Giant, colorful kites enliven Ancol sky
By Hera Diani
JAKARTA (JP): Feeling worn down? Stressed out from work? Go fly a kite.
That was the advice of the contestants at the Jakarta International Kite Festival, who swear by the soothing effects of flying a kite.
"Watching the colorful kites up in the sky really eases my mind," Effendi Jafri, a contestant from Riau, told The Jakarta Post on Friday.
If you drop by Bagus Beach in Ancol, North Jakarta, this Saturday and Sunday, just glance up at the sky and you will find dozens of striking kites swooping and diving and gamboling merrily in the air.
The designs of the kites vary. From animals to Batman, dragons and airplanes. And it was indeed peaceful to watch them at play up in the sky.
All of the kites were competing against each other in the three-day event that started on Friday.
The festival has become an annual event in the capital, with this year marking the ninth time it has been held.
One of the festival's founders, Sari Madjid from the Le Gong kite association, said last year's festival brought together contestants from six foreign countries and 11 provinces from Indonesia.
"Now, contestants from 10 foreign countries have confirmed their participation, while there will be 120 local contestants from all across the country," she told the Post on Friday.
Among the countries represented at the festival this year are Austria, Australia, Malaysia, the Netherlands and the Philippines.
Indonesia is a very popular destination for kites flyers around the world, she said.
"We have been invited to many countries all over the world, like the United States, China and France. They like us because we have a rich variety of kite designs. Each province has its own unique design," she said.
For the festival, she added, foreign flyers would only exhibit their kites.
"The competition is only for the local contestants. The winners will get trophies and some money," Sari said, declining to reveal the amount of prize money on offer.
She said the kites would be judged on size, construction, color and maneuverability.
"It's not based on how long a kite can remain in the sky. If a kite can stay up for hours but the design is too plain, it won't win," Sari said.
But there was no evidence of plain kites marring the sky on Friday.
Effendi brought a gigantic butterfly kite and a three- dimensional airplane kite.
He said it costs him over Rp 600,000 (US$54.50) to construct a kite using parachute material and wood.
A group of women kite flyers from West Java said they spent over Rp 1.5 million making their kite.
They brought an 80-meter-long dragon kite, as well as few other ones.
One of the women, Suyu, a retired school teacher who is in her 60s, said she has been flying kites since 1987.
"My late husband was a flyer also. So I followed him and actually really enjoyed it. I've even traveled all over the world because of it," she said, adding that she has been to Malaysia, China and the United States.
Most of the contestants have taken part in several international festivals. And according to them, they don't do it for money or trophies.
"Yes, we want to win, of course. But it is the friendship that really counts. The chance to meet new people and see dozens of beautiful kites," Suyu said.
For the participants from Brunei, the Jakarta festival is a chance to promote a kite festival in their country in August.
"It's part of our Visit Brunei 2001 program. We're sort of new at such festivals, but we want to show that kites are also popular in our country," said Maidin.