Not a week goes by when I do not get an email from someone, somewhere in the world, asking me a question relating to kopi luwak. Kopi luwak, or “KL” as we call it, is one of the rarest and most expensive coffees in the world. At around $800/kg it dwarves the moderately expensive Jamaican Blue Mountain and Hawaiian Kona Arabica Coffees.

For those of you who do not know what kopi luwak is, take a deep breath, put your cappuccino down and read on. Luwak is the Indonesian name for the Masked Palm Civet. This animal has close relatives throughout most of Asia, as well as in Ethiopia and Kenya. Its poor cousin in China got blamed for being a link in the SARS epidemic in 2004 and got pretty much wiped out in a government cull. Before that it had been a culinary delicacy in Mainland Chinese cuisine. In Indonesia, the range of the luwak is quite widespread. Their habitat includes higher altitude, less densely populated areas of Sumatra, Java, Bali, Sulawesi and the islands of Nusa Tenggara. The luwak is nocturnal by nature and is quite wary of human contact. It nearly always comes out at dusk to hunt for food and to forage, by morning it is tucked up sleeping.

Luwak on Robusta, West Java.

The luwak is an omnivore, eating mainly fruits, but not averse to raiding a hen house for eggs, or scavenging for mice, rats and small chickens. Often it is demonised in small villages for its ability to damage poultry production, perhaps in a similar vein that weasels are not on any farmer’s Christmas Card list in western countries.

So this brings us around to the part the luwak plays in one of the stranger chapters of global coffee consumption. Not unlike the way in which coffee was first discovered (thanks to a herd of dancing goats back in Abyssinia over 1000 years ago), kopi luwak somehow accidentally made its way from animal to human; albeit in a more direct and slightly revolting way.

Luwak generally forage ripe coffee cherries from the trees during the night, gorging themselves on the fruit. The gastrointestinal tract of the animal removes the pulp and skin from the cherry, but is unable to digest the stone or bean inside. Finally the beans are deposited in a starfish-shaped pile from the rear end of the luwak. The excrement, which looks a bit like peanut brittle candy, is then collected, cleaned, dried and roasted by the villagers, who savour it for its unique taste profile. Of course, in the village kopi luwak actually has two meanings. The first and most common does not actually refer to coffee consumed and subsequently passed by the luwak, but rather to ripe coffee that was picked by human hand, the luwak reference being to the fact that if the luwak had seen the cherry first he would have eaten it, as it was that ripe.

Luwak Droppings.

As the luwak is an omnivore it must be said that the taste of the final cup does depend somewhat on what else it has been eating along with the coffee cherries. Cupping reports from experts include comparisons to fruit such as papaya, pineapple, mango and blackberry. On the other hand there are also frequent comparisons to “game” (meaning the dead mouse consumed before the coffee cherry, I suspect).

As the luwak is an omnivore it must be said that the taste of the final cup does depend somewhat on what else it has been eating along with the coffee cherries.

As the luwak is found all over the coffee producing regions of Indonesia, the regional cupping characters of the coffee will still be apparent in the coffee. Because over 80% of coffee from Indonesia is the less interesting robusta, the luwak’s intervention in the traditional coffee chain does not dramatically change the cupping character of this type of coffee. The cupping characters of the arabicas, however, are altered by the inner workings of the luwak.

Prof. Marcone and Alun trying kopi luwak in an Indonesian village.

I had the pleasure to accompany Professor Massimo Marcone, from the University of Guelph, on a TV documentary shoot back in 2004. Professor Marcone is the world’s premier civetologist. His study of civets has taken him from the Horn of Africa, through the Philippines and Malaysia to Indonesia. His passion for civets is contagious. During the filming he described to me in great detail just how the luwak’s intestinal system affects the coffee. Apparently the combination of scenting glands on the rear end of the animal, along with the secretions in its digestive system, contributes to a unique finished product. He has also devised a method to detect whether kopi luwak is the real deal, or fake. He estimates that around 48% of all kopi luwak on the market is fake, or at the very best very small quantities of real stuff mixed in with normal coffee filler. When paying such a premium, it is wise to make sure the coffee you are buying is certified as being authentic.

Steve-O and Chris of Jackass fame (note luwak in background).

One of the more interesting groups of luwak hunters to turn up at Merdeka Coffee’s door was the cast of MTV’s Wildboyz (including Steve-O, Chris Pontiak and Johnny Knoxville from “Jackass” fame).

