Back in Jakarta once again

23 07 2010

I never imagined I would get the opportunity to travel to Jakarta Indonesia once again after my very enjoyable trip here in 2009, but here I am again.

I came here in 2009 as part of an IFC Doing Business Registry Practitioners workshop combined with a meeting of the Corporate Registers Forum (CRF) Executive Committee. We stayed at the Hotel Borobudur for the week and visited the Indonesian companies registry as well.

I had not really known what to expect from Jakarta but found I really enjoyed the friendly people, the constant movement and noise of the place along with the uniqueness of the experience.

I am back at the Hotel Borobudur and have some time to myself after a busy week of meetings with various officials about the place. This trip has included travel to visit the ‘one stop shops’ in Jogyakarta and Sragren. Both visits involved meeting with the one stop shop officials and then meetings with entrepreneurs to understand their experience of starting a business.

I arrived in Jakarta from Singapore on Sunday night and was met with the biggest immigration queue I have ever experienced. It took over an hour to get processed. I hold an APEC travel card and there was a moment of hope when I saw the APEC lane only to realise that is was not attended and I joined the rest of the crowd. After 15 hours of flying and layover in Singapore and an hour and a half to get in to the country and my luggage there was a tangible feeling of relief to get into my late model Mercedes ‘Silver Bird’ taxi. The wonderful airconditioning, bottled water and leather seats were a lovely welcome and gave some peace for the forty-five minute drive to the hotel.

I arrived at the hotel at 10:20pm and had a few hours sleep before getting up at 03:00 am and heading back to the airport to catch a flight to Jogyakarta. My drive to the airport (30 minutes) reminded me of the Transporter movies as my driver flew along in the Merc laughing about the absence of traffic at that time of the morning.
Despite the early start I actually missed my initial flight to Jogya due to confusion as to which of the three terminals my Air Asia flight departed from. I knew I had to meet my Indonesian hosts and US consultant colleague and that they were expecting me at 07:00 so I booked a flight on Garuda which got me in at 07:20, sent them an email (which I hoped they would get in time) and set off. The only ticket available on the flight was a business class one but at NZ$240.00 I figured it was worth it to avoid throwing the days schedule into disorder.

It was my first ever flight with Garuda and it was very pleasant. We flew on a Boeing 737-800 and despite the flight being only an hour in duration were served breakfast and coffee. I enjoyed the two pages of prayers, for Muslims, Hindis, Christians and Buddhists in the airline magazine for a safe flight… after the terrible crash in 2007 (the same flight and airport) it was nice to land normally on a beautiful morning.

I arrived in Jogya and was met by my Indonesian host pak (Mr) Irfan Adhitya. We had a good day meeting with officials and then having lunch with an entrepreneur who owned two restaurants, a gift shop, a petrol station and a cafe! The guy was a serial entrepreneur and a wonderful example of a passionate business person.

We then had a three and a half hour drive to Sragren. It was a great way to see a bit of Indonesia. My impressions were of the sheer number of people. The road between the two cities was literally lined with small houses, business and other buildings. The buildings were of very simple construction and a a number appeared to have just crumbles away. We were deep in rice paddy country and every where there wasn’t a building there was a paddy field. Rice growing appears to be very manual work and despite the use of hand tractors there didn’t seem to be any other machinery in evidence.

We stayed at a very pleasant and equally basic hotel in Sragren and I can honestly say I had one of the best sleeps in my life. I just crashed (due to the very early start and the travel the day before) and awoke at about 06:00 feeling rested and ready for another day.

Our pattern for Sragren was similar to Jogya and we meet with the one stop shop officials and then lunched with an entrepreneur. This one a fellow who operates an organic manure company for the organic rice producers. He produces over 100 tonnes a day so it was no small enterprise.

