Aidoghie Paulinus
For months, the familiarisation trip for journalists from sub-Saharan Africa was carefully planned by the Indonesian embassies in Nigeria, Kenya and Mozambique. After a shift in the initial schedule, it was eventually fixed for October 2019, from 14th to 24th.
The tour was designed for a group of African journalists from Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Mozambique and Mauritius, joined by officials of the Indonesian embassies. They would be touring Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali.
On October 13, 2019, I bade farewell to my family and headed to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, to kick-start the 10-day trip organized by the Indonesian Ministry of Tourism.
After going through the usual airport protocol, our plane took off a few minutes after 6 pm. We were hardly airborne when our aircraft was rattled by clumsy weather. The Emirates Airline conveying us to Dubai ran into turbulence. It was a scary moment for me. I found myself praying to God.
Several hours after we took off from Abuja and a stopover at Dubai, our plane touched down in Jakarta. Though, not my first time in Asia, I was visiting Indonesia for the first time. It was a trip I had looked forward to. We arrived at the Soekarno Hatto International Airport, Jakarta, at 10:14 pm. I went through the usual motion of arrival. After scrutiny of my documents, the immigration officials were satisfied, and I was immediately asked to proceed.
I found Asti waiting for me. She was a middle-aged woman in her 40s (my guess!) assigned to receive me at the airport. After the usual exchange of compliments, we hopped into a Sport Utility Vehicle and we headed to Novotel Hotel and Resorts otherwise known as Jakarta Cikini in Jakarta, the five-star hotel that would become my place of abode for three days.
Tuesday, October 15, marked the commencement of my tour. We visited Lapangan Banteng in Central Jakarta and saw the Freedom of Papua Building built in 1962. Papua, according to our tour guide, had joined Indonesia in 1949. Thereafter, we visited the Geraja Cathedral Jakarta (The Church of Our Lady of Assumption) in Central Jakarta, beside the Freedom of Papua Building. The oldest Catholic Church in Jakarta, its foundation was laid in 1891 and its architecture is neo-gothic. There, I prayed before the exposed Blessed Sacrament. We also visited the Freedom Monument, a public place for gathering and fun. We went to Jakarta Smart City and PT Sarinah, the window of Indonesia. While the Jakarta Smart City is a government idea of developing a multi-use, crowd-sourced big data platform to bridge the digital divide and assist in data transparency and citizen interaction with officials of government in Jakarta, the PT Sarinah is dedicated to showcasing the vast Indonesian products, lifestyle and hospitality to locals, visitors, and those seeking premium quality Indonesian products outside Indonesia. Both offices are located in the heart of Jakarta, the capital city.
Our tour coincided with the Trade Expo Indonesia, an annual trade fair and the largest trade, tourism and investment fair in Indonesia. At the fair, I met and interviewed Retno Marsudi, the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, who spoke on her country’s relationship with Africa, particularly Nigeria; Mrs Rini Soemarno, Indonesia’s Minister of State-Owned Enterprises, whom I encountered in Abuja the previous month and Dr Usra Hendra Harahap, the Indonesian ambassador to Nigeria, who was conferred with the Primaduta Award by President Joko Widodo for his exemplary leadership in trade facilitation between Indonesia, Nigeria and 13 other African countries.
Mission accomplished in Jakarta, we set out very early on Thursday, October 17 to Bandung, a city of breathtaking beauty surrounded by history. The journey took us three hours by train. As the capital of West Java Province, Bandung is famous as the ‘Flower City’ for its fresh air. Surrounded by mountains on various sides, it is said to have the look of a giant bowl.
In Bandung, we took a bus ride around the city and saw monuments and ancient places. Bandung is known as a place for shopping, relaxation and tourism. Top attractions in the city include White Crater, Patenggang Lake, volcano, tea plantation, Glamour Camping and Floating Market, textile city Cimahi and the Dago Waterfall. The tour guide later informed me that the connection between Indonesia and Thailand is the stone inscription of King Rama V and the Thai house in the area of the waterfall.
The most prominent attraction to Africans visiting Bandung is the Museum of Asia-Africa where African-Asia Conference was held in 1955 that attracted 29 delegations from Asia and Africa. That is why Bandung, according to Nelson Mandela, is the capital of Asia-Africa. Other sites that should interest Africans include the Heritage Building, the Asia-Africa Street (the main road in Bandung and the longest road in Java built in 1811 by Governor-General William Daendles) and Braga Street (where European food is sold).
Indonesia is very rich in languages, nature, ethnic plurality, islands (with the highest archipelago in the world) and beliefs. In terms of human resource, Indonesia is the fourth biggest population. Before retiring to our place of abode, we were treated to musical display at the Saung Angklung Udjo. Angklung is an Indonesia traditional musical instrument which is made of bamboo. It consists of two to four bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame.
We also visited an aircraft manufacturing company called PT Dirgantara Indonesia and Defence Products Company known as PT Pindad. PT Dirgantara Indonesia was established in 1976 and has produced a total number of 443 aircraft since its establishment. On the other hand, government-owned PT Pindad is the only company operating in Indonesia that has the right to produce and sell military products. The tour led us to the Asia-Africa Museum established on April 24, 1980, whose conference held in 1955. Six independent countries from Africa at that time, we were told, attended. They were Ethiopia (though not colonised), Libya, Gold Coast (now Ghana), Liberia, Egypt and Sudan.
