think archipelago, V3 Aug 2013

The fisherman’s son

think!archipelago human interest cityscape landscape architecture art

V3 Aug 2013

think!archipelago is a quarterly publication owned and run by Purnadi Phan Photography.

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Editor’s note

As I crossed an enigmatic beach facing Indian ocean on a trail bike, I was amazed at the fact that several group of villagers fished there despite high waves that sounded like cannons along the shores. Open seas possess an infinite mystery and unpredictabilities. The coastal area down the south of Java poses tsunami hazard. But in a tragedy that happened once in several decades, the locals consider it their safe backyards. We spent more time covering people who eked out a living on the streets of Jakarta. These people, strong and able, have always something interesting to tell. There are quite a few visible changes in the third volume. Besides more topics, think!archipelago introduces a new section called Now! in an attempt to put special attention to the ongoing trends around us. We closely followed any important issue and decided to construct a story coinciding with the release of the magazine. This adds up a fresh element a quarterly magazine like this normally lacks with. df

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Contents

P9

P5 Quarterly review P6

A half full city Left with old time ambition, now in a momentum of revival.

Painting dreams

P13

Another day to pass by

On sand playground

(New section)

P20 World section

P16 NOW! On this month

George Town is a Dawn at 唐人街 (Chinatown) silent hills

A weary look at Tanah Abang market

P24 Trekking on East Asia’s prehistoric humans site

P5

Quarterly review Urban street dance project

The performance at Erasmus Huis on the evening of 8 July .

by United Dance Works

Joko Avianto’s “The Theater of Ships” is the main giant visual treat in George Town Festival (GTF) 2013.

is a testament of perseverance by a struggling group of dancers in Jakarta. Coming from parts of the country to live up to their common dreams, they often hit rock bottom in the capital to survive with their choice. They want to prove through every part of their bodies and every inch of their movements that they always find bliss in life decision, ever energetic, however bitter it sometimes gets happiness is not measured in how much they have earned, but in how much they have achieved through choreography. .

Situated between the iconic town hall and city hall, a municipal office gets a new radical exterior look with a facade consisting of around 3,000 bamboos.

We are delighted to get the opportunity to enjoy this intricate design on the first day of GTF. The monthlong festival stages a plethora of art works and cultural exhibitions across the city.

May Day is a celebration in denial. Thousands took to the streets in a good preparation like it is a Sunday fun-walk. Many of them felt that the sights resembled that of a carnival, a kind of jubilation. As much as street hawkers took advantage of the moment to sell necessary carnival attributes, the protesters found one of those days in a year that could set their minds free from routines and day to day reality that inescapably creates many forms of disillusionment. It is not to argue that human by nature will never get satiated. But from the joyful look in their faces, May Day in essence marks as a day where the blue collar workers fight for their rights to be happy.

THE MAKEOVER OF AN ICON

Exquisite lightings shower Ampera Bridge, the modern identity of Palembang city, and a status symbol as one of the country’s economic priorities in the early years of independence

P6 Article section 1

Musi River is indispensable to the history of civilisation in the region, and for hundreds of years developing into what is now called Palembang, the capital of South Sumatra province. It is vital in building trades with Asian traders and voyagers coming from as far as Middle East. This is the centuries-old economic backbone that give the city shipping access to otherwise a landlocked region. Palembang is surrounded by land, and the closest shores lays miles away east. Ampera Bridge (previous page) and Kuto Besak Fort (this page) were two historic gems of the city located around the river.

While Kuto Besak Fort was initiated by the ruling Sultanese in the 18th century, thus removing the palace from the deep woods into the river bank, Ampera Bridge was a national triumph in the early years of independence, politically speaking. It was a realisation of over 50year ambition, started by Dutch administration’s idea in 1900s to connect the thriving economic hub split by a river. The idea was never materialised until the Soekarno, the first president of Indonesia, brought the plan back to the table and gave full throttle at the time when the republic was still at its infancy and reserves in short supply.

He secured financing by using up large portion of war compensation from Japan, as well as importing their technical knowledge and engineers.

That is why building Ampera Bridge is more of a political triumph rather than a technical one, in domestic point of view.

Dilapidated shophouses found in many parts of the city bear historical account to the creation of foreign settlements, subsequently the formation of trade routes and economic activities that led to the city’s steady growth in the Dutch colonisation period toward the twentieth century.

Most of its time, the bridge only sat there as a reminder of a once overarching vision by the late leader of the nation who arguably had inaugurated more landmarks than his any other successors to this date. Over three decades ago, the officials decided to stop utilising the center part of Ampera bridge as a retractable section to make Musi River passable for various size of boats, even heavy barges and ships. Even in the 90s the lifting mechanism had been removed, and so permanently disabling its unique feature. After many years in silence, some local supervisors who took part

Palembang enjoyed the status as one of the highlighted western regions in the initiial phase of 5-year national development.

Presence of wide roads indicated infrastructure modernisation. It is a pity that sentralistic approach further dominated the country’s modern history.

in the project confessed that there was an oversight in construction that only years after had everybody seen the impending consequence.

Nevertheless, the citizen of Palembang once again witness the revival of spirit in modernity that the makers of the bridge used to envision half a century ago. A foreign giant lighting company had undertaken a project to embellish the look of the bridge with a stunning show of light. Street lamps drape the surrounding area into a glittering night experience,

and the reflection from the water surface helped create a vigorous night scene at the heart of Palembang.

The city administration now has recreated a new image to showcase its ambition, manifested in the Jakabaring sports complex playing the 26th SEA Games in 2011.

Capable of holding over 20 sports, now it attempts to host another international-level sporting events, the third Islamic Solidarity Games, due open 22 September 2013. No less than 40 nations have confirmed participation in the event that will cost the host city an estimated USD13.2 million.

Dream a little bit of me A photoessay that delves into subconscious minds of street painters

P9 Article section 2

A street painter starts the day under polluted air of the morning in his street-corner studio, preparing to finish a painting.

Another street painter at the same vicinity.

The painting of a local famous singer Iwan Fals unveils a unique resemblance to the painter.

at facing each other as thoughts were focused on the chess board down on the pavement, two people killed time in an unlikely corner of Jakarta. Portrait paintings hung on the wall of a rundown building

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around busy intersection in old city of Jakarta, making an impression that the trapped eyes inside the frames were watching chess game by two of a dozen street painters. Each equipped with a frame stand and stool, these

marginalized painters had settled around for a long time. Their tools occupied half side of the sidewalk, as if it is their way of saying, “We claim our rights to work in a public space, there is a whole lot for you to pass by.�

But work has not always brought good income even in this “open office�, where the street painters can impress so many onlookers in any minute. At working hours, people passed by, and the impassive painters got busy with their brilliant talents, holding still to live by. Even when they hit rock bottom, they did not cease to stroke the color pencils, finishing their portfolios, letting the world see all they got, even if it is just reconstruction of their dreams.

People who are accustomed to their works usually came back. Most, if not all, requested hand-paintings reproduction, bringing with themselves the desired printed photo as a copy model.

But they received fewer such demands these days where digital cameras become cheaper, produce better image quality,

and with free image editing software, consumers have all the fun restyling their photos in an instant. The acceleration of the modern era goes against these talented, yet cash-strapped painters. The meticulous work seen in the reproduction is impressive. What is most interesting is the objects they painted in their own initiatives. It begins with an imagination and the construction of an idea. Layer after layer of sketches soon followed suit and slowly took form. The paintings were the interpretation of their minds, articulation of dreams and hopes. Some had a semblance to the maker’s mental and physical features. They were juxtaposed in repetitive cycles, framed, hung on the obsolete wall, and washed out by the surge of time.

Life as the fisherman’s son

P13 Article section 3

Standing on the river mouth When the sun is at its peak, villagers at the shore line of Sukabumi, West Java, are set to go fishing. Under the scorching sun, some of them wore caps while other put on hoods on their jackets. A group of them came down from Cikaso village to the river mouth, where the streams directly flow to the Indian Ocean.

It is well-known for its constant high tides. At the shore close to the river mouth, the group of men found a perfect spot as they spread the fishing net to intercept the movement of sea creatures. Sometimes more sea crabs were trapped by their nets than the fish. This could last for hours until the sun neared the horizon. A couple of meters form them stood a boy who carried a hand-woven bucket to keep the catches. He did not bother to shield his head. His face reflected the sun light. His forehead outshone the rest other adult peers, and the traces of sunburn had integrated with his dark complexities. He was accustomed to seeing the world with narrowed eyes because in his world, sun light is abundant. He would wait there until fishing time was over, and returned home carrying a few catches. It cost him a day to bring home food or, even luckier, extra money.

Rolling the sands On a regular day for normal children like him, days would be spent at school and afternoons at home.

But it was only dancing wave on the sandy beach that he found something to play with. He could not help but to wait for her father returning from the shallow waters across. They did not speak much.

The sea wind that blows and the splashes of waves took the role as auditory accompaniment. Besides that, the second thing that kept him company in the hours of near pointlessness was a plastic ball he brought from home. Sometimes he cuddled it while frolicking on the sands as a way of enjoying playing.

But it did not bounce from someone else’s feet, because there was no one there to play with him.

A scene on the previous page where he rolled on the sands holding a fish bucket on one hand and ball on the other seized a dramatic moment that revealed the life pattern of this boy. Meanwhile, his father saw the number of catches that day, and he was never impressed. But the father and son would come back again the next day, and the days after.

WARY AND WEARY Met as ever with fierce resistance This time the eviction plan by the new city administration seems more than just rhethorical

P16 Now!

This time it is serious Street vendors have occupied the streets in Tanah Abang market for at least two decades. Since then they changed the overall look of the area into a slum-like, yet it remained bustling as one of the city’s retail centers. They have also severed the access to the area and the traffic flow of the proximity. As is commonly the case in developing economies, the formation of infomal sector like this swells sporadically in the densely populated spots of the city.

There is no place to spare, which translates into the occupation of public places such as parks, train and bus stations, pedestrian precincts and plazas. Back in 1998, the year of financial crisis that swept the region and paralysed Indonesia for the next ten years, informal jobs like this were the only functioning social safety net that kept the country from taking a deeper dive in crisis.

At the time when banks bailouts and other financial institution recovery programs strained the country’s reserves, people were left on their own. This is a serious business that have proved to be able to sustain economic balance in hard times, and thrive even more in good times. But nobody is joking now. At another end, city officials are ready to carry the instruction from DKI 1 to sterilise the streets from any business activity. Selling on the streets is the basic form of trading in the world history. Yet the governments are convinced that they would do better in a designated building.

“Solution, not discrimination!”

In addition to that, another visible protest banner hung around the area says, “Tanah Abang has its culture and tradition. Do not change that.” Jakarta administration led by duo Joko WidodoBasuki Tjahaja Purnama is at an everoptimistic stance as they won’t budge in the face of hundreds of street vendors in Tanah Abang declined to be moved from the streets. Recent media exposure only wedges them more between the proponents of their bold moves and the opponents that had long depended their livelihoods upon the area, known as the biggest textile market in Southeast Asia.

As Deputy Governor Basuki Thahaja Purnama ’s coarse manners in front of the cameras was frowned upon by many, including some house members, Joko Widodo reiterated in an calmer fashion that more hawkers have accepted the offer to be relocated inside the 4-storey building called Blok G. He made it clear that only those who have Jakarta residential IDs are eligible to get kiosks, 6-month rent-free. And if selling on the streets is a tradition as claimed, the pair cannot wait to uproot it, in the name of public interest. The media sensation aside, it is the marginalized group who lack real attention, ironically.

Tired and cautious, street vendors in Tanah Abang market share similar expression as the tension rises amid the rigorous plan to organise the largest wholesale and retail textile blocks at the center of the city. Losing a place for income source seems imminent.

Business doubles up especially August where the nation celebrates Islamic holy month, but this could be the last chance to taste a boon. think archipelago facebook page features a closer look at them, an actual representation of informal economies that contribute a large part to the country’s fundamental, yet constantly suppressed by its own regulation. think archipelago

What Blok G looks like Located at the west-end of Tanah Abang textile center, access to Blok G not only poses setback due to the relatively far distances from the central blocks, the chaotic traffic caused by a concentration of public minivans makes the building even harder for visitors to come take a look.

Blok G is now in dire condition, but officials said workers are speeding up refurbishment, especially in the third and fourth floor, where estimatedly over 700 kiosks will be ready to use

by September. With just a month to go, there is a lot of work to do. Perhaps, the success of mass removal program to clean up streets from street vendors is not about hastening the renovation project in Blok G, but more than that, a sound policy based on relevant studies.

NOW! A cluster of units ready to house street vendors soon after eviction takes place.

However, primary facilities require major revamp, such as stairs, wall paints, lighting, water supply and other subsidiary elements. Traffic flow to Blok G is also a crucial point in determining the likelihood of the building to be a lively retail spot.

The connecting bridge between Blok G and the adjacent Blok F has far from completion. The integration of retail buildings benefit the stores as a whole, providing comfortable access to consumers.

Now! is a new section in think!archipelago that focuses on an issue as it happens. Besides getting up with social trends, it aims to endorse citizen journalism as the best tool in reporting facts, the fundamental of truth.

Small businesses have filled the first and second floor of Blok G, leaving the vacant places on the upper levels. Filling them with the newly arrived vendors poses a question whether the number of crowd will follow suit.

remember

ANCESTORS An annual town festival that fell on June this year sparked the old tale of Chinese settlers in this small island that now became one of Malaysia’s attractive tourist destination. For all its heritage, George Town depends on its ubiquitous,wellpreserved old buildings to present a “Truly Asia” experience, a tourism jargon created by its host country, Malaysia. Some of the epic buildings were inherited from the past British administration, located near the main harbor, but Chinese architecture dominates the greater part of the town.

