Ngarai Minda dan Hati-koe

Even though technology is real slow where I am right now, it would be a big life if I were to say I'm not enjoying myself in Sumbar (West Sumatra) right now - even if the culture and demographics are very different from that in Java. The weather's amazingly cool in Bukittinggi, I can see Mount Merapi from my hotel room window, and I've seen quite a few lakes - one of which you can see the reflection of the mountains in it, and see the clouds floating across the lake at your eye level!

Even though I still get sporadic calls from the office, I'm pretty grateful for the kind of pensive peace that I've been blessed with so far in this Land of Gold (yes, I was spared from the earthquake off Bengkulu/Bencoolen and probably thought the aftershocks were just some weird vibrations up my chair).

But when you see the kind of hardship the people go through in this less well off part of Indonesia, you start to think: what would I do if I were the Gubernur or Bupati? How can I help them? Are there any concerted efforts at ensuring a sustainable long-term development?



And suddenly you feel so small, so powerless - you feel the insignificance of your existence and your usefulness to mankind.