Pedicab driver learns the lingo of his rides
YOGYAKARTA (JP): Widodo may not be familiar with the phenomenon of globalization, but as a pedicab driver in this court city he has gone global in his own way.
His clients come from around the world and a stack of letters written in various languages is to be found in his rented house in Jogoyudan district.
His modest collection of books is mostly written in foreign languages.
He started all this about four years ago on the streets in the city, famed to tourists all over the world.
One can easily bump into Widodo at his usual waiting place around the Tugu crossroads or in front of the Santika Hotel on Jl. Sudirman.
Widodo likes to talk to his passengers while gently pedaling away. He talks about anything; if his passengers happen to be foreign tourists his talkativeness and breadth of knowledge of the city will serve as a fine guidebook.
Among his friend-clients was Frenchman Kaquard who regularly comes to Indonesia and sends him letters when he is back in his homeland.
Showing a stack of souvenirs, a Belgian tourist, Richard Steven said of Widodo: "He is a real nice fellow, and likes to talk about anything, he went with me for two days to places like Borobudur, the Kraton (palace) Yogyakarta and Malioboro."
His friendliness has sometimes led to problems.
Perhaps captivated by his congenial nature, a young Swedish woman once became infatuated with Widodo. She wanted him to go to Sweden with her but on learning this Widodo's wife threatened to divorce him. He canceled his plan.
Widodo is most at ease when talking about his foreign friends.
"What is funny is that when they have their birthdays, it is they who send me something and not me," he said.
Asked what "something" means, he said, normally it is greeting cards or letters with banknotes of varying amounts attached.
"Sometimes it is 100 francs, 100 dollars or 10 pounds," he said.
What is his view of his fellow pedicab drivers?
He said most of them have limited communications skills and some are too money-oriented.
Widodo long harbored a secret wish to be a professional guide. No sooner had he finished the Aliyah School (equivalent to high school level) than he started studying a foreign language.
Initially, he joined a hotel and tourism academy but was forced to drop out financial reasons and lack of moral support from his family.
He then moved to Jakarta doing odd jobs for one and a half years before going to Bali and working as a mason for 13 months.
It was here that he came to know about the world of tourism. To quench his thirst for mastering foreign languages he would always hang around the most-frequented tourist spots during his free time.
In 1992, he returned to Yogyakarta. While working in his old business line of masonry he enrolled into four language centers at the same time: the Japan-Indonesia, French-Indonesia, and the Dutch-Indonesia institutes, and the Columbia English course.
"All my classmates at these places were university students. But I didn't feel inferior, they respected me for what I was doing," he said.
In early 1996, he abandoned his job as a mason and applied to be an authorized guide at the tourism office but could not pursue his ambition because he was unable to pay the obligatory Rp 500,000 registration fee.
This explains why he ended up as a pedicab driver. His reason is simple: to be able to meet foreign tourists.
In a short time, his amiability and good knowledge of history, tourist resorts and souvenir centers won him many clients.
Typical
One morning not long ago an Australian tourist left a hotel in a hurry. He looked perplexed and was perspiring profusely.
As soon as he got to the gate of the hotel, he asked Widodo to pedal him to Adisucipto Airport, some six kilometers away.
The tourist had apparently left his bag behind by mistake when he traveled from the airport to the hotel.
The bag containing a camera, clothing and books was nowhere to be seen at the airport but the tourist was grateful to Widodo despite of that.
"I was aching all over at that time. But in spite of the pains I didn't have the heart to charge him more than the normal fare as I understand that he was really at sea.
"I only asked him to buy me a drink worth Rp 1500. Alas, I didn't get a chance to find out his name," he said.
That was a typical experience of Widodo.
The trip from the hotel to the airport is a relatively short one for a motor vehicle, such as a taxi, to cover. But instead the man chose a pedicab.
His longest journey, he said, was when he accompanied a group of tourists for two days to Bromo in East Java and Dieng in Central Java for one day.
According to Widodo, foreign tourists take delight in finding unusual things and prefer to frequent resorts in rural rather than urban areas.
Owing to his mastery of five languages, Widodo is quite well- known among his colleagues.
When asked about a scar on his left arm, he said that he had a fight with a pickpocket in Beringharjo market about a month ago in defense of his client.
"My motto is during the time my clients are with me, they are my next of kin and I have to take care and help them deal with any problems which might arise", he said. (Singgir Kartana)