Kopi luwak indeed attracts its fair share of both true sceptics and coffee crazed fans. American TV talk shows such as Oprah have regularly featured it. One of the more interesting groups of luwak hunters to turn up at Merdeka Coffee’s door was the cast of MTV’s Wildboyz (including Steve-O, Chris Pontiak and Johnny Knoxville from “Jackass” fame). Steve-O had a great tussle with the luwak, which left him (Steve-O) scarred and battered. In the final shot of filming he scooped up some raw luwak pooh containing coffee, consumed it and claimed with great satisfaction: “Good to the last dropping!”.

Whether it deserves a serious place in the mainstream of specialty coffee is debatable. However it can not be doubted that kopi luwak is absolutely unique and it comes from right here in Indonesia.

Alun Evans is a coffee roaster based in West Java, Indonesia. His company Merdeka Coffee, is pioneering relationship coffee with farming communities throughout the country. Visit www.merdekacoffee.com for more details.

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Elizabeth Pisani.

As a fundraiser to sponsor emerging Indonesian writers to attend the 2009 Ubud Writers and Readers Festival, the Indonesian Heritage Society is organising a lunch with Elizabeth Pisani on April 7th in Jakarta. Pisani’s life as an HIV prevention researcher has taken her from the brothels of southwest China to the gay bars of Bangkok, and in Indonesia she has worked with the health ministry to map HIV risk. She will speak about her experiences and her book The Wisdom of Whores at the IHS lunch, in a talk entitled ‘Landscapes of Desire: sex, politics and AIDS in Indonesia.’
Funds raised at the event will be used to send two or more Indonesian writers to participate in the October festival, and also to fund 5 Indonesian readers, students and aspiring writers to attend.
For more information and to buy tickets (Rp.300,000), contact IHS at +62 21 5725870.

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Bullied and teased on board the Jermal, Jaya longs to escape.

In the midst of the homogeneous stream of today’s Indonesian cinema, Jermal challenges the flow. A thoughtful portrayal of the relationship between a father and a son, it explores a classic theme given a unique twist by its setting: an isolated fishing platform, or jermal, in the middle of the Malacca Straits off North Sumatra.

The central character is Jaya, a 12-year-old schoolboy whose orderly life is dramatically disrupted when, after his mother’s death, he is sent to the jermal to be with his father Johar. Johar, a taciturn and solitary figure, is an escapee from the mainland with a past he is determined to reject. Snubbed by his father, Jaya is left to fend for himself in a tough new environment that transforms him from a naïve schoolboy into a hardened survivor.

The idea for the film was seeded by a Kompas article read by director Ravi Bharwani a few years ago. “I felt at the time that a jermal would be a great place to make a film, but I didn’t know what I wanted to do with it. I just knew it was a great location. Not just aesthetically, but the possibilities of it being in the middle of the seas, this context of isolation.” Ravi developed the story together with Rayya Makarim in a 2003 scriptwriting workshop with Jakarta-based veteran cineaste Orlow Seunke, finally completing production in 2008.

Here are some outtakes from the experience…

BANDI (played by Yayu A.W. Unru)

Rayya: “When we picked the main actor (Didi Petet), we needed a partner and alter ego who would be able to challenge the main character, because the character of Johar is this big, formidable, strong, intimidating character. Because they’ve worked together for 26 years in pantomime theatre (in the group Sena and Didi Mime), they know each other very well, and Didi recommended him. I think in some scenes Yayu even steals the show! He was a very strong actor.”

Ravi: “I like to see and I like to make films that have minimum dialogue. So we had at first short lines for him, then they became shorter and shorter until finally we had the idea, why not make him mute as well?”

Rayya: “That was a challenge as well, as opposed to other Indonesian films, where everything is so verbal and every single thing is explained. We, especially Ravi, wanted to make a very visual film, so instead of putting things in, we took them out. Also, what I like about Bandi’s character – the irony in the relationship between Bandi and Johar – is that Johar is this person who can talk, he can express himself but he doesn’t say a word, he’s quiet, everything is closed up. Whereas Bandi, who cannot talk, is so expressive – that idea that someone who cannot talk is actually expressing more than somebody who can. Bandi is there as a supporter, but also as somebody who provokes his friend.”

JAYA (played by Iqbal S. Manurung)

Ravi and the casting agency scouted the whole city of Medan and the small towns nearby before discovering Iqbal through a screen test at his school. “He was a natural…the moment that we gave him something to do, he reacted quite fast, without having a script or without even telling him to prepare anything.”

