New friends - Indonesia

20 January 2012 - A friend and I travelled for two weeks through Java, Indonesia. We started our trip in Jakarta where another friend, Diane, had lived until shortly before our arrival.

She had been transferred to Europe, but she let us sleep at her house because her husband’s successor had not yet arrived and the house staff would still be on hand. So we arrived in Kemang, a suburb of Jakarta where most expats live. The staff recognised me immediately, but to my surprise they were not exactly waiting with open arms to receive us. In rapid Bahasa Indonesia they gave me a whole song and dance of which I understood very little. They seemed uneasy, were not pleased with my presence and I felt very uncomfortable.

Eventually, they waved a telephone number in my face. Obviously, they wanted me to phone someone. I got Martin on the phone, an unknown fellow countryman, and I quickly understood the problem: the successor of Diane’s husband had arrived sooner than expected. So we had more or less taken up quarters in the house of a perfect stranger. Martin thought it was all quite amusing and invited us to stay with him. My friend and I raced over to the local supermarket and stocked up on alcoholic beverages as a gift for our host. In a virtually empty house (Martin’s container wouldn’t arrive for another week) we enjoyed a terrific evening together.