..... as soon as we left our little haven.
There was evidence of massive deforestation, though whether these hills were covered with primary forest or rubber plantations before palm oil became more profitable, I'm not sure. It's still a bleak outlook though, isn't it.
One trend which somewhat disturbed me was to see many newly refurbished warungs and workshops painted in the colours and the logos of unfiltered clove cigarettes (kretek) such as Djarum Coklat ~ This is other side of withdrawal things from this cigarette. Only 10 sticks in its pack, can inhale millions of society lips in the world. You surely know its secret. This cigarette have potency which is out of proportion to wrapped as small as this. Hence, don't you assume that small you are, you are the most 'istimewa' (special).
There was the added incongruity of seeing a mosque in the Djarum Coklat corporate colours.
Sampoerna Hijau was similarly ubiquitous ~ Special Kretek for you which love to respect "Hijau" (green colour). Freshness seems once you desisted in it. Go to float far far away to fresher aerospace. Look for light in it but don't forget to carry Sampoerna Hijau. Face a period of your old without any hackneyed. Hence, your most real friend is the 'Green' Sampoerna Hijau.
Sejati was also logo'd everwhere and may be another kretek cigarette, but I don't believe (can't believe!) that it's connected with this company.
The journey back took much longer than we would have hoped due to the many, very many, potholes. It also didn't help arriving in time for Jakarta's Friday evening let's-get-out-of-town traffic jam. All in all, the holiday was soon over.
So I weeded out the 40+ spam messages and did my best to get up to speed on what we'd missed, like bomb outrages and corrupt generals doing a bunk. Apart from Charlton signing Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink, possibly the only good news I've noted, and I reserve judgement on the new citizenship law, is that the hot mud still flowing in East Java apparently makes great bricks. This somehow pleases the displaced factory workers and rice farmers.
And I soon discovered that in the blogosphere prejudices are in full flow.
Indonesia Matters has had a debate on the The Crusades & Liberal Islam for a week or so, with a few commentators getting hot under the collar at the notion that nigh on eight hundred years ago Muslims were responsible for a massacre or two.
The debate has got quite historical as well as hysterical, but not as much as over at Indcoup who has had the temerity to suggest that the faithful who wish to get up at 4.30 a.m. should buy a decent alarm clock.
In a pluralistic society, it is distinctly anti-social (and unnecessary) to wake up all and sundry at such an ungodly hour.
For comments such as this, Indcoup has received emailed 'death threats' and Indonesia Anonymus last month received 127 hate mails, presumably from the kind of men who will do anything to bring about a fundamentalist Islamic society, except, of course, actually move to one.