Rayya: “This boy was hyperactive [on set] – you’d think he had no concentration span whatsoever, he’d be goofing around all the time. But the moment we’d say ‘Action’ – we’d have the clapper in front of his face and he’d still be making faces – click – and suddenly he’s there! And sometimes as well it’d be really late and we’d still have to do a few scenes, he’d be completely fast asleep on a chair. I’d have to pull him, ‘come on Jaya’, he’d be grumbling…but he’d do it. The moment we say ‘action’, he acts, and that was quite amazing.”

The Jermal Boys.

Some of the kids cast for the film were actually themselves from the jermal. All had different backgrounds, a couple were from the area, one has his own bakso stall – but they soon forged a close bond.

Rayya: “We stuck them together in a house for about a week or 2 weeks before shooting and when we met them again they were all best friends! They really gelled well together. They were all friends, so bullying got hard, especially the stripping scene [a bullying incident where the jermal boys take Jaya’s clothes and force him to climb up one of the jermal poles]. Jaya cried for an hour, I had to babysit him. He said I’m not ready. I said you’ll never be ready. But if you don’t do it now, you’ll still have to think about it tomorrow… But the kids also felt bad about that scene. They were like ‘how can we do this?’. And when they did it, they did it so well, so naturally – one kid smacked his bottom! They were quite ruthless in their acting, but it worked well.

“Dealing with 9 kids was hard at times, the concentration, they had no experience in acting, no idea what it entailed. They had no idea they were going to stay on a Jermal for 30 days. They didn’t know that a big part of filmmaking is waiting, they were bored.”

Ravi: “For 2 weeks we kept them in the house, then we had a basic reading and doing all the stuff we were going to do in the film, rehearsing. I also made them stay over on the jermal for 2 days, to get the feeling of what it’s like to wake up on the jermal every morning.”

Rayya: “One night suddenly one of the boys, Ahab (the boy who thinks he’s a whale), had a fever. Then he suddenly was making all these different moves on the deck and he became this tiger, growling. He was possessed. For me this was something very exotic, but for the others, this was just something that happened all the time probably. But for me this was fascinating! When they asked him who he was, he answered ‘Mayong’. The workers on the jermal said that this word has two meanings: ‘keeper of the sea’ and ‘young tiger’.

“Then the main actor exorcised him, took some water and threw it on him…it was like watching a bad B film! And you don’t know whether it was acting or if they really believed it…

“There’s a story behind the jermal: the crew member who was lowering Ahab into the boat that night, as he was lowering him, somebody pulled his hair back. And he looked, and it was a little boy, who ran to the other side of the jermal to his mother. There was a family of spirits there, a husband, wife, and child. According to the crew member, the husband was annoyed because the film crew were having a buffet dinner, and had not invited the family to join them. The husband had a bad temper – he entered Ahab, possessed him.

“Then the next day it happened to two of them – Ahab and Franky. They were facing each other on all fours, held back by 5 people each, ready to attack each other. Then it was like, ‘alright, yesterday was fascinating, today we need to finish this! We need to shoot a film!’”

JOHAR (played by Didi Petet)

Didi Petet was always the actor in mind to play the role of the father on the jermal; his name was already written on the script as it developed.

Ravi: “There are not a lot of Indonesian actors who could act well in this type of movie, so he was our first choice. We didn’t consider anyone else.”

Rayya: “Physically he fits the role, and we also thought that you need a formidable actor to be able to make the transition from being a very closed-up man, and slowly and slowly that wall gets scratched, slowly and slowly he opens up. And he also found it a challenge – it’s not just a normal character development, because the original character is a teacher and he had to keep in mind that he used to be this good man, open man, and then he closed himself up because of what happened and became an emotionally different, detached person. And then he had to go back to his original self again. And that for him he said was a challenge, he’d never done anything like that.

“Johar is isolated on so many levels – he wants to close out everything, be distant from everything, that’s why he wears earplugs at night, sleeps with a sarong covering his face, blocks out the light by covering his windows with newspaper. He has shut out the world.”

The jermal is indeed often a place of escape for people who have something to avoid on the mainland.

Ravi: “One whole jermal is occupied by convicts. Nobody even dares to approach their jermal – they have big muscles, long hair. Some of the others have kids that have run away from their homes, just to be away from their parents, work over there. You even see mentally retarded people on some jermals. When they are not accepted by their family, they send them over there. Because they can do manual labour, they don’t need too much experience, they don’t have to interact on a social level, so they are well off over there in comparison.”

