Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine July 2014 | Page 120

118

Travel | Malang

5 Senses – Sound
CAR-FREE DAY
On a Sunday morning the busy Ijen
Boulevard grinds to a complete halt. This
major thoroughfare, which normally holds a
cacophony of cars, trucks, motorbikes and
buses on its busy four-lane carriageway,
changes its tune. On Sunday mornings it’s
car-free. Streams of joggers, cyclists,
dog-walkers, children and pushchair-strolling
couples join in the family atmosphere and
walk the stately boulevard. What a great
opportunity to take a closer look at some of
those grand old Dutch homes and enjoy
some peace and quiet.

I was touched by the softness of the local
people and had many encounters like this.
It is really the small villages, tucked behind
the main bustling roads, that are the fabric
of the city. Here you can really get a sense
of the locals, who are always more than
happy to engage in a bit of street gossip –
which is always humorous with my
limited Bahasa.
After a satisfying stroll through Malang’s
urban settings, I was keen to explore its
rural side. So I headed off by car into the
mountains to explore the Wonosari Tea
Plantation on the slopes of Mount Arjuno,
about 30 minutes away. The sprawling
700-hectare plantation was first established
in 1910, and the carefully managed tea
bushes are the original ones planted
by the Dutch – they still produce tea
to this very day.
There are over 500 workers at the estate,
and I stopped and talked with Ibu Tiani, who
has been leaf picking since she was a young
girl. “I live in Gebug and I have been picking
since 1980,” she told me. “I work six days a
week from 6am to 3pm. I am an experienced
picker and on average I pick around 50kg
of leaf a day. In rainy season I can get up to
75kg,” she said, adjusting the sack strapped
across her back.

© David Metcalf

club tomorrow and we can sing together in
English and in Dutch? Please, I would like
you to be my guest.” What an offer! Alas,
my time was limited and I had to decline.

Ibu Tiani’s mother worked as a picker and
her children also pick for a living. She was
a very happy soul and told me how she
works in a group with 12 women and one
man. “He helps with the heavy lifting,”
she explained.
Tiani showed me how to search for the
young leaves and invited me to work
alongside her. I worked one row, but I was
terribly slow. New workers can pick up to
30kg a day, and in my 15-minute tea-picking
trial, I was nowhere near target.
“See these thick rubber boots I am
wearing?” Tiani chuckles “They give me good
protection against snakes.” I smiled and gave
a chuckle back at first, before I got the feeling
she wasn’t joking. I checked with my guide,
who confirmed that there were pythons and
other snakes around.
This old university town may be well
organised and clean; it charms with colonial
architecture, colourful markets and beautiful
countryside, but in the end it’s the people of
Malang who will win your heart and make
you want to visit again.

Pada hari Minggu pagi, Jalan Ijen yang
biasanya ramai kendaraan tidak lagi sibuk.
Suara mobil, truk, sepeda motor, dan bus
di keempat lajurnya berganti dengan suara
lain. Hari Minggu pagi itu bebas dari
kendaraan bermotor. Pelari, pesepeda,
dog-walker, anak-anak, dan pasangan yang
berjalan sambil mendorong kereta bayi
menyatu dalam suasana kekeluargaan dan
berjalan-jalan di bulevar tersebut. Sungguh
sebuah kesempatan baik untuk melihat lebih
dekat rumah-rumah tua nan mewah dari
zaman Belanda seraya menikmati suasana
yang tenang dan d