The rainbow never sets

The rations on board the ship were rather spartan. Perhaps adequate for Indonesians but not for hungry Australians. A plate full of rice with a litte bit of greens, occasionally a small fish, but plenty of sambal, the hot chilli paste, three times a day. By the time we arrived in Benoa, on Bali, my body was aching for some protein.

I spent the last night on deck again, on the copra bags. It was a beautiful, balmy night. The only disturbance was every now and again a jet plane taking off right above our ship from the international air port. The noise seemed to go right through my bones. It was a terrible experience. The EGON was anchored outisde Benoa harbour, as it couldn't enter at low tide.

In Denpasar I went to the nearest restaurant and ordered a plate full of fish. I still remember how delicious that was. I also attended a Barong dance, the eternal conflict between good (Barong) and evil (Rangda). The Barong is a shaggy lion-like animal with bulging eyes and a snapping jaw, which takes two men to animate. The Rangda is queen of the witches, a terribly fanged hairy creature with magical powers. There is also a monkey in this dance to amuse the audience.

Next morning I went by bus to Singaraja, on the north coast of Bali and wanted to go from there on to Java. In the bus I met a minister from the Bali church, Rev. Gana. With typical Indonesian hospitality, he invited me to stay at his home. He drove me around town on the back of his motor bike. A delightful fellow.

The following day was a Hindu holiday in Bali. There were no buses going to Java and I had to go back to Denpasar, to catch a plane to Surabaya. I stayed a night with John Rossner, who showed me the sights of the second largest city of Indonesia.

I continued by night bus to Jogjakarta (Jogja for short), to the Protestant Seminary, called Duta Wacana. GMIT had two theology students there, Immanuel Bire and Ayub Ranoh. I stayed the night at the home of Dr. Widjapranawa, a lecturer at Duta Wacana. The two GMIT students and I went the following day sight seeing around Jogja, saw the Kraton (Sultan's palace), the museum, and later we went to see a film and to a restaurant for a good meal.

Next day we went on a tour to Borobudur. The name comes from Sanskrit, meaning 'Buddhist monastery on a high place'. Built in the 8th century a.d. it is one of the world's most famous temples made of grey sandstone. It rises in seven tiers to about 40 meters with a large stupa on top. The stone walls are carved with pictures from the Ramayana (the Sanskrit epic of Rama). It was being repaired at that time from a grant through the United Nations, but even with the scaffolding around, it was a most impressive monument.

From Borobudur I caught another bus to Salatiga, where I met Mes, who was enrolled at the Christian University Satia Wacana. His hair was cropped short from the orientation week, and he constantly wore a cap

366