Negotiating the face of Pondok Indah Mall

By Charlie Stevens

JAKARTA (JP): It looked easy enough. A 12-meter high stainless steel wall speckled with brightly colored plastic "rocks". On closer inspection some of these were molded into the shape of skulls, an ominous sign some might say, still I was undeterred.

Naldy, my supervisor, had given me a couple of demonstrations on the more challenging sections of the wall and watching his casual ascent filled me with unjustified confidence. But several moments later, when I was about a third of the way up the wall, the fear set in, pooling in my stomach and running down my arms. Not quite as brave as I thought, considering I was only about three meters from the ground. Repressed memories of falling out of a tree perhaps. But by this stage a small audience of smirking shoppers had gathered in the parking lot of Pondok Indah Mall in South Jakarta to watch the show, so there was no backing out.

"Safety is our number one priority," said Oki, the coordinator of the climbing wall at the mall. "There is no way of falling with the harness and the ropes. And there is a buddy holding the ropes from the ground."

Somehow this was of little comfort as my knuckles turned white and my knees shook, edging upward, plastic rock by plastic rock. The special rubber climbing shoes they had provided seemed to cling to the wall like the feet of a fly.

There are about 40 climbing walls in Jakarta, but most of these are located on university campuses and cater to the adrenaline-addicted student bodies. The wall at Pondok Indah Mall, however, is open to anyone brave enough to test their skills.

"We get an average of five people a day during the week, but over the next two weeks of school holidays we can expect up to 30 people a day," said Oki.

"About 80 percent of these are Indonesian and about 20 percent are tourists," he said.

The climbing wall at the mall is open between 10 a.m. and 8 p.m. For Rp 20,000 you can spend an hour conquering any one of the wall's eight climbing routes, ranging in difficulty from beginner to advanced, though Oki's crew will encourage you to try something more difficult than you might naturally choose.

"Go on, try the overhang," said Naldy.

"No, I don't think so."

"Why not, just give it a try."

"Well, um ... "

The wall at Pondok Indah Mall was opened two years ago by British businessman Nicholas Andrew as the first public recreational facility of its kind in Indonesia. It is run and maintained, however, by Oki, Naldy and Javu -- all experienced in climbing both artificial rock walls and the far more serious rock faces found on the mountains around Bogor and Bandung.

They, while clearly enjoying the spectacle of a clamoring novice, are supportive and understand what it means to be frozen with apprehension so far above the ground.

"The special climbing shoes are all imported from Italy or Spain and the ropes are specially designed for climbing. We check the equipment regularly and we've never had an accident," Naldy said kindly.

"We all compete in competitions," he said. "And sometimes the prize money can be very good."

Naldy and Javu are both currently preparing for an interuniversity wall climbing competition to be held in Jakarta between July 6 and July 8, with a grand prize of Rp 1,300,000.

"It's one of those sports that tests not only your physical strength but also your patience and concentration," said Asep, 23, one of the customers at the Pondok Indah climbing wall.

"It's not like running or swimming, where the only aim is to get to the other point. It's more like vertical ballet dancing, where you have to be nimble and stretch your arms and legs. But there's also the added danger of losing your grip, and the rocks you have to hold on to are so small.

"It's actually quite safe but it still takes a lot of courage," he said.