The offices in Indonesia are rather different from our own. Working in the public service is a desirable role and all public servants wear a uniform, it looks very militaryesque. The tradition on arriving is that once seated junior staff bring tea and finger food. The tea is black and very sweetened. The finger food a bit of a lottery…
We then drove to Solo (via a museum dedicated to Java man, once the earliest known human remains on earth until older ones were discovered in Africa).
Another pleasant Garuda flight, this time in economy but still with soft drinks and a snack box and back to the Borobudur.

More to come….


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Categories : Travel (broadens the mind)

Why does everything simple have to be so damn hard?

5 07 2010

I am in the midst of assisting my lovely mum relocate into a Retirement Village. After her stroke last year she has decided it might be a good idea to live in closer community with others. I think it’s a great idea as I have lived with the constant nagging worry of her having a fall since she moved back into her home in February.

As part of the move I offered to sort out the new phone connection and to arrange the power to be connected. Simple stuff I thought, I mean I didn’t offer to run the cables for either just to make a couple of telephone calls.

TelstraClear have been abysmal. Truly abysmal. I telephoned them (as mum’s incumbent supplier) to give them the first crack at the deal. After 15 minutes of being assured my call was important, having first negotiated the voice recognition service which I find extremely patronising “I think you said patronising”… I gave up and called Telecom. After a very brief hold I spoke to Annette and the whole thing was sorted, new number, broadband, free wireless router and we’re away. Two different Telstra people have rung mum since despite my clear instructions not to do so (I have a full power of attorney and she doesn’t need the bother with everything else going on).

Then it was time to connect the power. Mum’s with Contact and so armed with every account number and ICP number known to mankind I confidently approached their online ‘moving home’ form… after another 15 minutes of attempting varying combinations of names, numbers, dates of birth and ancient runes I gave up. A full email (with just a smidgeon of emotion) was sent instead.

The message here (if in fact there has to be one) is that for all the technology, menus and tools I wasn’t able to to the simple things I set out to do. It is no wonder that places that put ‘people before technology’ do so bloody well.


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Categories : General muttering, observations from domesticity

Emptying of the Head

9 04 2010

On board flight NZ506 to Auckland on a lovely autumn morning, provides an opportunity for a wee blog entry. Not a lot of structure to the entry but more a collection of random comments.

Incredibly busy time at the moment; I have three significant software releases in the works (all of which are public facing and will either go very well or disastrously). I have two lesser ‘releases’ relating to my international work which are very late in delivery and which I may postpone in order that they are tidy.

I am eight days out from my travel to Mauritius and have done all the preparation for that that I need. In the interim however I have several key meetings, a trip to Auckland (today and tomorrow) and a trip to Wellington next week.

More importantly Annie’s 14th birthday is on Monday and we have several events planned including hosting Annie and 14 of her friends to the movies on Sunday evening, and a family bash (with Annie’s beloved Pizza Hutt) on Monday itself.

We had a nice trip to Orana Park with the girls yesterday. Katie and Molly really enjoy zoos. I have another days annual leave next Wednesday which will probably involve looking after Katie while the older girls and their mother hit the shops.

Throughout all the last few days I have been desperately trying not to succumb to a cold that everyone else has had. There is nothing more annoying than air travel with a cold… will see how we go on that front.

Watched some movie trailers on the Mac recently, looks like some fun movies coming our way. Like the look of Robin Hood (Gladiatoresque), the A-Team and Michael Caine in Harry Brown…

Enjoying reading all the various blog entries about regarding the iPad. It does look very cool and I imagine I will be getting one when they hit Aotearoa.

On the international front I may be called upon to visit Indonesia again this year (I was in Jakarta for the first time last year). I greatly enjoyed Indonesia; it was a very welcoming place. The visit in 2009 was to participate in a World Bank workshop and I was there with a number of colleagues from around the globe. This proposed visit would be just me and a consultant I have yet to meet, a very different dynamic I suspect.


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Categories : General muttering, Ramblings of a mad man

A Journey to Hiroshima

31 03 2010

So it has been a little while since I updated the old blog thingy. Always the way with me I’m afraid. I’m far more (as any-one who has met me will attest) a verbal fellow than a written one.

