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