October 30th, 2002
I feel compelled to write something in response to the "Bali Bomb" of October 12th.
This event many consider to be the WTC 911 of Asia. The impact of the bomb, while physically felt outwards of 5 miles from ground zero, is spiritually felt throughout the thousands of miles in the Indonesian archipelago.
Throughout the week following the bombing, there were two noticeable differences here in Padang. Many local people wouldn't (or couldn't) meet my gaze. The people whom I often met around town gave ME their condolences, saying how sorry they are about Bali. I got the distinct feeling that they were embarrassed to be Indonesians. The other difference was the fact that I was completely depressed.
All those lives. This one strikes closer to home. The majority of the dead were partying just like I would have done had I been in Bali at that time. Several of my friends here in Padang personally know people who died, and a couple friends avoided being killed with the decision to have another drink before going to Sari, or the decision to leave the bar, or the island early.
Bali is a ghost town. I can only imagine that the local people keenly feel their dependence on the tourism dollar that has dried up overnight.
The politics. CIA saying its the Islamic fundamentalists. The jihad saying its the CIA. I can't see how it matters. Whoever it was that planned and executed the bombing deserves to go headfirst over the falls at 12ft. Bank Vaults and get stuffed into a nice, small, coral cave. I'll be the surf guide. "Take that one! Spin! Go!"
One thing I learned from this experience is the role that government plays in securing the safety of its citizens. Soon after the bombing, the Australian embassy in Jakarta decided to recommend all Australian citizens to cancel their travel in Bali, and even went as far as recommending "non-essential travel" in Indonesia be cancelled as well. Somebody told me that the warnings are issued because if the government fails to issue a warning and the situation deteriorates, then they have a political liability with the voters. I can understand the warning, only makes sense, but I personally believe the warnings should be more specific, so as not to propagate blanket paranoia, suspicion and hatred.
Us against Them.
Sherlock Holmes could never deduce that just because Jl. Legian in Bali is an unsafe place to be, then Padang, West Sumatra is also an unsafe place to be. I feel very safe in West Sumatra..
Another interesting comment that I heard was about the bomb happening in a place known to harbor the finest of western excesses. Almost everything that the jihad hates about western civilization. Alcohol, absence of clothes and decency, lust, love of material possessions etc.
Whoever did this in Bali has taken a huge risk. There have been a lot of lives ruined, and all of those people will have their eyes and ears to the ground.
To the western mind, some of the things that exist in Bali can't be explained such as black magic and powerful healers. I wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of that.
Peace out,
Christie
September 08, 2002
Christina Schott, Contributor, Padang
This must be how it looks in paradise. A perfect
white
sand beach and a transparent turquoise sea. The shadows of palm trees
offer a shelter from the sun while waiting for fallen coconuts. Further
out, the waves break in perfect and constant curves. No signs of civilization,
no trash, no artificial noise.
But we are not the first human beings in paradise:
Somebody discovered it already. Suddenly a fit, tanned
surfer with a slouching hat appears with his dog between the palm trees
welcoming the arriving guests.
Christie Carter came from New Zealand in 1998 to
realize his dream of living on one of the most beautiful
islands he ever saw on his extensive travels so far. He
was only 22 years old by the time he opened his
Wavepark Lodge on tiny Mainuk island, the only
land-based surf camp on the Mentawai islands.
To surfers, the "Garden of Eden" is not easy to find. The Mentawai islands is still a fairly untouched tourist area, a five-hour boat ride over the Mentawai Strait away from West Sumatra's capital of Padang. The official ferry is supposed to go twice a week, but more often than not it is canceled every second time.
The alternative is a ride on one of the local speedboats
-- usually sampans with two motors to be chartered for
Rp 3 million (US$333) for up to six people. Well, paradise has its price.
The Mentawai Islands is one of the newest hot spots for
surfers from all over the world. Americans, Australians,
New Zealanders and even South Africans -- whoever
experienced the perfect and year-round waves around the area -- will not
stop coming back to catch some of the best waves in the world.
As an example Gary Bergan, an Australian who has
surfed in Hawaii, the Fiji Islands and Bali, together with
his friends Glenn Rodier and Joe Metzl, have become
addicted to the surf at Mentawai.
