Kamis @ UKSW 5 Nov

Arrived at work and, once in my office, Ibu Ina at the door, asking if I had any free time today to visit a rubber plantation. "Persiapan Kuliah BINUS" (Bina Nusantara University lecture preparation) it said in my diary, for the first couple of hours for the day. A drive in the country beats preparing for a lecture on critical thinking! Took the main road out of Salatiga and headed towards Semarang, where Ibu lives. All her work is concentrated into three days, which makes the commute more bearable. About 15 or so minutes of driving, we turned off the jalan utama and headed down a minor road, less busy, narrower of course. Ibu takes this route to work to avoid the traffic, mainly trucks and buses, that congest the road early morning. Wind our way through hills, sparsely populated, and hit ricefields (sawah), so intensely green and so relaxing to look at.

Scarecrows could be seen, as could labourers chasing birds away.

Headed to Perkebunan Karet Afdeling Tembir, the village of Tembir's rubber plantation. There's a Dutch word in there - "Afdeling" - answers on the back of a postcard. Hard to imagine that this plantation is only a few kilometres behind UKSW campus. Shaded, quiet, and with a cool breeze, it was a sanctuary. On weekends, groups of teenagers and young adults motorbike here and sit in the cool, talking, hanging out. We were there at the perfect time of day, 10am, because, bar the odd motorbike, it was calm and still, and the plantation work was ongoing. The trees are scarred or dripped at 3am, allowed to produce their sap until the morning, and then it's collected and harvested around 9-10am.

We parked near a collection shed, which stank to high heaven, and chatted with an overseer, while labourers carried 40 litres of rubber liquid on bamboo poles to be readied for factory processing.

Hanging on nails were examples of rubber, grouped according to quality. Below is some grade 2 rubber. From March to August, this collection station would produce 8 tonnes of rubber a day, 2 tonnes a day for the rest of the year. From here it goes to a factory and processed, before being sent to Semarang, where it is then exported.

Seeds of the rubber tree.

On the way back, we went though desa Sembir, the red-light district. There, beer advertising and some dubious looking karaoke sheds/bars. And a masjid. The Indonesian term for "red-light district" is lokalisasi, a euphemism that alludes to the fact that a special area has been set aside for special activities. Then passed a Chinese cemetery.

Lunch, with Rudi, after my last Pronunciation class with Duncan. Rudi and I had talked about where we could eat; said it was his call, so long as it had vego options. Naik motor, he said. I've travelled various ways in Indonesia, but I've been avoiding the motorbike option as it looks a little hairy. Agreed, after I confirmed he knew the meaning of Berhenti!!!! (Stop!!!), and that I would strangle him if he refused to stop. Fortunately for me, Rudi did graduate study in Sydney and when he returned to Indonesia, he couldn't drive his motorbike because he was too scared! He assured me he was a good, safe driver.

Helmeted, off we went. Had a ball! Because it is rare, in built up areas, for the speed to get more than 40 km/hr, the trip went without incident. Great to get this view of the street, the activity of the cars, the darting in and out.

Ate at Gado-GAdo "Eco" (Javanese for "delicious") and had, as the warung's name would suggest, gado-gado, of which there were 4 varieties to choose from. Lime juice, too. Satay sauce was pedas (hot), but easily tolerated. Great way to spend the hour, chatting away, with Rudi reminiscing about Australian wine, his trip to the Hunter Valley, and his desire to do a PhD in Australia. Cruised back to campus. Motorbike park quite full.