One visit is enough for me...

One visit is enough for me...

In response to Deddy B. Simanjuntak's spirited sales pitch for
Yogyakarta and environs (The Jakarta Post, Feb. 3, 1999), I
regret to inform the misguided advocate that this customer will
not be returning.

In June last year I took my visiting in-laws from Australia to
Yogyakarta, specifically to see the famous Borobudur temple.
After paying to get into the temple (the white man tariff of
course) we were harangued by hawkers selling souvenirs and
postcards. This assault did not stop till we reached the
sanctuary of the temple. On our return journey we again ran the
gauntlet. This, I might point out, was not idle sales banter. As
we neared the exit gate one hawker threatened to kill my wife
because she had not bought anything from him. Later I found out
that another hawker had asked my ten-year old son to steal some
money from his mother's purse so that he could buy a few
trinkets.

All of this happened under the noses of the park's security
guards. Many friends have since recounted similar experiences. If
this experience had not convinced me that a trip to the region
had been ill-advised, the look of shock and concern for the
safety of her grandchildren on my mother-in-law's face when we
toured the devastated main street of Solo the next day certainly
did.

Although I would rank Borobudur itself as equal to any of the
world heritage sites I have visited overseas, when my parents
visited in October, I could not bring myself to inflict such an
unpleasant experience on them. If "to know more about Yogyakarta
requires more than just one visit" then I know quite enough.

GARY STANFORD

Jakarta