Traveling night fair full of wonder, fun
Evi Mariani, Jakarta
The ongoing night fair in Tanjung Barat, South Jakarta, is no Disneyland; it is not even fair to compare it with Dunia Fantasi in Ancol. Some visitors might see it as cheap, with its little Ferris wheel, merry-go-round, ghost house and roller coaster, all looking a bit rickety.
But one four-year-old visitor could not take her eyes off the merry-go-round as it was pushed around by two well-muscled men.
"She just rode the merry-go-round two times, and now she said she's feeling dizzy," the girl's mother, who came from Bojong, Bogor, just for the fair, said of her daughter, who sat outside the gate separating the Tanjung Barat railway station from the night fair, which is open for the entire month of July.
For just Rp 2,500 (27 US cents), a child or an adult can get a ride on any of the attractions.
As the sun was setting last Saturday night, vendors selling popcorn, soft drinks and cotton candy, as well as clothes and school stationery, switched on their lights, welcoming hundreds of visitors.
Families, groups of teenagers, couples and people on their own walked around the fair, which has something for everybody.
Families with children preferred the area of the fair with the merry-go-round, roller coaster and big swing set.
Nearby is the ghost house, emitting hair-raising sounds of wolves and horror movie-style music.
Next to this is the so-called "devil barrel", where two motorcycle riders and a bicyclist risk all as they speed back and forth.
The daredevils circle around the inside wall of the huge wooden barrel, and to the gasps of the audience climb six meters almost to the edge of the barrel. Seconds later, they circle back to the bottom and raise their arms into the air.
Then the bicyclist pedals to catch up to the motorcycles, and the audience grows more excited as he races past them, circling around the wooden wall for a long three minutes.
Appreciative members of the audience reach out their arms and hold out banknotes for the circling daredevils to grab.
Bagas, 25, one of the riders, told The Jakarta Post hours before the show that he could make Rp 100,000 to Rp 200,000 by himself per night from his small percentage of the tickets sold, which does not include the Rp 100,000 or more in tips from the audience.
Asked whether he had ever broken any bones while performing, he just smiled. "Yeah, once, but it was only a minor one."
The 27-strong Kelana Karya traveling fair troupe, which literally means "working while wandering", come from all around Java island. The owner of the fair, Pak Agus, is from Demak.
"Before Tanjung Barat we were in Jati Bening, Bekasi," said Eka, a member of the fair's crew. "Previously, we performed in the town square in Serang. Later? We don't know yet."
Both Eka and Bagas said they had a lot more visitors in Serang.
Bagas said the night fair used to open in Lenteng Agung when it visited Jakarta.
"It was more lively there ... but the open space we used to use has become a shop-house complex," he said.
The field where the fair is now located is normally used as a training ground for student drivers.
South of the field the fair games are set up. Candle-lit stalls attract adults and teenagers, mostly male, where they test their patience by trying to throw rings around the necks of soft drink bottles arranged in rows. Other stalls give visitors the chance to try their luck at different games in the hope of winning a prize, mostly packs of cigarettes.
It was already late and tired families were beginning to make their way home, but the field was still alive with visitors.
"Sometimes we close after 11 p.m.," Bagas said. "I can do the daredevil shows about a dozen times. We will not close as long as there are visitors."
Residents still have one week before the wanderers load up all of their equipment on nine trucks and hit the road, heading to the next town where there will no doubt be plenty of people lining up to enjoy the wonder and enchantment of this traveling night fair.