Jermal is released in Indonesian cinemas on March 12, 2009.

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Dede Suryana

Mengejar Ombak, the documentary about Dede Suryana, a young surfer from a West Java village who became an international star, has just won two awards at X-Dance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, a sports documentary festival that runs in conjunction with Sundance Film Festival.

Big congratulations to Jakarta-based director Dave Arnold – this has been a labour of love many years in the making, and all the hard work has resulted in an excellent and thoughtful film that explores the journey of a very special kampung kid thrust into the international surfing spotlight.

Click here to view the trailer and read the article about the film that Dave wrote for Kabar back in 2007. Premieres are planned soon for several locations in Indonesia – we’ll keep you posted!

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Real Sundanese food.

We took the Jalan Tol west to Serang, then headed south on the coast road towards Labuan. It didn’t look very promising at first – it’s a dusty, industrial stretch of road with rocks-only beaches and dirty water. Tourism is one of the main industries here (along with steel and petrochemicals- yum!) and there are lots of seedy guesthouses and mile after mile of kitsch pink concrete karaoke parlours. There are a few good hotels, all a bit expensive for what you get, but nothing that fit our ‘back to nature’ ideal. That said, if you do get stuck here you could do worse than staying at the Nuansa Bali or Ekowisata Carita Banten. We found one more place- a private beach called Pondok Anda with only two (rather ratty) bungalows run by a man named Pak Udi.

One very good reason to stop here though is the Bandulu watersports center. They have a massive selection of sailing dinghies, catamarans and windsurfers. If it wasn’t for the shipwrecked barge on the beach, this would be Java’s most idyllic sailing spot. The operation is twinned with the Ancol Windsurfing Club and is clearly signposted from the main road.

Further south the development begins to thin out- with the exception of the Sol Elite Marbella. This mind-numbingly ugly jumble of concrete boxes enables tourists to completely deny the existence of anything natural or beautiful on their holiday. I suppose it makes going home to Jakarta easier. It has a stretch of beach but it is almost always in the shadow of the hotel and the two-metre high cement walls around it.

As the developments thinned out, the road grew quieter and there was more and more green around. But there were still no good beaches. Most of the coast along here is rocky reef which is great if you like lobster but not so good for easy swimming.

Then we saw Sambolo.

A Banten Beach.

‘It’s Sambolo!’ I cried.
‘We already passed Sambolo,’ said our driver.
‘Okay, but could you please stop anyway,’ I said (I was learning).

Sambolo beach is idyllic. It’s got a clean sandy bottom and is protected from the open sea by two reefs that reach out to each other across the bay. The 7-bed bungalows are all made of traditional materials (ironic as it’s owned by a foreigner, unlike all the pink concrete monstrosities we’d passed), face the sea and have their own barbecue pits. Most of them are leased by embassies and foreign companies but the ones at the northern end of the beach can be rented by anybody who turns up, it seems.

Three minutes after we got out of the car the Great Banten Beach Hunt was officially discontinued. Sambolo wasn’t in need of any ‘discovering,’ but it is still very very nice. It’s quiet, it’s in tune with its surroundings and its surroundings are very nice too. The sea is nearly always calm and clean, making it perfect for families with small children. One of the local massage ladies who hangs around Sambolo, Ibu Sarni, offered to cook us dinner. We took her up on the offer and were treated to some absolute gems of Sundanese cuisine. Could life be any sweeter?

The next day we took a walk up to a waterfall a few kilometres south. It’s a fairly easy walk but it does get a bit rocky and slippery towards the end. The waterfall itself is stunningly gorgeous and you can jump from the top and swim down the river before climbing up and out through the jungle. It’s popular with locals and we had a really good time sipping Teh Botol from one of the warungs that somehow has appeared there and singing Beatles songs with some guitar-equipped local lads. There’s also an eco-resort nearby that offers lectures on the uses of the plants that grow in the area. Just ask the way to the air terjun.

The next day, as we headed back to Jakarta we stopped at one of the beachside ikan bakar places a few kilometres north of Sambolo. Like all the others, it’s a series of miniature huts in which you can while away your weekend with cheap lobster, views of Krakatau and a very lazy atmosphere. Sundanese cooking is healthy, tasty and credited with giving Sundanese women the halus-est skin in Indonesia. It simply must be tried- the specialities here are snapper and lobster.

