Businessman turned hermit<\/p>\n
On March 2, 1999, I received a visit from a distant relative
\nwho spent almost one year in a remote village near Pelabuhan
\nRatu, West Java, a renowned seaside resort where local and
\nforeign tourists come to admire the beautiful scenery and the
\nnearby pristine forests. However, some swimmers are said to have
\nlost their lives in the treacherous undercurrents and whirlpools
\nin the coastal waters. I remember my company's guest from Japan,
\nwho was a champion swimmer during his school years, dared to swim
\nin the sea and almost lost his life when the treacherous currents
\nnearly prevented him from reaching the shore. Only his
\nexceptional strength and his excellent swimming technique saved
\nhis life.<\/p>\n
My relative, fed up with the eternal bickering with his spouse
\nover his alleged extramarital affairs, resolved to leave Jakarta
\nfor good and live in a remote village far from the hustle and
\nbustle of the metropolitan city. In fact, he was quite a
\nsuccessful businessman. He worked in a travel bureau and owned a
\nchicken farm. He renounced all his belongings in order to lead a
\nhermit's life. But he made himself useful to the village
\ncooperative as a lecturer and an English teacher for the
\nsecondary school, for which he asked only three meals and a cot
\nto sleep on in the cooperative building. He said that only those
\npeople living far from our so-called civilization are good and
\nhonest and it never enters their mind to cheat their fellow men
\nin business. They lead a frugal life and live mostly from what
\nMother Earth provides them.<\/p>\n
This businessman turned hermit also asked the village
\ncooperative to provide him with a 24-inch TV and parabola so the
\npeople in the village could get in touch with the outside world
\nby watching CNN and CNBC. But life in a remote village can be
\nquite inconvenient. There is no tap water and only the village
\nwell fills the demand for drinking water. This back to nature
\nsort of life indeed has its positive and negative sides, joys and
\nsorrows, as does any other human endeavor.<\/p>\n
A. DJUANA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/businessman-turned-hermit-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }