" (running city) because everything and everyone moved so fast. Again, I don't have a lot of specific memories of that first trip to Singapore, but they would come and visit again for our trip to Penang later that year.

Finally, I escorted them to the port where they would take the ferry to Batam (just an hour away) and then a taxi to the airport. They were booked on a cheap, domestic flight back to Jakarta (rather than the expensive international one from Singapore). I was a little concerned, but then again - they were back in Indonesia. They messaged me they had arrived safely.

I would greet them again in a few months.

Clarke Quay

November 2000

The next time Lono and Anto came, I met them on Bintan Island after a long boat journey from Jakarta. I think they wanted to experience a long boat journey so they took the national ferry, PELNI. It was a lot cheaper than flying. We all took the ferry across to Tanah Merah - again, nervous about immigration.

When the ferry was nearing the terminal, a storm kicked up in the harbor and we saw a waterspout. I was shocked to see one develop in Singapore harbor - I even saw it cut across the bow of a huge ship. Everyone on the ferry rushed to the railing to observe. It was an amazing sight.

When we passed through immigration shortly after, the people in front of us (Indonesian) were denied entry. The immigration officials literally shouted at them. I was so nervous. When it came time for Lono and Anto to pass through, their passports were stamped and they weren't asked any questions at all!

Later, I told Lono how relieved I was and what amazing luck we had.

Lono: "Oh, I knew it would be OK"

Me: "Why?"

Lono: "I prayed that God would let us in without a problem. When we saw the waterspout, I knew that was a sign it would be fine".

Me: (surprised look)

Interesting side note: a waterspout in the harbor would have made HUGE news in Singapore (which is rather "news-starved" for local happenings): nothing on the TV, nothing in the newspaper. I asked my local friends if they heard about it and they told me "no" and that they had never heard of such a thing their whole lives. In fact, if there had been a waterspout in the harbor, it would have been HUGE news.

The problem is, there was a waterspout. I saw it, my friends saw it, and so did all the other passengers....

Weird. Maybe I witnessed a miracle - Lono is a very pious guy after all.

We took a day for Lono and Anto to relax and then hopped the bus to Kuala Lumpur where we changed for another to Penang. It was a long (but uneventful) journey. Given they often made full-day journeys from Jakarta back to their home village in Java, long bus trips were nothing unusual for them.

Penang

We had a great time in Penang and stayed in a cheap hotel downtown. Again, I wandered the streets of Georgetown with friends. I loved being there. For Anto and Lono, however, the high point of the visit was the Penang Hill Railway. That experience was amazing for them because Indonesia has nothing similar. Of course, the country has mountains and hill resorts galore, but no one ever built an incline railway to the top as the British had done several places (in Hong Kong, for example). Of all the travels I did with Lono and Anto, that train ride to the top of Penang Hill was among their favorites. We saw the lovely beaches of Batu Ferringhi and the Chinese Temple at Kek Lok Sih, too. I already had a set itinerary for visitors. We had a good time.

We returned for a few more days in Singapore and then they departed from the port again to Batam for the long journey back on PELNI.

Coda

I love travelling with good friends, that is certain. I also like to introduce people to new experiences which I think might enrich their lives. Southeast Asia had done that for me, so I assumed it might have the same impact on others. As for Anto and Lono, I am sure it helped them to see the world in a different light.

Lono went on in life to return to rural Java and become a successful contractor/carpenter. His daughter finished university and became a school teacher. He is extremely proud of her. Lono's life, considering its humble start, has been a good one.

Anto married, they had a daughter, and then his wife died of cancer. He had become a tailor and always had a decent job. A few years later he was murdered (which is something I don't think, as a friend, one can ever recover from). We will never know what might have happened for him. He leaves behind a daughter who has since married and has a decent life for which I am grateful.

Perhaps my travel with Anto and Lono was self-indulgent, but I don't think so. Anything that helps a person grow cannot be a bad thing. Did it impact their lives in ways that were profound and transformational? likely not. But - did it add a layer to their understanding of the world that their peers lacked? Of that I am certain.

I enjoyed Anto and Lono's visits to Southeast Asia and our house in Singapore. On those journeys I was creating great memories with dear friends and (I hoped) though those journeys their lives had somehow been changed in a good way.