It has been a rather busy year thus far and doesn’t show any signs of relenting.

I had a very interesting trip to Japan last month where I attended the APEC meetings in Hiroshima. On the Saturday I flew from Christchurch to Auckland and then on to Tokyo Narita on Air New Zealand. I travelled in Premium Economy on the way up and as it was a day flight (11 hours from Auckland to Tokyo) I spent it watching a lot of movies. I watched the French Connection for the first time in a million years. A rather weird ending and clearly setting the viewer up for a sequel that was not available on the flight! (clever marketing opportunity for the airlines that… travel again to see how a story ends!).

It was my first ever trip to Japan, a place I had heard a fair bit about from friends and colleagues who had travelled there. I must confess it had never been high on my list of places to visit.

I was very pleasantly surprised. I arrived in Narita and had to transfer to Tokyo Haneda (the other airport in this huge city). I had an early flight to Hiroshima from Haneda on the Sunday morning. To get from one airport to the other it is normal to catch a coach. The trip takes about an hour and half and the coach travels on a rather boring a faceless expressway through what appeared to be a semi industrial part of Tokyo. I cannot claim to have experienced much of Tokyo at all therefore.

My airport hotel in Tokyo was a very clean and efficient but very small JAL-City product again tucked away in an industrial park on the fringes of Haneda airport. It reminded me a lot of the Sydney Airport ibis I endured last year while en route to Cape Town. I think airport hotels are a very sad and lonely breed. The are devoid of any scenery (and don’t even bother on many instances to have their room’s curtains open upon arrival). Invariably one arrives at night and leave in the early morning, as was the case in Tokyo. So it was all lights, rain and reflection off shiny roads. Not my favourite part of any journey. I always feel a little low in these places. The hotel did have complimentary broadband which I love but which is also a trap for a chap like me as I inevitably end up spending too much time surfing the web and not enough time sleeping.

My sleep (such that it was) in the hotel was interrupted at 03:45 in the morning by a call from home. There had been an earthquake in Chile and experts were warning residents of the east coast of New Zealand (my home is two blocks from the Pacific ocean) to be on alert for a Tsunami.

Katherine was understandably worried and she and the girls were heading for the hills at the back of Sumner. Unfortunately our experience in Rarotonga in 2009 and our knowledge of the devastation in Samoa during the 2009 Tsunami was still raw and the girls were rather worried.

Not a lot I can do when I am a world away other than to offer words of calm and hope for the best. Seeing as I was awake I did some research online around the situation and then got ready for my 06:00 flight to Hiroshima.

I arrived at Haneda airport at about 05:30 and witnessed one of the more memorable events of the trip. I noticed that the ANA check in desks did not open till 05:40. I observed all the ANA staff take up their ‘stations’ behind their various desks at about 05:30.

A handful of customers had started to queue neatly. Supervisory staff began to move amongst them and to discreetly check that their uniforms and counter areas were tidy and neat. At about 05:38 a more senior official (a man) came out and stood facing the clients.

At 05:40 on the dot a bell sounded and to a person every member of the ANA staff bowed to the clients in unison. For some reason I found the whole thing very moving (possibly my sleep deprivation contributed). It demonstrated a commitment to neatness, method and accuracy; one of my father’s great adages borrowed from his Navy days no doubt. It also struck me as showing a deeper understanding of respect for others.

The flight to Hiroshima on an ANA 767 was very efficient and uneventful. Hiroshima airport is very new and is located quite a distance from the city. It appears to have been built in the hills and no-doubt is a feat of engineering (as indeed was Haneda which is built on reclaimed land in Tokyo harbour).

From Hiroshima airport it was a(nother) coach trip, this time just under an hour to Hiroshima Station. A much more pleasant bus trip with respect to the scenery as you travel through very green and hilly countryside down into the built up city of Hiroshima.

From the station it was a short taxi trip, in an immaculate Toyota taxi resplendent in white doilies complete with white-gloved driver, to the Hotel.

My hotel was located at the southern tip of Hiroshima right on the waterfront. I arrived far too early to check in so deposited my luggage, registered for APEC and then availed myself of the complimentary APEC shuttle to head in to the Peace Park and Museum.

The Hiroshima Peace Park (built to remember the use in anger of the world’s first atomic bomb) is understandably a very moving place. It was quite busy on a Sunday afternoon.

The museum is well done, but not one of those places you come out of feeling cheerful about life. The scale of the devastation and the reality that the victims were overwhelmingly woman and children was very very sad.

I enjoyed wandering around the Peace Park and particularly delighted in the irony of asking a Japanese man to take my photo in front of the memorial (role reversal!).
I observed an elderly Japanese man walking with others past the A-bomb building (a world heritage site now) wearing, believe me it is true, a USS Arizona cap. I wasn’t quite sure what his motivation for doing so was… I also observed a much younger man biking through the park wearing a USAF T-shirt.

I do recall that when I visited the USS Arizona Memorial in 1993 the majority of others visiting the site with us on the day were from Japan. Again I have never quite understood whether they were there to pay their respects or to see a piece of their history.

The other thing that resonated with me was the proximity of the nearest McDonalds and Starbucks to the Peace Park. Globalisation I suppose.

The APEC conference went well and I met some new and interesting people. I enjoy meeting new people from different countries (or economies in APEC speak) and spent some time with some old friends from previous conferences.

I went out for dinner one evening with some Kiwi colleagues to a restaurant that had the biggest/ longest sushi train I have ever seen. We ate several aquarium full of sea creatures or is it aquaria? If it swam we ate it.

We drank some Asashi Beer that seemed to be everywhere. It was in vending machines in the street and was available with breakfast at the airport!

It was a very expensive place to visit and I was amazed at the cost of everything when compared to New Zealand even with our strong dollar, also of interest was the prevalence of a cash economy. In the country that makes so much electronic stuff they certainly prefer the folding stuff to the plastic.

I had one more night in the city with my friend Yara from the World Bank and new friend Nick from USAID (both based in Washington DC, another of my favourite places on planet Earth). We went to an authentic noodle house and slurped to our hearts content. I couldn’t bring myself to sniff loudly but might next time.

I started the long haul back to Aotearoa on the Wednesday morning. I took a taxi to Hiroshima Station (the concierge and two others came to the kerb and bowed as the taxi left, again rather moving for some reason). Then the bus from Hiroshima Station to Hiroshima Airport, a lovely drive through the countryside.

The ANA check out lady at Hiroshima was amazing. She came around from behind her counter and collected my bags, handed me my boarding pass and bowed! Unbelievable. Her English was amazing.

Then there was the short hop on an ANA A320 back to Haneda. From Haneda the coach from to Narita. Narita Airport was built on compulsorily acquired land and the land owners have never accepted the arrangement. It is one of the few civilian airports in the world that has watch towers around it’s perimeter.

All vehicles approaching the air terminal are boarded and passengers required to show passports while baggage is inspected. All this outside the perimeter of the terminal!

The flight home (Air New Zealand 777-200) was comfortable. I was in Premium Economy and had hoped for an upgrade to a lie flat bed, it was a night flight. Alas it was pretty full so no upgrade. I sulked and refused any food (a weird psychology) it is amazing how cabin attendants don’t like you not to eat for 11 hours. They almost coped with me saying no to dinner but it got a bit fraught when I said no to breakfast as well. I actually don’t need to eat when I am sitting on my bum doing nothing (hard as that is to believe).

Arrived home not too tired and had a lovely time with Katie and the girls when I got back in the afternoon.

Next stop Mauritius – April…


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The resilience of mothers.

24 01 2010

This little entry is to record the resilience of my dear old mum.  Mum had a stroke on 21 December 2009 and is currently making remarkable progress in her recovery.

The last few years have been something of a medical adventure for mum who has suffered from high blood pressure for many years.  She had a heart attack while living in Wellington (2002?) and had had angina for a while before that.  A precursor to the stroke on the 21st was a TIA in 2007.

In the days immediately after the stroke I was rather worried that we might not be enjoying mum’s company for Christmas! Slowly, however we are seeing improvement each day.  Her speech has returned to much the same as it was, her ability to read is a real blessing as it allows her to make productive use of the long hours in bed.  Her biggest challenge is mobility as her right leg and arm have been considerably weakened from the stroke.

The first few weeks were a worry as mum wasn’t eating much and was fainting rather regularly, after a series of tests however we were all reassured that there was nothing more sinister at work and that these issues were related to the stroke.

Mum’s appetite has returned and she is beginning to sleep more regularly at night.  This in turn means she has more energy for the many hours of physiotherapy and occupational therapy that she partakes in each day.

Seeing her walking (with the assistance of one nurse) is a huge relief.  In a week or so mum will have a trip home with her OT team and they will assess what modifications we’ll need to do in order for mum to return to her own place.  This is of course the ultimate goal and is still a month or so away yet.

It is far more realistic than it was in that last week of December 2009 for which we are very very thankful.


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Categories : General muttering, observations from domesticity

The Don and his family

10 01 2010


Originally uploaded by Justin Hygate

It is a fact that I have three lovely daughters. It is also the case that I have three god sons. The oldest is Nick Robertson. Nick is the son of (Professor) Stephen Robertson and Bob (Robyn) Blake. My nephew Reuben Wehi is next and then comes Harry Bruce, son of Alex and Sue.

They are all wonderful fellows and I am very proud to be associated with them and to be able to keep up with their various exploits.

The role of god parent is a little different for different people. I hope that for these guys it means there is someone about with whom they can communicate with and even get the occasional ‘second opinion’ from.


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Categories : General muttering, Ramblings of a mad man

The Ghost of Christmas Past

19 12 2009

I have very happy and strong memories of my childhood Christmas’s.  I put this down in the main to the routines or traditions that we observed in my family.   Christmas eve consisted of watching (normally) a movie on the tele while waiting for midnight Mass.  We would then head of to Mass for carol singing and the service.  I cannot recall at what age I attended midnight Mass but it was always an exciting and enjoyable part of the event.  After Mass we would return home and usually receive a visit from Barbara and David Charles, friends of my parents.  There would be mince pies and a wee night cap for the adults.

We would bundle off to bed in anticipation of a visit from Father Christmas.  It was the tradition in our house to leave out a nylon stocking into which Santa would deposit his booty.  I recall one year I discovered the Santa was in fact my Aunt Angela!  It was that same year that I overheard her arrival (from Auckland) to our house.  She was telling my mother that she had just been to Jerusalem.  I wondered at this (as I knew Jerusalem was a long way off), she had in fact been up the Whanganui River to the mission station once the home of James K Baxter.

Christmas morning would be a forage through the nylon stocking full of surprises.  Normally there would be fruit (an orange) lollies, stickers and then a matchbox car, coloured pencils or the like.

This little lot would need to keep us occupied for the morning because the tradition in our house was that no presents would be opened until after lunch.  The Christmas Tree would be planted in a garden of brightly wrapped packages.  Being one of seven children meant that there was a small mountain of gifts at the foot of the tree each year.  Very tempting but definitely out of bounds until after lunch.  The morning was spent trying to be good and trying to find things to do that did not get under the feet of the adults in the kitchen.

Christmas lunch was a large event. The best crockery and cutlery were extracted from where ever it was they lived for the rest of the year.  A full roast was usually the menu followed by pavlova and/or trifle.

After lunch saw the ‘ladies’ (usually Mum, Angela and in later years presumably Terri) retire to the lounge while the men folk – Dad and his sons were on dishes duty.  Bearing in mind we are talking pre-dish washer era.

After this marathon of dishes which saw the sink emptied and water replaced numerous times, we got (finally!) to go through to the lounge and the pile of presents.

Presents were distributed by the youngest and passed to the oldest and then the next oldest and so on.  Every one watched while a gift was unwrapped and acknowledged before the next person received theirs.

Once the lounge was converted to a pile of gifts and and even larger pile of paper we then pottered about for a bit.

The balance of the afternoon was taken up with a trip to the Charles household, we were only allowed to take one of our gifts  to play with.

The evening was then spent watching whatever Christmas special was on the tele while eating lovely fresh ham sandwiches.

And that was the Christmas of my childhood…


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It’s Christmas time all over the world…

18 12 2009

As the song goes… so a little Christmas message to all our readers (both of you – “Hi Mum”).

2009 has galloped past at a fare old pace.  As is often the case at this time of the year one looks back and attempts to judge whether enough was achieved.  On the family front Annie has had a wonderful start to her secondary school life.  She has enjoyed Marian College and has been busy with academic and sporting pursuits.  She found time to pursue her jazz dancing and performed in a couple of shows during the year.

Molly also enjoyed being the oldest (and currently only) Hygate girl at Our Lady Star of the Sea.  She has a good bunch of friends and particularly enjoyed being in the DOTS extension group.  We had a school camp to Arthur’s Pass in March which was great fun.  It is a real treat to get to go on camp with your children as you get to see them in unguarded moments with their peers.

Katie is a delight and a real hoot.  She just laps up life at every opportunity.  She is blessed with a wonderful temperament and plays happily away by herself or with her great friend Emme who Katherine looks after twice a week.

My year has been marked by a rather exceptional amount of travel (and this from someone who travels a bit most years).  I have been to South Africa, Singapore, Australia, Bangladesh, Colorado USA, Jakarta and Rarotonga this year.  I have also beaten a path to Auckland and Wellington on a very regular basis.  It is a good thing that I like air travel (and in particular Air New Zealand who just get better and better each year).  Work has been very rewarding and enjoyable in 2009.  A shiny new computer system is being built and will see the light of day in May 2010.

I have been busy in other areas as well, I continue to be active in two international organisations (the Corporate Registers Forum and the International Associtation of Commercial Administrators).  I was lucky to attend both annual conferences and to catch up with good friends from all over the planet.  I particularly enjoyed the Denver visit as I have a great affection for the United States and feel that the end of the Bush era has lightened the mood there somewhat.

A highlight of the year was a holiday in Rarotonga. We won a competition run by Arnott’s Biscuits and the first prize was $10,000 travel.  We chose a Pacific holiday and enjoyed every minute of it.  Rarotonga is just beautiful. Evidence of the adventure can be found here.

2010 is already shaping up to be interesting.   I shall no doubt set myself some unrealistic goals but will be happy to continue to interact with the many friends and colleagues I have made all over the place.

Have a great holiday season and I look forward to sharing a laugh or two in 2010.


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The modern garage sale…

5 12 2009

We are having a garage sale today.  It is actually part two of this epic adventure as we started last week but a combination of the rain and the fact we didn’t put an advert in the paper meant it was not much of a success.  This week we did put an advert in several papers and I dutifully put up signs all over the neighborhood.

It has so far been a rather poor showing and those that have turned up have cheerfully asked questions such as “are you selling any air rifles?”  - I don’t own any form of rifle air or other wise.

The point (if there has to be for a blog entry) is that I am sitting here in the sun on my lovely MacBook Pro taping away over the wireless and thinking garage sales aren’t what they used to be… no wifi in the old days and no Trade Me to contend with.  Not to worry I’ll just list stuff on Trade Me in the sun : )


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Here we go then…

4 12 2009

Welcome dear internet traveler to this my first ‘blog’. I have been playing on Twitter for some time and have enjoyed the opportunity to have my say on all sorts of things. I thought I’d create a little corner of the web (it is angular is it not?) where I might be able to record expanded views on all sorts of things. It has taken me a wee moment to construct and navigate the instructions on how to set myself up but it appears to be operational. Enjoy your visit and thanks for popping by.


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Categories : General muttering