After Jakarta and Bandung, Yogyakarta was our third port of call. We arrived at the Husein Sastranegara International Airport, Bandung, for onward transfer to Yogyakarta. And after one hour and 10 minutes in the air, we eventually touched down at the Adisucipto International Airport, Yogyakarta.
Yogyakarta, alongside its twin city, Surakarta (Solo), is the cradle of civilization in Java. Yogyakarta was the seat of power that produced the magnificent temples of Borobudur and Prambanan in the 8th and 9th centuries respectively and the new powerful Mataram kingdom of the 16th and 17th century. As one of the foremost cultural centres in Indonesia, Yogyakarta is the capital city of the Special Region of Yogyakarta, the only Indonesian royal city still ruled by a monarch.
In the evening of Saturday, October 19, we watched the Ramayana Ballet performance at the Prambanan Hindu Temple. In the performance, Prabu Janaka, the king of Mantili Kingdom, has a very beautiful princess named Dewi Shinta for whom a competition was staged to decide who would be the right person to marry her. The Prince of Ayodya Kingdom, R Rama Wijaya, won the competition.
After the exciting evening, we retired to the Phoenix Hotel, a legendary hotel initially built as a private estate in 1918. The name ‘Phoenix,’ was deliberately chosen by the last proprietor, who was confident that it would remain intact forever, following the belief in the ancient myth of the phoenix, the sacred firebird symbolizing regeneration throughout eternity. The 143 beautiful guest rooms reflect the ambience of the bygone era wrapped in modern comfort facilities that enable its occupant to celebrate a glorious past without losing the beauty of contemporary living.
The following day was Sunday. Rather than proceeding to Church for the usual Sunday Mass, alongside others, I headed straight to the Buddhist Borobudur temple.
Borobudur temple has become one of the Seven Wonders in the world. Built in the 9th century, it is the world’s largest Buddhist temple built during the Sailendra dynasty. It took 100 years to build the monument which is still used by Buddhists for worship. It has no room inside. After it was bombed in 1985 by the locals, the Indonesian government wrote a proposal to the United Nations to take over the maintenance of the monument which subsequently led to it being designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Tourists from all parts of the world visit the magnificent site to catch a glimpse of the heritage and also make wishes. Later that evening, Mrs Hani Regina, ever a perfect planner, ensured that I attended Mass.
We also visited Prambanan, the largest Hindu temple in Indonesia, built in the eighth century by the Sanjaya Dynasty in honour of the three Hindu gods–Shiva, Brahma, and Vishnu. Originally 240 temples, it was destroyed by an earthquake in the 13th century, leaving only 16 temples standing. There were temples for Brahma, Shiva and Vishnu and for Nandi (a cow which is the symbol of the transportation of god Shiva).
We departed the Phoenix Hotel the following morning, preparatory for our departure to Bali. We immediately met the Vice Governor of Yogyakarta Special Region, KGPA Pakualam X, who gave us a panoramic view of Yogyakarta, explaining the antecedent of the city, which is the third smallest region in Indonesia, only 3100 kilometre square in size, after Bali and Jakarta.
Before leaving Yogyakarta for Bali, our final destination in Indonesia, we stopped over at the Batik Museum where we learnt how to make batik. The museum was an exhibition of the equipment, the painting and processing of batik. It also displayed various types of batik, both from within and outside Indonesia. We eventually arrived at the Ngurah Rai International Airport, Denpasar, Bali and checked into Watermark Hotel and Spa in Jimbaran.
Amongst the four cities we were scheduled to visit, Bali was the one after my heart. Having heard so much about the island, I was very eager to see Bali. So, arriving in Bali on Monday, October 21, was like a dream comes true.
Also known as the Land of the Gods, Bali’s appeal is to be found in its sheer natural beauty of looming volcanic hills and lush terraced rice fields that exude peace and serenity. Lying on the east of Java and west of Lombok, the Bali Province comprises the Island of Bali and other neighbouring islands. With a population of over four million, Bali regularly receives international tourists and is Indonesia’s main tourist destination, with tourism making up 80 per cent of its economy. Famous for its beautiful islands, culture, tradition, religion and social life, it attracts thousands of tourists every year.
The two-day tour of Bali first led us to the Ungasan hill where we saw the Garuda Visnu Kencana, the statue depicting the Hindu god Visnu riding Garuda. In Hindu mythology, Lord Visnu is regarded as the protector of the universe, while his trusted companion, the mighty eagle-like Garuda represents loyalty and selfless devotion. Kencana means gold. Both are adorned in crowns of gold mosaic.
We visited the Uluwatu Temple and watched the Kecak dance, a sacred and most uthe nique type of Balinese dance usually accompanied by a choir of around 70 men. The temple is located at the tip of a cliff 90 meters above sea level. The temple functions to protect Bali Island from evil spirits from the Indian Ocean.
Another major site attraction in Bali is the Tanah Lot Temple. This iconic temple in Western Bali is located in the middle of the Indian Ocean. It is the best part to see the sunset on Bali Island. The temple houses thousands of snakes, but two to three always appear in a cave since the 14th century. The priest, Mpu Dhang Hyang Niratha, according to our guide, before leaving the temple, removed his belt from his waist, broke it into small pieces that became snakes. The three snakes, he further said, symbolize the trinity gods of Brahma, Visnu and Shiva.
After 10 days of wonderful experience, we flew back to our respective countries in Africa, bearing with us memories of the Indonesia natural and cultural heritage, deeply impressed on our mind to last a lifetime.