Out of our planned 500km trip, we’d covered about 150km. That leaves 350km of possible perfect beach to explore next time. Or at least that’s what we told ourselves. After all, if you already know a perfect beach…

Contacts:

Ibu Sarni
Don’t worry- if you’re at Sambolo, she’ll find you!

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Every time I came home to Surabaya, for the near-year I lived there, when I stepped off the plane, I thought “Oh, there’s my Surabaya sun”. Always shining, (ok, except for during the rainy season), the sky bright blue, and panas. So strong in fact that when I walked across my campus at the University of Surabaya, I was often jealous of the students that had umbrellas. But, as a fan of the sun, and of clear blue skies, I found it very comforting that this East Javanese village of over 4 million people never let me down.

Sunny Surabaya.

When you find yourself in Surabaya, whether for work or on a stop-over, you should take a few days to look around. The expat community is quite small and walking through even the Tunjungan Plaza, Surabaya’s (currently) biggest mall, will probably draw some stares. It’s not a city about foreigners. It’s also not a city dedicated to the memory of traditional Javanese culture like Yogyakarta. Rather, it’s a thoroughly modern Java. The city is replete with a growing collection of malls and hypermarkets; highly observant Muslims and a thriving Chinatown; mosques dedicated to the founders of Javanese Islam and those built recently with Saudi sponsorship; and weekly drag shows featuring Dangdut performances at the local amusement park (Taman Remaja) – combining bumper cars and waria nightlife in one fell swoop.

Minke (the hero of Toer’s infamous Buru Quartet) hailed from Surabaya and returned there, as many do, to go to University. It’s probably not a coincidence that this “City of Heroes” was also key in the fight for Independence. Indonesian nationalists declared independence here just after the end of WWII saw the defeat of the occupying Japanese. However, the British helped the Dutch re-capture their colony in the Battle of Surabaya, and so the city had to wait, along with the rest of the country, until 1949 when independence was officially granted.

This battle is memorialized all over town, particularly at the Tugu Pahlawan monument. But no visit to Surabaya is complete without a trip to the beautiful Majapahit Hotel, where nationalists gathered to discuss plans for revolt. This thoroughly enchanting spot has been well-preserved, and if you squint you might be able to see the likes of Graham Greene sipping his whiskey in the lobby bar. The dark wood and colorful stained glass combined with lovely gardens and high arches make for an excellent example of Dutch colonial architecture. Even if you don’t stay there, you just must go for a drink in the bar or dinner at Sarkies, arguably one of the best Chinese restaurants in East Java.

For hundreds of years Surabaya has been a significant port and trading city for Eastern Indonesia. Currently, the major official products to come out of its port include sugar, tobacco, and coffee. Unofficially, it’s legacy as a port city has also helped make Surabaya a major sex-trafficking hub (something that has contributed to the growth of the ‘Dolly Brothel Complex’ – allegedly the largest red light district in all of Southeast Asia).

Despite this dubious distinction, Surabaya’s port city atmosphere should be experienced, which is easily done by taking an easy 30-minute ferry over to Madura. You can spend anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days exploring this little island – the far eastern side of which offers lovely beaches in Sumenep. The best time to go is during August or September so you can see the colorful and exciting bull racing – the Madurese prepare all year for these races and it’s well worth the trip. Just go to Tanjung Perak, the Surabaya harbor, and follow directions for Madura.

Gateway to Chinatown.

Kya-Kya, Surabaya’s Chinatown, is located in the northern part of the city, and in the evenings the main street is shut down to cars and a pedestrian area is opened up offering a plethora of Chinese-Indonesian food options and some shopping. Also located in these parts is a Chinese Buddhist Temple, Tri Darma Temple, where they will happily show you around and may even give you an I-Ching reading. Nestled in the Chinese quarter, which is mostly made up of old Dutch buildings, the walk to the temple affords you the opportunity to stroll, which is not so easily done in the Indonesian big city.

Not far from Kya-Kya is Ampel, the Arab Quarter, originally the home of the region’s Yemenese population. Named after Sunan Ampel, one of the five walis who brought Islam to Java in the 15th century, this compound contains Sunan’s tomb as well the oldest mosque in Surabaya, Masjid Ampel. The narrow and very colorful streets are alive with activity and are easily walkable. They all lead eventually to the bustling market that brings you directly to the mosque. As long as you dress respectfully (for women that means having your head covered) you should have no problem wandering around this area and the mosque all afternoon.

Rolling kretek cigarettes at the House of Sampoerna.

When you are done exploring Ampel you should go directly to Café Sampoerna, also in the North. Located in the House of Sampoerna, a colonial-style Dutch compound built in 1862, this site includes both a neat museum and spot to view women workers speedily rolling Sampoerna kretek cigarettes. The food is amongst the best in Surabaya, both for lunch and dinner, and the art-deco décor is delightful. It’s also one of the few places you can get Storm Brew, the excellent micro-brew from Bali. The cool air-con will be welcome after an afternoon in the hot Surabaya sun.

Lastly, if you happen to be in Surabaya during Ramadan, you must go to the warungs around Masjid Agung (Al-Akbar) in southern Surabaya, on Jalan Achmad Yani, in Gayungsari. The area around this beautiful and imposing blue mosque, the newest in Surabaya, comes alive with activity as families gather in the late afternoon to buy food to break the daily fast. With the soft setting sun in the background there is lovely a festive feel to the air, not to be missed.

First published in Kabar 2006.

Surabaya Specifics

Places to stay

High End:
Majapahit Hotel
Jl. Tunjungan
+62 31 545 4333 65
www.mandarinoriental.com

Affordable and nice:
Santika Hotel
Jl. Pandegiling No. 45, Raya Darmo
+62 21 532 8682, 535 7573

Narita Hotel (lovely Javanese style)
Jl Barata Jaya XVII/57-59
+62 31 501 6969
www.naritahotel.com/sbyeng

Places to eat

Café Sampoerna
Jl. Taman Sampoerna 6
+62 31 353 9000

Café Jendela
Jl. Sonokembang – right in downtown Surabaya. Offers excellent Indonesian and Western food in a lovely garden setting. In addition to the food you will also enjoy the invariably high quality live music that plays every night. Also, for the ladies, attached to the restaurant is a shop called Read’s that sells unique and colorful handbags and jewelry – I found it hard to resist buying something every single time I popped in.

Sarkies in the Majapahit Hotel
Hachi-Hachi (Sushi) in Tunjungan Plaza (fifth floor TP4).
Bakerzine (Frenchish café food) in Tunjungan Plaza (third floor TP4).

Night Life

Colours on Jalan Sumatra
Hugo’s in the Sheraton Hotel downtown.
Redboxx at the Supermall Pakuwon Indah

Getting to Surabaya
There are frequent flights from Jakarta, but if you are coming from Yogyakarta I strongly suggest the train – the Executive Class Argo Willis is a cheap and easy way to see the East Javanese country side and it brings you right into downtown Surabaya.

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Their day begins as most of the city slips into slumber. The fishermen of Muara Karang have a schedule all their own. The fish market of Sunda Kelapa is their version of the business district although the dress policy may not reflect that of the ‘other’ CBD in downtown Jakarta.

If you have yet to visit the historic fish market, you truly are missing a plethora of sights and smells not seen many other places, even in The Big Durian. From what I’ve been told the district of Muara Karang has its own jurisdiction in a way, its own set of rules, and its own way of life. When entering this area, you certainly become aware of these notions.

Very fishy.

We maneuvered through the small, winding street filled with water from the heavy rains released in days prior. The streets here are prone to flooding in the rainy season, so it would be advisable to use an SUV of some sort if coming in those months. We easily found ample parking adjacent to the market. Stepping out of the car, the first observation wasn’t formed with my eyes, but rather my nose. It emits the permeating, raw stench of a working market; make no mistake, it’s not the most pleasant environment, but one worth experiencing first hand.

The rain soaked streets both absorbed and reflected the dazzling glow of the umbrellas lining the narrow path leading towards the market. Dozens of customers made their way from stall to stall perhaps searching for a fresher alternative to the grocery store, perhaps re-stocking their restaurant’s supplies, or maybe simply venturing through the market out of blatant curiosity like us.

Upon entering the warehouse-like main market, the sheer vastness of the place was nearly overwhelming. There must have been hundreds of fisherman and dockworkers engaged in the night’s work. Makeshift aisles separated each worker’s wares from another’s. From what I’ve heard, the fishermen make their way into shore in late evening, and continue to arrive well into the night. Those seeking the most action would be well advised to arrive somewhere between 8pm and 12am.

To say that the variety of sea life on display was phenomenal would be an understatement. The market was brimming with sea life so vibrant and multifarious that you can’t help but wonder how it’s possible to obtain such creatures from the murky depths of the waters surrounding Java. I won’t pretend to pull a Jaques Cousteau here – I truly couldn’t name, with any accuracy, more than a handful of the creatures on display. What I can do is provide a small amount of photography and let you figure out the rest. Shark, squid, eels, rays, and an array of fish of all colors, shapes, and sizes await those adventurous enough to enter this startling place.

A foreigner walking through this scene would undoubtedly attract attention. A foreigner walking through these aisles armed with a camera certainly attracts even more, and this is when the true characters come to life. Everywhere we went, fishermen would look around for the most gargantuan, impressive fish to represent their days’ labor and hold it up like a football star would hold a trophy; grinning and laughing the entire time. Occasionally, the odd joker would find the most meager of his lot and flaunt it with just as much pride creating waves of laughter from those around. There was a real sense of community emanating from these laughs; a zone of comfort and a sense that they were one large family.

As midnight approached, our energy waned as our appetites grew. Near the parking lot was a small warung, in front of which a makeshift grill offered welcome relief. The worker offered to cook over his hot coals, any seafood we chose from the market. The other option was even more enticing; he would choose some giant prawn himself and save us the task of bargaining. Within minutes he presented us with succulent prawn skewered and laden with a mouthwatering sauce unlike any I’ve ever had. Despite the fact that we were sitting on a picnic bench, eating on paper plates, I’ll gladly admit that it was some of the best prawn I’ve had in Indonesia. For three of us to let out another notch in out belt it cost us a grand total of Rp.70,000 including drinks!

Certainly, fishermen the world-over have a culture all their own, a language which outsiders are not privy to, and a sense of humor which may be defined by some as crude. Nonetheless, these men and women of the dock deserve respect for continuing a tradition that likely has not kept pace with the rest of Jakarta. The working conditions they endure, the night shift that keeps them from their families, and the overall tenacity of their lifestyle is something most of us will never properly relate to.

Looking for something different this weekend? Take a journey back in time, slow the pace for a while. The fish market of Sunda Kelapa is only minutes from Jakarta. Experience yet another part of what makes Jakarta special. Have a glimpse into the lives of these fishermen, have a laugh with them, and feast upon the pride of their efforts.

First published in Kabar 2006.

Write to Brandon Hoover at thejavajive@gmail.com, or visit www.thejavajive.com

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gedungDUA8

The space evolved from a project in which two existing buildings were connected, to create a most delightful and varied architectural experience. Architect Andra Matin juxtaposes the primitive with the modern, using clean lines and elegant edges with rough unfinished surfaces to create a fresh and important edifice in today’s Indonesian architecture.

Dea Sudarman, documentary filmmaker and traveller, conceptualized geduangDUA8 as a place to share the experiences of various indigenous populations from parts of eastern Indonesia, whose lives she had witnessed through her work. Through her travels, Dea has amassed a diverse collection of hundreds of everyday artifacts from about 20 different indigenous populations, and has dedicated three levels of gedungDUA8 to present these pieces and allow the visitor a glimpse into their culture and way of life. The building offers a guided tour (in English) of the galleries housing these artifacts, which is accompanied by a viewing of one of Dea’s documentaries. You can get more details on booking this tour, and on the documentaries, from www.gedungdua8.com.

Gallery at gedungDUA8.

The galleries represent an important aspect of the spaces in gedungDUA8, as does the amphitheatre. However, the variety of spaces available extends to two rooftop terraces dubbed teras Mimpi (dream terrace) and teras Mandang (contemplation terrace) as well as host of elegant multipurpose rooms and more galleries with lots of fresh light as well as a public library, galeriMandu , which carries more than 1,500 titles on Indonesian arts and culture in Bahasa Indonesia, English, Dutch, German, French and Japanese.

The many spaces of gedungDUA8 must be experienced first hand, whether through a guided tour of the various galleries or mid-afternoon contemplation at one of the terrace spaces. The structure serves a multitude of purposes and is an edifice with an energy that is set to transcend time and grow in significance.

gedungDUA8 is located at JL KEMANG UTARA 28, Jakarta Selatan.
To book a guided tour or to rent a space at the building :
t. +62 21 71702049/52
f. +62 21 71791419
For more information
e. gedungdua8@cbn.net.id
w. www.gedungdua8.com

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