Kindness in Ciwidey

There are many good things about traveling solo, but undoubtedly, the best is that a single traveler often meets the kindest people on the road, especially if he’s willing to get off the beaten track and go into the countryside where the people are friendlier and less inclined to rip you off.

Today is my fourth day in Indonesia. I am in Bandung, a lovely city famous for its factory outlets and volcanoes. Most visitors to Bandung visit the Tangkuban Perahu volcano, but there is another less well-known volcano if you are willing to travel a bit further.  Getting there on your own takes half a day and involves changing buses 3 times. That could be the reason Kawah Putih sees less foreign visitors than Tangkuban Perahu.

From Bandung’s city centre, you have to take a bus to the long-distance bus terminal at Leuwi Panjang, and from there take another bus to Ciwidey. The buses are not air-conditioned and it takes about two hours to reach Ciwidey, with a long stop at a small town halfway through the journey. It was a typical bus ride in Indonesia, with buskers and vendors boarding the bus periodically.

Ciwidey is a small highland town with a funny name and very pleasant weather. It is located south of Bandung, and higher up in the mountains. The scenery along the way is even better than at Puncak Pass. The green and yellow of terraced rice paddy fields were punctuated with the red roofs of houses. Strawberry fields were also abundant. Horse carts are as common here as angkot minibuses.

Road to Ciwidey

The last part of the journey to Kawah Putih involves an angkot ride to Alam Endah. Angkots usually do not depart unless the passengers inside are packed like sardines, so it was an uncomfortably long wait. I tried to blend in with the locals. With any luck, they would think that I am an Indonesian Chinese. Although I doubt if the Chinese travel in angkots. Unlike Malaysian Chinese, most of whom converse with each other in a Chinese dialect, Indonesian Chinese speak flawless Indonesian even with other Chinese. In order not to blow my cover, I kept my mouth shut.

Finally, the last passenger got on board. He was a young man named Ian and was going home to see his very sick father. I knew because I asked him where I should get off and he started making conversation with me. He became very excited when he found out that I was from Malaysia. He will be going to Malaysia to work in a few months time if everything turns out well and he enthusiastically told me that his friend managed to earn up to IDR 2 million a month in Malaysia. Wow, 2 million, I thought. I did some mental calculations in my head and converted IDR 2 million to Malaysian Ringgit. It is roughly equivalent to RM720.

When I finally asked the driver where I should get off, we had already passed by Kawah Putih. My identity as a foreigner exposed, the driver charged me IDR 10,000 for the ride, probably twice of what it should be. I paid up anyway. After all, I was a multi-millionaire in Indonesia. (IDR 10,000 = RM3.60). Ian, though, was not pleased that I was cheated. He was worried for this stupid tourist and got off the angkot as well although it was still quite some distance to his house. He lectured me like my father and told me to pretend to be Indonesian next time and not just give away money like that. Then, he called up his friend who came to meet us on a motorbike. Ian borrowed the bike and sent me back to the entrance to Kawah Putih. I thanked him for his kindness and wished him all the best in Malaysia. It would have been fun to have gone to his house, but I didn’t want to impose on his family when his father is so sick.

Ian

24^th May 2008 Saturday