Getting to the Point

Indonesia…makes me cry and makes me laugh, usually at the same time. Today was no different.

One aspect of our research is finding village border points. Today our objective was to find one point (Red Water River) which marks the border between Muara Kayong and a neighboring village named Sepahan. We started by taking motorbikes to the neighboring village, hoping to find a guide who could tell us how to get to Red Water River (Sungai Air Merah, in Indonesian). Upon arrival in the house of the head of the village, about 20 men stopped by to google at the buleh and offer their advice about how to get to the border point. After some discussion, we set out to find the point, which was apparently in the middle of an oil palm plantation. The group consisted of 6 motorbikes, four with men from Sepahan and two with guides from Muara Kayong. After driving around the oil palm plantation for about 2 hours, we finally found a small trickle of water that the men claimed was Red Water River. So we thanked our guides and returned home before lunch.

Unfortunately, the point was obviously incorrect when we visualized it on the computer. As we were discussing how to find the correct location, a local village man randomly stopped by the house to say hello to the head of village (this happens frequently in Indonesia). He claimed he knew the location of Red Water River. The way to get there? Travel by motorbike to Sepahan, get in a motorboat, drive the motorboat two hours into the forest on a small river, pass by two lakes on the way, take the right fork of the river, and finally arrive at the desired border point. After confirming that our informer was sure (absolutely sure!) about this location, we started on the journey. The trip was gorgeous – through peat swamp forest which had been logged but otherwise untouched. Along the way we saw monkeys, hornbills, snakes and crocodiles. Unfortunately, after all this effort was for naught – again the point was impossibly far away from the expected location.

As an American, this sort of experience is frustrating: why would someone send us on a wild goose chase, to an absolutely wrong place? I have yet to find the answer to this question. But I’ve gotten to the point where I can live with these mishaps with smiles and patience, because this is daily life in Indonesia.