Picto Diary - 19 December 2023 - Sebang

Above: Chiles. Sebang City Market. Sebang, Sumatra, Indonesia. 19 December 2022.

I traveled to Jakarta once in the early 1980's for a Citibank business conference. A couple of nights. No sightseeing. All work, no pleasure. Margaret went on a two-week girl's trip to Indonesia circa 2012. Today, would be, for me, a first-time touring experience in the world's fourth largest country, ranked by population. Sebang is Indonesia's furthest western point, an island off the coast of Sumatra, one of five larger islands which make up the country of Indonesia. The other four large islands are Kalimantan, Sulawesi, Java and the western half of New Guinea. The distance from Sebang to the furthest point east, in Indonesia, Indonesia's border with Papua New Guinea, is 3200 miles, the same distance as from San Diego, CA to Portland, ME. Indonesia's population is 275 million compared to the US population of 330 million. Visiting Sebang would be like a non-American making a one day stop in the San Juan islands of Washington State, and then claiming he had visited the United States. But then, you have to start somewhere!

Yesterday, while at sea, I read a current article from the New Yorker entitled, "The Case Against Travel."

 The Case Against Travel | The New Yorker

The article discussed the anti-travel views of the likes of Ralph Waldo Emerson and G. K. Chesterton. Quoted in the piece is the comment of Portuguese author, Fernando Pessoa:

I abhor new ways of life and unfamiliar places. . . . The idea of travelling nauseates me. . . . Ah, let those who don’t exist travel! . . . Travel is for those who cannot feel. . . . Only extreme poverty of the imagination justifies having to move around to feel.

The author of the piece admitted that the anti-travel lobby wasn't a big one but noted that there were some well-known names amongst the antis. Still, I couldn't believe that anyone would dis the benefits of travelling. I have been to one hundred and thirty countries and have spent over twenty years of my life living outside of the United States. It is impossible to conceive of my own life travel time as having been wasted. I wondered, as I walked through the fascinating Sebang City Market how the experience of seeing the interesting presentation of food goods, some of which, like the chilies in the image above, was a waste of time. In addition, the busyness of the people in the outdoor, but covered market, both sellers and buyers, was fascinating. How could this simple, real time, travel experience of seeing the Sebang City Market not be edifying to my overall knowledge and understanding of the world?

Above: Sumatra Coffee preparation. Sebang, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.

Our tour group of eight rode in a van to see the sights of Sebang. We stopped at a coffee bar for a shot of famous Sumatra coffee. I'm not particularly a coffee aficionado, but supposedly Sumatra coffee has somewhat of a cachet around the world. Sumatra coffee is known for low acidity, being full bodied, sweetness, essence of spiciness and intensity. Sumatra is the number three producer, after Brazil and Vietnam, of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. Starbucks, for one, blends Sumatra coffee beans into many of its offerings. I enjoyed a cup of the coffee prepared by the fellow in the image. Sans sugar, the coffee was robust and flavorful, but don't depend on me for a certified opinion. I can tell when coffee is strong, and I like that. But I'm inclined, as a general cynic of manufacturer and soi disant aficionado claims, to think coffee quality is like wine, where my recently deceased friend, vintner Dick Huber, said that 90% of Americans can't tell the difference between a $15 and a $200 bottle of wine. To the travel naysayers, I learned a lot about coffee in this visit! So there!

Above: Seabourn Encore at anchor. Sebang, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.

We selected the Seabourn cruise routed from Dubai to Singapore because it had as ports of call two of our favorite Indian cities, Mumbai and Kochi, disproportionately (compared to other cruises) more days at sea for just needed chilling, and some obscure, but seemingly interesting, island ports before reaching Singapore, TIMDT's favorite international city. The island ports included Sebang, Indonesia, Phuket, Thailand, and Langkawi, Malaysia. We had been a couple of times to Phuket, but we reserved a tour for part of the island that we hadn't heretofore visited. Report of third Phuket visit to come!

Above: Japanese pillbox/observation post. Sebang, Sumatra, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.

"During World War II, the Empire of Japan occupied the Dutch East Indies (now Indonesia) from March 1942 until after the end of the war in September 19451. The occupation was one of the most crucial and important periods in modern Indonesian history1. The Dutch East Indies campaign of 1941-1942 was the conquest of the Dutch East Indies by forces of the Empire of Japan in the early days of the Pacific campaign of World War II2. The occupation of Indonesia by Japan for three and a half years during World War II was a crucial factor in the subsequent revolution3. Japanese military authorities in Java, having interned Dutch administrative personnel, found it necessary to use Indonesians in many administrative positions, which thus gave them opportunities that had been denied them under the Dutch." Wikipedia

(I thot of following the example of Claudine Gay and not citing the above... e.g. taking credit for the writeup myself. I demurred. Between plagiarizing university presidents and AI, it's going to get a lot tougher to validate accuracy of anything one reads.)

It's the rainy season here. Note the ponchos in the image. There were some downpours while riding in the van to get to this place, the far western tip of Indonesia.

During the day's tour, I talked a lot with John, sixty-five something, married but traveling alone, resident of Coeur d'Alene, ID. John worked half the year in Durbin, South Africa where he owned some kind of chemical plant operation. See? There's another reason to travel. Meeting interesting people along the way!

Above: TIMDT and guide Desy. Portside. Sebang, Sumatra, Indonesia. 19 December 2023.

TIMDT with guide Desy. Desy is a credit to her profession, her country and her religion (98% of Indonesians are Muslim). Desy's moving description of her Haj experience, before her marriage, including the financial sacrifice involved, for me stood in stark contrast to the growing number of people in the West whose only commitment is to narcissistic self-gratification. I learned a lot seeing this tiny slice of Indonesia through Desy's eyes. Travel naysayers be damned! Not the least of which is that there are large numbers of Muslims in Indonesia who have families, who work hard, and who buttress their hopes for a happy life with the five pillars of Islam: Profession of faith; Daily prayer; giving to the poor; fasting during Ramadan; and Hajj to Mecca. No doubt that Islam today has a militant faction which views the West a threat to Islam and which, in turn, is a threat to the West. How we in the west reconcile Islam's militant threat with the fact that most Muslim's live ordered, peaceful lives is a question requiring better answers than we have come up with so far., particularly as Islam has higher birth rates than Western countries and the fact that Islamic immigration to Western countries grows apace.

Addendum:

Steve,

Thoroughly enjoy your travel postings! A bright point in my day. Wishing you a most Merry Christmas.

Mark,
Menlo Park, CA

Great tales and photos and thanks for sharing the beautiful tablecloth.

Brand Man,
Ventura, CA