Voyaging through time on a New Year's flight

Tertiani ZB Simanjuntak, The Jakarta Post, Sentani, Papua

Spending the last day of the year 2002 in a not-so-ordinary way tops the list of my new year resolutions. Getting out of Jakarta is the best option. But for a reporter with tight budget and limited leisure time, not many options are available.

Party? Well, I'm an optimist. But I can't find something to celebrate either from the present year or the coming one.

Then suddenly my belated Christmas presents arrived: Two invitations to spend not-so-ordinary New Year's Eve at once.

I decided to drop the challenging streamy night-rafting at Citarik river, West Java, for a night-flying with Merpati Nusantara Airlines to Sentani for two reasons: One, I can still feel the pain in my arm muscles from last month's rafting. Two, I've never been to anywhere in the easternmost province of Indonesia. With the independence struggling going on there, I might never have a second chance.

Moreover, I can enjoy the Rp 4.4 million (US$492) round trip for free!

We had to undergo an 11-hour flight with stopovers in Surabaya, South Sulawesi capital of Makassar and Biak, a smaller island in Papua, before taking another 50-minute flight to Sentani airport.

Although the route has been regular for the last 10 years, the Dec. 31 flight was special as it marked the initial fly of the Boeing 737-400 with a longer 12-hour flying time, replacing the smaller type of Boeing 737-200.

The plane -- which cabin was decorated with "Happy New Year" tassels -- took off at 9 p.m. from the Soekarno-Hatta airport in Cengkareng. We had dinner after arriving at Juanda airport, Surabaya, and waited for an hour before continuing our journey.

It was 10 minutes to 11 p.m. when I entered the plane with "I need to sleep ..."-grumble flashing in mind. Then I saw a paper trumpet and a conical-shaped party hat on every seats.

The passengers were gone wild, especially when photographers and cameramen shot at them. Captain Triyanto had to leave the cockpit to hush them only to hear him counting down the last 10 seconds before cutting the cake.

In that particular moment, the plane was at 33,000 feet (10,000 meters) right above Masalembo waters where Tampomas II vessel burned and sank on Jan. 21, 1981, killing 775 people of 1,154 people aboard. I completely forgot my wish to sleep.

All the thrill was well paid. I got the chance to witness the first sun of the new year 2003 rising from the most eastern part of the country right from the cockpit. The gold lining in the cloudy sky really caught me.

Finally, we arrived at 8 a.m. local time (6 a.m. Jakarta time) at the Sentani airport. Around 200 meters out from the airport, the grave of Papua independence movement leader Theys Hiyo Eluay greeted us. The graveyard, formerly a playing ground, is now a Monumental Park for Political and Human Rights Abuse.

After three hours of unpacking, taking a bath and brief nap, we left Sentani Indah Hotel for sight seeing.

Driving rental minivans, all journalists first went to the Monument of Douglas Mac Arthur located in a hill tip at Hawai district in Sentani. We had to pass the restricted Indonesian Military (TNI)'s camp and training grounds to reach the location.

Mac Arthur's Allied forces once camped in the island near the end of the World War II in 1945.

After passing three posts -- each of the four drivers had to leave their ID cards at the first post -- we still could not see the monument. The gate was locked. The gatekeeper was nowhere to be found.

"Maybe the gatekeeper is too drunk ...," our minivan driver Pak Daeng jeered as we going down the hill. It was the magnificent view of Sentani Lake which finally quenched our thirst for photo objects.

We geared off to Jayapura, the capital of Irian Jaya, for real food. As the holiday spirit still hang in the air, we barely saw other vehicles passing the road. Many locals were standing along the road, mostly in groups, looking for a lift. Few men with red eyes and bottles in their hands shouted "Selamat!" (Bless you) to every cars passing.

When we arrived in Jayapura an hour later, we were informed that two military personnel were attacked by unidentified armed people near the border area with Papua New Guinea. Leaving the event organizers in confusion, we rushed for the news. Some of us, whose media company has no local correspondents, were even assigned to extend the stay.

However, nothing much could be seen in Jayapura. But local art works are available in Hamidi area which souvenir shops are all owned by South Sulawesi people. You have to compare the price and quality from one shop to others. Even after you find a shop offering cheaper prices, go bargain. But don't buy Cassowary eggs, carved or not, as the airport officers will seize them.

Such restriction to save the island's endangered animals is a bit ironic, though, as not all airport visitors should pass the checking point as long as they are accompanied by people in uniforms where hand sign is more powerful than tickets.

Time to go home had arrived. Again a long trip across the archipelago with two time differences with other newspersons-cum- new friends. It was my 44 unforgettable hours. What a way to start a new year, better or not.