Malioboro freelance guides live by their wits in the tourist trade

Malioboro freelance guides live by their wits in the tourist trade

By R. Fadjri

YOGYAKARTA (JP): A band played slow rock music for the patrons
of the Borobudur Bar and Restaurant. Several local young men with
long, lank hair sat engrossed in a private conversation with a
Western man and woman.

They appeared oblivious to the music, and their laughter
occasionally rang out as they consumed alcoholic drinks.

The men are among around 100 freelance male guides who operate
in the Malioboro neighborhood of Yogyakarta. Unlike their
licensed counterparts who are employed by travel agents, these
guides use their wits to target lower to middle income tourists.
The tourists usually stay in cheap motels in Malioboro or
Prawirotaman, where rooms are available for as low as Rp 5,000
per night.

Although the guides stand out as locals among the tourists at
the row of bars along Jl. Pasar Kembang, they try to adopt the
ways of the foreigners. They favor long hair, tight jeans and
garish jewelry on ears, necks, and fingers. Some of them bear
tattoos on both arms.

They are a community which has developed its own norms amid
the rapid pace of Yogyakarta's tourist world. Their ostentatious
public behavior, which includes hugging or even kissing their
clients along Malioboro street, singles them out from other local
citizens.

Guides claim it is not unusual for the relationship between
them and a female tourist to develop into sexual intimacy.

Yulius Sukamto alias Kantong, 39, a senior among the guides,
said he occasionally forged intense relationships with tourists.
He said it was only natural that a mutual attraction developed as
the guides and tourists spent nearly the entire day together.

"If both are attracted to each other, it becomes their own
private business," he said.

Local residents and hostel owners do not care about what
occurs behind closed doors between the tourist and guide.

For guides of Kanton's age, sex is a secondary part of the
relationships.

"We think about our profession in terms of the future," the
father of one child said. He is the owner of a hostel and batik
business in the vicinity of Prawirotaman. "I'm looking for
customers to stay in my place, And, at the same time, I'm selling
my batik."

Some of the younger guides, such as 21-year-old Andi, are
drawn to the prospect of a sexual relationship with the women.

Most of the guides have a senior high school background and
picked up their knowledge of English from the streets. They start
conversations with stereotyped inquiries -- "Where are you going?
Where are you from? What's your name?" The assumption is that all
foreigners speak English.

There are rivalries among the men. Guides may demand a right
to escort tourists if they see another man in the company of
several foreign woman. These confrontations sometimes escalate
into violence.

The relationships usually take the form of a holiday romance,
with no direct payment made by the tourist to the guide.

"No transactions are made on both sides," Andi confirmed. The
relationships last for the brief period of the tourist's stay in
the city.

But some couples embark on a serious long-term relationship
which eventually leads to marriage. In these cases, the tourist
might stay on until her tourist visa expires. They usually make a
quick trip to Singapore to extend the visa and return to
Yogyakarta to resume the relationship.

"Tourists do not really mind our social level," Kantong said.
"If they really like a guide, they would not care if he is a
batik maker or a becak driver -- it would be no barrier to
marriage."

Kantong, who comes from Purwokerto, Central Java, last
December married a Canadian tourist who teaches French in her
homeland. He is planning to follow his wife to Canada once his
application for permanent residence is approved.

Young guides are less interested in settling down.

"Why should I marry in a hurry. I'm still young," Andi said.

Guides of Kantong's age are more likely to give serious
consideration to marriage. In addition to the aspect of love,
marriage to a foreign tourist opens up new business
opportunities.

Kantong said many of his friends who married foreign tourists
had been granted permanent residence status in Europe and
Australia. The majority of them are in the batik business.

The end of a relationship does have its risks, as Kantong
experienced. A Dutch woman reported him to the police after they
broke up. He relates that the woman loved him very much. They
decided to live together, and the woman took care of all his
material needs.

One day, they had a serious quarrel and decided to part.

The woman demanded that Kantong return all the items she gave
him, and called the police.

"She accused me of being deceitful," said Kantong. "But the
police could not do anything since we had no written agreement
and, more importantly, we were not married."

For guides like Andi, the small income they might earn from
being a guide is secondary in importance. Sometimes they receive
commissions if the tourists buy souvenirs from art shops. They do
not mind even if they do not get a payment. All they want is to
have fun without paying much money.