5

PELABUHANRATU
(MOONLIT BEACH WALK)
JAVA INDONESIA
the moon rose slowly above the hill. As we went back
to the village it hovered on the crest of the hills,
matching to step for step. We had to be careful
not to trip over the line anchoring the beached
boats. I stopped in town again for more fish +
a chat with the natives. "You have father + mother?"
asked one oldster. (His Dutch was better than his
English -- a colonial relic) "No" said I - "I
sprang out of the earth," making an elaborate
gessture. It was too much of a curve -- my wit
was lost on him... Back at home, Guy was asleep
+ I wrote some more. He was violently ill
several times that night, but my only casualty was a
few mosquito bites.

THU JUNE 6 I set out a wondering. Problem:
how to reply to friendly (but annoying) locals
who ask "What do you want?" "Where are you
going?" The idea of aimless walking is utterly
alien to Asians as is walking alone... I went along the beach road,
way out of town, past the path we'd scrambled down
last night + along the beach. What might have been
a childs playhouse was thatched, shaped like the Pale Ice Hockey
rink, + open a foot above ground all around. Branch-
ing off the asphalt road + the right was a very rough
jeal-trail leading steeply uphill. A fellow was oiling
his betehak (the Indonesian version of. inckshaw); the
front wheel high in the air. They (the Indonesians) paint