Depressing Ujungpandang is still great seafood catch<\/p>\n
UJUNGPANDANG, South Sulawesi (JP): All I remember of
\nUjungpandang is wide, wide tree-lined avenues, a gorgeous road
\nalong the beach called Strand Boulevard (this was in the days
\nwhen Ujungpandang was called Makassar, which I still prefer),
\ncakes so sweet they made your hair stand on end and the best
\nseafood in this world and the next.<\/p>\n
But this was the Ujungpandang (or Makassar) of more than 40
\nyears ago, and, of course, things have changed.<\/p>\n
I think it would have been bad if anything had remained the
\nsame.<\/p>\n
The boulevard, now rechristened Jl. Pantai Losari, is still
\nthe most popular stretch for a late afternoon stroll to watch the
\nsun take its daily dive in the sea. But now the road is half its
\nformer width, as the other half on the ocean side has been set
\naside for roving food and drink vendors. This may have made the
\nspot even more popular, but it is horrendous for evening drivers
\nwho have to make do with a snail's pace (and lots of teeth
\ngrinding) when negotiating their vehicles through the mass of
\nhumans.<\/p>\n
Too bad for the drivers, that is. The moral of the story?<\/p>\n
Well, don't take your own wheels if you plan to linger a bit
\non Pantai Losari after sunset -- as you certainly should.<\/p>\n
Why don't I include Fort Rotterdam among the remembrance of
\nthings past? For the simple reason that 40 years ago it was
\nstill in the condition that made it less than unworthy as a must-
\nsee item, and suitable only for the wrecker's ball.<\/p>\n
But the thing was erected a couple of hundred years
\nago, when thick walls were thick walls and walls of forts even
\nmore so.<\/p>\n
The fort has risen again (though not in its original function,
\nthank you) and now rightly holds pride of place in the city.<\/p>\n
Insist on a good guide who can tell you about the fort. One,
\na tourist industry student, attached himself to me, but when I
\nasked him about divisions -- location of enlisted men's quarters,
\nthe commanding officer's quarters, magazines, mess hall -- the
\npoor boy was at a loss for explanations, though he was rather
\nvoluble about the boring subject of atrocities inflicted by the
\nDutch.<\/p>\n
I had looked forward very much to the few days sojourn in
\nUjungpandang, and was determined to have a good time. However, I
\nwasn't prepared for the distressing sights that greeted me
\npractically everywhere. Of course, news publications had been
\nfull of reports about the riots that took place some weeks
\nbefore, but the extent of the destruction was stunning.<\/p>\n
Few buildings were left in tact or so it looked to me, except
\nperhaps in the outer suburbs.<\/p>\n
Gaping holes that once were entrances, doors and windows had
\nalready been boarded up, leaving some local wags to comment
\nsourly that the most popular type of building material at the
\nmoment was plywood.<\/p>\n
What I found even more disheartening was that there seemed to
\nhave been an element of premeditation; how else to explain the
\nmutilated houses in narrow streets of low-income suburbs,
\nstanding next to others that were left untouched?<\/p>\n
Many were the homes of indigenous people who were embarrassed
\nabout the turmoil, including the governor who, to his credit,
\nopened the grounds of his official residence to the fleeing
\nChinese against whom the violence was directed. Everything is
\napparently back to normal now, but I could still detect a degree
\nof wariness among my Chinese cousins.<\/p>\n
Despite the depressing views, I did have a good time, thanks
\nto the seafood dishes for which Ujungpandang is justly famous.<\/p>\n
I must admit that as a resident of Jakarta -- though
\nethnically from elsewhere -- I tend to regard anywhere on the
\ncoast, except our fair capital, as a paradise of seafood. To cut
\na long story short, I ate myself sick on giant prawns, sweet
\nsnapper, succulent bandeng (milk fish), and other types of
\ngoodies from the depths of the ocean that had gone straight from
\nthe sea into the pan.<\/p>\n
Or on the coals, rather, because plain roast is probably the
\nbest way to eat fresh fish.<\/p>\n
And since it was durian season in the city we, a niece and her
\nhusband who live there, went on durian binges several times.<\/p>\n
If only for the food, I resolved not to let another couple of
\ndecades go by before setting foot on the soil of one of
\nIndonesia's prettiest cities.<\/p>\n
-- Gus Kairupan<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/depressing-ujungpandang-is-still-great-seafood-catch-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }