A guide to travel books about Indonesia

A guide to travel books about Indonesia

By David Jardine

JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia, in keeping with its size, has
prompted many English-language travel commentaries, some of
which, of course, have been very much more than mere travelogues.

William Marsden's A History of Sumatra is a superb nineteenth
century example of a powerfully observant mind combining history
with a fresh appreciation of a foreign land derived from his own
travels. Thomas Stamford Raffles' magisterial A History of Jawa
also embodies some of the best that a travel writer might
achieve, close observations of the people he lived with and
traveled among.

If we do not look for polymaths among today's travel writers,
there are some worthwhile books to be found. Colin Thubron, a
British academic and Asia specialist, comes to mind. His books on
the former Soviet Asia offer excellent insights into both the
current conditions of such former USSR territories such as
Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, as well as the dramatic history of the
region, Tamurlaine, Ulugh Beg and all.

Norman Lewis' Empire of the East was a recent attempt to
combine Indonesian travel with commentary on its current affairs
during the dark days of the New Order. He mostly got it right
and, as always with Lewis, in exceptionally fine, lucid prose.

But none of these books is anything like a travel guide as
such, although they undoubtedly provide invaluable supplementary
material to the broad-minded traveler who genuinely wants to know
more about this country.

Where to look then for the best travel guides to Indonesia?
Of course, one must always bear in mind that a travel guide is by
its very nature obsolescent. Some of its contents are certain to
be out of date by the time of publication. What we look for then
is the book with the broadest sweep that comes nearest to
catching the flavor of a country. It helps to be well-written and
well-presented as well as clearly knowledgeable.

One of the leaders in the modern field is Bill Dalton's
Indonesia Handbook, banned for sale here by the New Order for
saying too many close-to-the-bone things about Soeharto and
his clan. This book, however, has stood the test of time. It
contains a wealth of detail and insight -- Dalton has always been
more attuned to local cultural forms than his Lonely Planet
rivals, for example -- and this Moon Publications issue contains
many good maps of provincial cities such as Pontianak and
Surabaya.

Dalton, however, has failed to keep pace with the development
of Jakarta: his nightlife information is stuck in a Tanamur rut.

Lonely Planet, whose publishing range now appears to cover
virtually every country on the planet with the possible exception
of Stalinist North Korea, has both an Indonesia edition and
individual island coverage for the likes of Java. The series is
abidingly popular but has always, in my mind at least, suffered
from the "watch out, you're about to get ripped off" mentality of
the earliest South-east Asia on a Shoestring edition. This
influenced many young backpackers to an alarming degree although
in fairness it must be said Lonely Planet seems to have matured.

There are always niche markets in the travel guide book
business. Far and away the best contributors in this area are
Periplus Action Guides. As always with Periplus, these books are
a treat to look at, full of superb photography and printing, as
well as written to a high standard.

I am no surfer but I must say that Surfing Indonesia is a joy
to read, witty, hip, informed, and a sight for sore eyes, some of
the plates being of exceptional quality.

As something of a birdwatcher, but no expert, I recommend
Birding Indonesia, which, again, is full of lively, witty writing
-- Victor Mason, British eccentric on birds in Bali is a fine
example -- and superb plates.

Birding Indonesia, which aims to direct birdwatchers to
Indonesia's best remaining locations, has but one fault. There is
no comprehensive identification guide. For that you will have to
repair to McKinnon and Philips.

There are local history and other specialist books available
on Indonesia, All Around Bandung coming to mind, but nobody has
dared into the No Money, No Honey genre of books by David Brazil
about Singapore's (ssshh!) sleazy nightlife. It could be done
here and doubtless would form a niche of its own but its absence
is hardly an aching loss.

Post-Soeharto Indonesia has become in some ways a startlingly
different country, press freedom and all. In others ways,
Indonesia remains the same. The challenge for the next generation
travel writers is to capture the strange metamorphosis the
country is undergoing.