P20 World section

Chinese Chamber of Commerce’s branch office in George Town dated back in 1928, at the decline of Qing dynasty and the rise of Nationalist movement in China, is a staggering example of Chinese heritage overseas. More than just protecting the site amid the modernisation—as seen across the block—conservation of such buildings in George Town is a guarantee for indefinite time. This is an extraordinary commitment considering that keeping old buildings is inefficient in that low-density offices cost space.

Especially in a town that sits on a small island, separated by a strait from the rest of the country, space is extremely limited. High-rise buildings have in the past few decades slowly scraping the skies of George Town, keeping up with demand for space. But supplying office space within these low-density old buildings deserves a praise. This is part of the solution to ensure continuous growth for commercial and tourism sector. In Singapore, for instance, the policy favors land reclamation, while the city administration in Jakarta compromises the protection of heritage sites for the sake of supplying new office spaces. However, in many ways it is hardly that each cases be compared.

Chinese settlers brought together with them the complete set of culture, not least this type of structure, rich in decoration and well-conserved.

Chinese ancestral temples are found scattered across the old parts of George Town, the very heart of it. It is noteworthy that not only the municipality protects these buildings for its historical value, the Malaysian of Chinese descents also care for each of their memorial center, keeping the tradition of paying homage to the past generations.

A couple of elderly in one of these temples are responsible to keep it clean.

There is an office for them on the first floor where they occasionally welcomed relatives from other countries.

Chinese Ancestral temples are usually managed collectively by the same group of family or people with the same specific places of origin.

Malaysia cashes in from their tourism sector through basic steps of optimising what they have best to offer: nature and history. In the case of George Town, no less popularly called Penang, the government could foresee the incoming of foreigners from closer region if they could improve the general quality of infrastructure compared to the neighboring countries. The sidewalks are narrow and not in their prime conditions like what other major sightseeings are supposed to be, but they are in relatively good shape, creating comfortability the people in neighboring countries are deprived of, such as Vietnam, Cambodia, Phillipines and Indonesia. Colonial buildings are typical to any other places in Southeast Asia, as these countries share similar past of western colonisation. But simply maintaining conservation has paid off.

It costs considerable taxpayers money, but the reward for the citizen and the country’s image as a whole outweighs the small sacrifice.

Next: We serious travelers take travel to new extremes. See our special coverage in The road least traveled. >>>

That is why we call it This is barely a road .

The road least traveled .

P24 Special coverage

Silēo Unremitting wind whispers an exclamation of silence at Zhou kou dian, 50 kilometers southwest of Beijing, China.

For generations the locals named it Chicken Bone Hill or Dragon Bone Hill until Swedish archeologist Johann Gunnar Andersson discovered circa 1920s that the vast hilly terrains stored valuable evolutionary tracks dating back to Pleistocene era.

The archeological site bears fossils which belonged to prehistoric humans that once dwelled the cave system beneath the hills.

Here was once home to the 700,000 years old prehistoric society of Asia, popularly called Peking Men. Thus the site is referred to as Peking Man Site.

But long before that, the way the locals had agreed to give the place such names suggested that their ancestors used the fossils as edible parts. Historical literature accounted surrounding residents

collected the fossil to be made soup.

In a culture that cultivates a veneration to dragon as a divinely creature, the locals consumed the fossils in a hope to gain strength and reach the state of divinity. This had caused a great loss to paleontologists all around the world, not to mention a sum of the remainings looted or destroyed during World War II.

Throughout the long period of excavation, multinational paleontologists had only managed to retrieve a complete set of bone fragments to construct a handful of skulls from the site. For all it is left with, UNESCO declares the area and the surrounding hills a world heritage site.

Much of the area except the section open for public visit is off-limits. But an unauthorized trek like this offers hidden beauty.

Modern civilisation above the extinct one, as if the land is hereditary between two type of humans from different times.

Bare trees during autumn open views overlooking clusters of industrial facility. A thriving town lies under, just a kilometer away from the site.

A sense of creepiness erupts at a distance when looking at the seemingly empty part of a village.

The hills have witnessed both prehistoric and modern humans inhabited the area.

Three-wheelers is an exceptional mode of transportation to the site.

But it dangerously has no door handle inside the passenger cabin, leaving everything at the driver’s generosity.

We thank these terrific people whose contributions have helped make this volume possible

Missing previous volumes?

We will reopen archives at your request. Send us email.

Robert Hermann Living in China for over 5 years now, doing his startup business, this passionate traveler have also lived in Thailand for quite some time.

Chris Having worked in China, Chris’ passion is at overcoming challenging terrain of the mountains at remote places across the entire region.

Sally Condro Working in hospitality industry, her necessity to travel has benefited her experience of seeing many cities, domestic and abroad.

think!archipelago Jl. Kemurnian Utara No. 42 Jakarta, Indonesia 11120 +62 21 6344361 +62 81513219978 purnadi.phan@gmail.com

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