Photographs
Jakarta's largest textile market spans a maze of alleyways. In Bloc A one can get higher-quality fabric for knock-off designer dresses. But outside the air-conditioned main building is where the real transactions begin.
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Jakarta's Textile Museum draws few crowds, but the workshop center, where visitors can learn the craft of making batik, is popular among both the old and young.
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US Marines learn the art of speaking Pashto, part of the cultural training they're receiving in line with the Obama administration's strategy to reach out to the people of Afghanistan. Battalion 2/8 (pictured here) deployed in early May.
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A collection of photographs from around Indonesia.
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Sunda Kelapa, the old port of Jakarta that was once a major hub for trade with Europe. It was the capital city’s Dutch-built link to the world, but today it can’t compare to the much grander port in Tanjang Priok, the largest Indonesian seaport and one of the largest in the Java Sea, with an annual traffic capacity of around 45 million tonnes of cargo. Once the home of wealthy Dutch administrators, Sunda Kelapa now has a seedy reputation for drug and prostitution. Read the blog post for more: http://sschonhardt.com/2009/09/25/a-pirates-life-for-me/
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Nusa Penida is directly off the southeast coast of Bali, but it feels like another world from the beaches and bars of Denpasar. During a recent visit I learned how to make traditional Balinese offerings, shared mango with a woman and her 7-month-old daughter and was touched by the magic and majesty of a community filled with kindness and humility.
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Supporters of Indonesia's Corruption Eradication Commission, better known as the KPK, gather at the Plaza Indonesia traffic circle November 23 to protest against a police investigation of two KPK deputies charged with extortion and abuse of power. The charges are believed to be an attempt by the much distrusted and notoriously corrupt national police to undermine the power of the KPK, which has the backing of civil society. The rally, staged by a civil society group called the red and white army, said it would not allow corruption to continue unchecked. In addition to printed statements of support for the KPK, Laskar Merah Putih also dramatized the battle between the police and the KPK by staging a fight with a stuffed gecko, which represents the KPK, and a crocodile, a reference to a remark by a senior policeman that the KPK’s investigators, in tapping his telephone, were “like geckos trying to fight a crocodile”.
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The Thai Nippon Rubber Factory is on track to become the largest condom producer in Thailand. The 600 million condoms it produces each year are mostly exported, with Brazil, China and Indonesia as it's biggest markets. But despite the influx of rubbers to Indonesia, marketing has proven difficult in a country where talking about sex is still sensitive, and plenty of conservatives see handing out condoms as a way of promoting "free sex." Thailand's condom king, Meechai, says people just need to see that condoms can be fun and sweet. Indeed, the Thai Nippon Rubber factory does remind one a bit of Charley and the Chocolate Factory. Remember that scene where Veronica gets rejected as a bad egg? Just replace those eggs with condoms and you'll get what I mean.
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Chinese Indonesians were out in force February 14 to mark the first day of the Year of the Tiger. It has been 10 years since the government removed restrictions on celebrating the Chinese New Year, and while things appeared festive in Glodok, with red lanterns swaying over the streets and temples buzzing with activity, the scars of 1998 remain. Riots sparked by former president Suharto's overthrow culminated in the looting and burning of Chinese-Indonesian homes and businesses. Many people were raped and killed. It was a tragic time in Indonesia's history. Since that time, bans on Chinese cultural celebrations have been removed and dragon dances, fireworks and drum beats resonate through the north part of Jakarta. The main Chinese temple saw its share of smoke and fire, and I joined in some of the revelry.
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This artificial lake outside Jakarta is home to a massive floating fishing industry. A dam built in the 1950s created the reservoir that now boasts hundreds of fish farms, known as Kampung Air - or Water Neighborhood. Nearby Plered is known for its ceramics. A few friends and I took a day trip that ended with a delightful surprise - a pedal roller coaster.
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The area along the Ciliwung River that runs through Central Jakarta is subject to some of the city's worst flooding. The people in Kampung Pulo in East Jakarta say they've grown used to rising waters that often evict them from their homes. They fear government measures to stem the flooding because it would requiring dredging that would force them to relocate. The government says it's working to provide subsidized housing, but the battle between these residents - who the city administration call squatters - and those working on reforming Jakarta's infrastructure continues heating up. I visited Kampung Pulo in February after a particularly heavy rain and this is what I found.
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A Hindu temple complex just outside Yogyakarta, Prambanan is home to several detailed candi dedicated to the gods Vishnu, Brahma and Shiva. Many of the surrounding complexes reveal Hindu and Buddhist reliefs, evidence of the transition between the religions and interfaith harmony that was in place more than a dozen centuries ago.
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Known as ilmu hitam, this local tradition and superstition has deep roots in classical Javanese culture. From beauty-enhancing needles placed beneath the skin to tiny swords for protection to stones and pieces of wood meant to keep away evil sprits, black magic - or rather the charms that stop it - are still widely sold at everyday markets in Yogyakarta.
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Views of a traditional jamu seller, a home industry and a modern-day shop that specializes in this herbal medicine unique to Java. For more on the background see:
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Americans use about 100 gallons of water at home each day, while millions of the world's poorest subsist on fewer than five gallons, according to National Geographic's April issue, which is all about water. Other interesting figures: women in developing countries walk an average of 3.7 miles a day to get water, and here in Indonesia, more than half of the urban population has inadequate access to clean water.
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Taman Ismail Marzuki in Jakarta is a haven for creativity. The students who take classes at the art center transform the grounds into a place for dancing, late-night chats and maybe the occasional beer. We visited the morning after the festivities and found the state of the grounds provided an interesting insight into what happens when people leave a place in haste or without thought for who sees the remains.
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Some fun from around the archipelago.
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Men in cowboy hats and vibrant bandanas came out to place their bets on Madura Island’s fastest studs last weekend. The island off the north coast of Java is best known for two things – beautiful women and bull races. But it was the latter that drew thousands of spectators eager to know which bull would become the island’s next playboy. See the story, This Ain't No Bull
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