"Even if you're already totally exhausted, you have to go out again to ride another wave. Who knows when you will get this permanent quality again?" he says.
It was only in the mid-1990s that the tourism industry
started to develop its business around the remote islands. Most surfers
book group tours on big foreign charter boats and hardly land their feet
on the islands -- fearing Malaria and the hassles by the impoverished
inhabitants. Maybe they do not know what they are missing: An impression
of the unique Mentawai culture and nature.
Up to the end of the 19th century the Mentawais had been
almost totally isolated for thousands of years, which explains the primitive
culture of the Mentawai tribes surviving to today in its original form.
In 1864, the
islands were formally made a Dutch colony, but it was
only in 1901 that there was a garrison placed there and
the first permanent Christian mission was opened by the
German August Lett, who was murdered eight years later by the locals.
Still, over half of the population currently claims to
be
Protestant, although Catholic and Muslim missionaries
have followed, as well as several groups of immigrants
from Sumatra.
The only way to the inner areas of the island's unique
rain forests are via the rivers. Transport is one of the
biggest problems here -- apart from the narrow streets in the main town
on the coast -- everything depends on
boats and their often exorbitant charter rates.
Despite all this, a trip up the river to the original
villages in the rain forests is absolutely unforgettable.
To get an impression of the native Mentawai culture, one needs at least a five-day trekking tour.
Hiking up in the jungle is not possible without a local
guide and it means traipsing through a lot of mud and
insects. But as long as you get enough courage and
proper equipment, you will get the chance to spend some days with the
Mentawai people, experience their daily life, their traditions and animistic
rituals. And maybe to find a totally new perspective on life.
The guests are invited to stay with villagers in their
long
houses, to go out on the sago harvest, to build canoes,
hunt with poison arrows or to watch the ceremonies of
the Sikerei (medicine man).
Most of the trekking tours in Siberut island are organized by agents in the tourist town Bukittinggi in the north of Padang -to the anger of local guides.
Anyone who comes alone to Siberut will easily find a
guide. The best way is to ask the staff of the National
Park for information. The guest house of the National
Park in Maileppet is a much better option anyway than
spending a night at the only guest house in the main town of Muarasiberut.
The Mentawai Islands still do not have regular
electricity, no internet and only a few telephones. But
nothing to stop the influence of modern civilization. The
indigenous people are already used to the foreigners
coming to the rain forest, leaving some memories and
desires, such as T-shirts, water bottles, pencils or
cigarettes. Some of them even speak a little bit of
English.
The inhabitants of the developed villages on the coast
see the big surf boats coming and going - asking
themselves how they can be involved in the tourism
business. The kids start collecting and mending broken
surf boards and learning how to ride the waves,
provoking the rage of their parents by not doing the daily chores.
At present there are hardly any offers to combine surfing and ethno-tourism on the Mentawais - but the first companies are on the way to get their piece of the new market. So far, you will find the best mix of relaxation and adventure by staying at the Wavepark Lodge. Here you can choose between surfing, fishing and snorkeling.
Or ask for a local guide to take you up to Siberut's rivers in a day you can at least visit a Mentawai family at a traditional house or see a shaman dancing. And just in case you only want to enjoy the beautiful scenery, take a rest at the large bungalow, which Carter built himself hidden behind the palm trees close to the beach and expect a replica of paradise.
January 17 2002
A lot has happened since I decided to follow my dream. I spent 4 years--and now live most of the year--on the West Coast of Sumatra, more specifically the Mentawai Islands. In some respects 4 years seems like an eternity. Other times it seems like only yesterday.
I have experienced the highest highs and the lowest lows imaginable. I have had deeper barrels than logic and physics can explain, skirting the fine line between mystical orgasm and physical annihilation. I have had two encounters with death that left me spiritually exhausted and mentally broken. A warping tube has deafened me with its explosive exhalation; no surfers within 20km to witness me fly out onto the shoulder. I have seen nature's humbling beauty and stampeding rage occurring at the same perfect instant in the swirl of a waterspout. I have been reborn into a new culture and language, none of which I can explain or compare with my own understanding of societal existence. I have been ripped-off, written-off and told-off by my competitors and friends alike. In short, I have been living life to the absolute full.
My project involves fitting the fat vision of a surfing resort through the eye of a development needle. Having proved the viability and profitability of a surf resort in the Mentawai Islands, it is up to me to prove the sustainability of the whole concept. What I have successfully done has failed for every other entrepreneur who tried it, including those with seed capital 10 times that available to me. But just like the others, I have been swindled of thousands of dollars; led astray by greedy and deceitful pirates.
Legally and linguistically, attempting something of this nature is like working in the dark, reacting to obstacles only as I trip over or smash into them. Make no mistake, corruption in Indonesia is not a symptom of a sick system, it is the system.
Back to my hometown Gisborne, for a beautiful holiday season, I appreciate the differences--and am often surprised by the similarities--between the two countries. Technology tops the list of differences, the simplest analogy being a cup of coffee. Sumatra grows some of the best coffee beans in the world, but do you think I can get a decent cup of coffee there? No way! Their technology involves putting the coffee grinds in the cup, pouring in the hot water and when the grinds sink to the bottom of the cup, the coffee is ready to drink. Pouring coffee grinds, sugar and hot water on sweetened, condensed milk fills a "coffee with milk" order. Whole families riding Vespa motorcycles and 25 people fitting into a single mini-van solve public transport scarcity issues. Parking meters walk, talk, blow whistles and give receipts for coveted downtown spots. It costs the same no matter how long you park.
Aspects of Maori genetic ancestry and land rights laws top the list of similarities. Did you know that both the Mentawaian and Maori ancestral origins have been traced back to the same area in South-East Asia? The Mentawaian tribes living in relative isolation on Siberut Island, north of the surf camp, are living much as the Maori did in New Zealand before the arrival of Cook. Wearing loin cloths of pulverised tree bark, hunting with traditional tools, medicating wounds and illness with jungle herbs all compliment a shamanistic religion where dancing and trancing are all part of the culture. Aside from climate, floral and fauna differences, the Mentawaians could very well be living as New Zealanders did 300 years ago.
Current legal developments in both countries also highlight the similarities in traditional land ownership claims. Like the Te Ture Whenua (Maori Land Act) in New Zealand, it is traditionally unlawful for an individual to transfer ownership of a piece of land that is tribally owned, without consent from all members of that tribe. However, as Indonesia sinks deeper into financial catastrophe, more and more people are eyeing up the virgin jungle that is home to Mentawaians and is still tribally owned. Recent changes to government law in Indonesia means tribal land can be divvyed up and sold privately without tribal consent. This allows the timber companies to sell an illusion of short-term wealth to people who can't afford to think long-term. That's "development" for you.
The waves are as perfect as imaginations can visualize. Better than what is seen on video or photograph. You have never seen a real ground swell until you witness the Indian Ocean water-thunder. It is hard to imagine the energy required to create waves so big and able to travel so far. Surf very rarely gets below head-high, but there are plenty of other surf spots for beginner to intermediate level surfers.
The beauty of the place is also something that I will never get used to. Everyday I see something that I have never seen before. Monkeys are as common as dogs. Some locals specialize in training their monkeys to climb coconut trees and await instructions on which ripe fruit to twist off and drop down. It is quite common to see a monkey on a leash in a speedboat, driven to the next village needy of services. The Mentawais are known for the beautiful sunsets that are served up nightly, every night at the same time, almost on the equator.
My development ideas are different from most operators in the area. My guests get involved with the local populace much more than those that stay on boats. You're in Indonesia, you might as well meet Indonesians and feel the Indonesian sand under your feet!
I am critical of my competitors with their boat operations, the majority of which extract wealth from what the area offers, providing virtually no return to the people who own the resources. My development ideas will create industry that can be sustainable for local populations in the future. With both perfect waves and tourists likely to arrive in the area forevermore, it is important to me, to have some input in how the islands develop.
I have seen some great developments since arriving in the Mentawais, such as Surf-Aid International. Surf-Aid, spearheaded by Kiwi surfers and local staff, aims to better indigenous health and sanitation through providing education and equipment. It is funded by the surfing industry, both local and international. Last season I watched the organised team of doctors and nurses inoculate over 700 kids against a full range of diseases such as measles, typhoid and tetanus. Supporting Surf-Aid is not a question in my mind. It must be done. Some of the benefits from Surf-Aid for the locals that live and work for me and for my guests are already being felt. Having the availability of a qualified doctor or nurse on call to take care of sickness and injury is invaluable in a location that is 170 kilometres across open water from the nearest airport.
Don't resist the temptation to come visit the Mentawais and experience, for yourself, "the Surfer's Garden of Eden". Eat of the fruit of knowledge of good and evil on the website www.wavepark.com and when you have chosen good, take off deep and pull in.
November 5, 2001
A recent letter to a concerned client:
Regarding your email and questions about the true state of affairs and security in Indonesia, I can only give you a small slice of my emotions the last 6 weeks. Keep in mind that my opinions regarding this matter are perpetually in flux especially as I have only just returned home and have a chance to get a feel for what is "really goin' on" here in California.
I was out in the island when the events of 9/11/01 happened and it was surreal right from the beginning. We tuned into a short-wave radio every morning and evening, and more than one of the guests said it felt like we were back in World War Two, getting our news from the BBC via radio waves sent across the world. I returned to the mainland 3 weeks later and was shocked at the amount of email I received from people who were telling me I should "get out of there", "watch your back", that sort of thing. I was also shocked to read on the CNN website that "Jakarta and West Sumatra" were the two places that Americans should not go because the situation was unpredictable and tense. Here I was, living in Padang, West Sumatra and I could not relate one iota to what was being foretold by the State Department. If I hadn't heard of the World Trade Center or the Pentagon, I wouldn't have known that anything was amiss in the world. That is what my basic feeling is regarding the whole situation. Even actually LOOKING for something wrong in Padang for weeks on end (which automatically biases ones perception of reality), I was unable to find evidence of what the American government was telling me, that "West Sumatra is an unsafe place for Americans to be". So then I had a couple weeks to examine why is it that PROPAGANDA is being spread in this manner?
1) Removing tourists from foreign countries will enlighten those foreign governments as to exactly how much they depend on foreign currency in the form of tourist dollars to drive their economy. Evidence of this was in the form of the headline in the Jakarta post a week before I left Padang, "1.3 million tourists cancel trips". Within the article was a statistic from Bali stating that ON AVERAGE, tourists to Bali spend $70 per day!! Shocking when you think about converting those dollars to rupiah and multiplying by 1.3 million tourists would equal approximately 910,000,000,000 Rupiah per day NOT being imported into the country! This is not to mention all the expats that flew the coop when the embassies started issuing warnings. For many of the expats in foreign countries, there will be a driver, a gardener, a secretary, a house maid, a nanny and perhaps some security employees who will all be out of work because the expats up and leaves. Multiply this amount of employees PER PERSON and multiply again by thousands of professional level expatriates living in other countries like Indonesia and you again see a substantial loss of income. This all puts pressure on the foreign economies and helps to convince those foreign governments that they should be on the side of America when "fighting back". After all, how much money does Afganistan provide to the Indonesian economy (apart from weapons to Indonesian Islamic extremists)?
2) Bringing the tourists home will also keep all their dollars within the country, circulating around the economy, helping to stave off an even more serious recession.
3) Making it an "us against them" war is the only way to ensure popular support for a campaign that may or may not prove to be the best way of dealing with what has happened.
4) Having a negative impact on foreign tourism businesses through this propaganda (even those run by US citizens) is not a concern of the US government because they aren't receiving any tax benefit. Using fear and hate as tools of this propaganda are very powerful and one of the most obvious side-effects of this is uncertainty and insecurity, especially in traveling citizens to foreign nations (just look at the state of the airline industry). I'm not here to tell you that everything is OK, I just think that you should examine your own media's motives and interests in projecting to you their perception of the state of affairs in other countries. THEY MAY NOT KNOW BEST.
As for myself personally, I have to be a realist and have turned my business development down a notch to a conservative level. I understand people's fears, and I am very disappointed in the US government at the moment. God willing I will be headed back to Sumatra in early January to sort out the new company that I have invested in. Whether or not tourists come next season, there will still be perfect waves breaking on empty reefs in the islands, and I intend to be there for it. I hope you decide to come as well, but as I'm sure you realize, I am biased in my own way.
May 6, 2001
I had an interesting discussion the other day with a Mentawaian. I won't give out names, places or dates because that I don't think it is relevant. This islander is very educated and was talking about various projects under development by "westerners" in the islands. He was particularly concerned about a theme that I have since found rampant within the industry.
Exploitation of the Mentawai name.
I found myself blushing as he described the incidents that particularly disconcerted him. "Of course", I said to myself, "how come I didn't see that before?"
The incidents are so obvious when they are pointed out, so blatant. It is everywhere. There are lots of people out there with emails or websites that use the name Mentawai. The magazines, videos and marketers use it to sell their products. I myself use it many times throughout my website, and have just added it to the wave park losmen t-shirts available to guests.
"Who gave Great Breaks International the authority to use the domain name "mentawai.com"?" was the question that disturbed me the most from my friend. I have to admit, as a victim of copyright infringement of my own photographs from this very website, this kind of thing definitely grates on one. If I put myself in a Mentawai person's shoes, who is ANYBODY else to exploit and use the name of my home for their own commercial gain? Shouldn't a people be given exclusive rights over their own heritage name and commerical exploitation thereof?
It definitely concerns me, so what can I do? I will be making an effort to reduce my contribution to the exploitation of the Mentawai name as a means for my own gain without the authorization of those people who are from these islands.
Had I not been accosted by this young man while in the islands I probably wouldn't have even realized what I was doing. I would have followed through with my surely disasterous capitalistic instincts. Thank God somebody showed me the light before it is too late.
March 10, 2001
I finally have something to say, and if you have made it this far in the WPL website, "good on ya mate."
Although I don't want to generalize, and I certainly don't want to make any enemies, I HAVE TO speak my piece regarding the B.S. propaganda that some of the charter boat operators and booking companies spread into the media in an attempt to secure their business interests.
First of all, the malaria situation. To get malaria, you must be bitten by a mosquito that has previously bitten an infected mammal for it to be passed on to you. On our island, the only mammals are our employees, 4 cows and the coconut harvesters, who have sleeping quarters seperate from guests. We have 4 employees, 2 cows, 1 dog and 8 copra harvesters on an island 23.5 hectares in size (23.5 x 100m x 100m) takes 1 1/2 hour to walk around it). Now compare this to your average charter boat that will - during the duration of an average trip - anchor in the vicinity of several large villages with the highest concentration of carriers in the islands. The risk of receiving malaria from these villages is much higher than at WPL. Furthermore, guests on yachts are lulled into a sense of security on a yacht and therefore don't take the precautions that WPL recommends and enforces.
Another pet subject of the propaganda pushers is that of potential environmental pollution resulting from the sewage, fuel, garbage and development of land camps. At WPL we recycle all perishable food waste into our fruit and vegetable gardens. All non-perishable items get shipped back to the mainland at the end of every trip. Our toilets are contained by septic tanks. We have no engines aside from our generator and outboards that require fuel, so we have no leaks or smelly, oily bilges to dump. Our buildings are built out of wood directly cut from the island itself. The only man made materials used in the accommodations are the nails used to hold the wood together, and the concrete on which the house sits. Now compare these facts to the yacht situation where ALL food waste goes overboard, toilets dump straight into the lineup, bilges color the water with their oily residue, and the materials used to make and maintain the boats are more toxic than any of us are willing to admit.
Oh yeah, a personal favourite of mine is one that the yacht operators avoid at all costs. "Contributions to Mentawaian Society and Economy." I'm not even going to toot my own horn on this one, I let my actions speak for themselves. If you have been to WPL, then you know what I'm talking about.
I think that the B.S. that the industry spreads about this beautiful chain of islands is an egotistical, greedy, selfish attempt by western interests to keep the business amongst themselves. If they can keep the business out of the local's hands, they can keep the profits in their pockets.
I'm here to tell you that the way it should be is that these beautiful people's quality of life could be considerably enriched by the influx of careful, open-minded tourists. These tourists are willing to spend their hard-earned money in exchange for an experience that is unique on this planet. These tourists shouldn't be brainwashed or scared into the pockets of western interests just because those interests have the money to spread this propaganda.
The old saying goes, "don't believe everything you read." I'll be the first to admit it here. If you are the kind of person who doesn't believe everything you read, you are the kind of guest that will be welcome at WPL.
Kind regards for the new millenium,
Christie Carter,
Resort Manager
