Excursion to the Equator at Pontianak
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
I passed over the equator several times
But I never saw anywhere such a line
In my childhood mind such a line exists
In reality there is none as with
(Greenwich Meridian Line for Greenwich Mean Time, GMT)
I’m fortunate to straddle over
Where East and West of the world are defined
I took several photos standing over the line
All my friends looked at me and smiled.
(The Greenwich Meridian Line at Greenwich, London, England)
I’m such a curious person
I like to know every item
That interests me as human
It’s impossible to reach them
Like the poles of the world
Where is the axis et cetera?
(Mitad Del Mundo, Ecuador, South America)
But fortunately for me to say
We went to
It’s a little Indo town not far away
It lies close to
(Quito, The Equator or The Line Passes in Ecuador)
We rode the big coach for 3 hours up
From Kuching to reach
The road was rough and rugged
But, the car and driver were not bad.
(Kuching City, Sarawak, Malaysia)
Immigration checkpoint was also easy
They looked at passports perfunctorily
They knew we reside and work in
So, no need to worry and they didn’t bother.
(Professor Drs Win Kyi, Left and Nan Ommar, right,
Leading the Excursion From Kuching to Pontianak)
A forested
People there are simple agricultural and handy men
It was once ruled by a sultan, but now in federal hand.
(Pontianak City, Capital of West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
Arises from death of a puerperal woman lost
During or after childbirth usually due to torture
Foul play was present to cause her departure
She would avenge her torturer or tormentors
She persuades and titillates bumbling bachelors!
(Another Pontianak, Ghost of a Dead Puerperal Woman)
Compared to Kuching,
Domestic waste and rubbish were seen
Scattered on or about the street overflowing bins
Dust and dirt covered people, animals and old buildings
Smell of garbage and waste permeated in the wind
Plastics, used papers and punctured pails filled the scene.
(Haze in Pontianak makes Your Eye Blur and Sore)
However, people were simple, stolid and sincere
They smiled and answered whatever was enquired
We ate Indonesian steamed rice and baked fish
With plenty of sauce and salad we could not finish
It was cheap and worth every thing with our Ringgits
Malaysians were richer than Indonesians compared with.
(Indonesian Steamed Rice and Accessories; Palatable and Hot)
It was sunny when we reached the equator building
It’s one of two buildings marked by the line drawing
The other was situated in
We are fortunate to have seen, photographed and straddled over
It gave me much happiness, excitement and exhilaration
I took it as a triumphant travelogue for celebration?
(Equator Monument, Pontianak, Indonesia)
On the Equator Line, water flows down a sink straight direct
In northern hemisphere, the sink water flows down anticlockwise
In southern hemisphere, the sink water flows down in clockwise
There is a “you-tube” video verifying these statements to be right
Similarly the commode water flows down differently according to side
It’s very interesting and I tried and saw it right with my own eyes.
(Dr Maung Maung Nyo, Straddling Over the Equator Line
in the Equator Monument, Pontianak, Indonesia)
Why man celebrates for such things?
All imaginary and imperceptible whims
Imagine the
Based on it Greenwich Mean Time!
North Pole, South Pole, Longitude, Latitude
All are defined by interested group!
(Map of the Borneo Island with the Equator Line)
Well, it’s wise of the scientists to define them
We can now locate any town or country on land
In the sea or on mountains and indicate the time of day
Midnight in
We can calculate and say time of any location on earth
Geographical conventions have served humanity very much!
(The Sultan Palace in Pontianak, Kalimantan, Indonesia)
We roamed in town after seeing the
We visited the former Sultan of Kalimantan Residence
That’s like a Maharaja’s Mansion with fanciful facilities
We even posed as the Sultan and wife for photography
In his bed room decorated with golden tapestries
There was a ten foot launch to facilitate his itinerary.
(Drs Maung Maung Nyo and Nan Ommar in the Sultan's Bed Room)
It has a
There is also an
The Government is trying to raise its capability
But, poverty is the root cause of every thing
Indonesians are going to
( A Borneo Forest Scene, West Kalimantan, Indonesia)
Money changers were every where in the city
Changing Ringgits and US dollars to Rupiah was easy
One Ringgit was worth about 2400 Rupiah
We carried thousands of Rupiah for 100 US dollars
We had to do it as shops accepted only Rupiah
Indonesian money had little buying power.
(Map of Indonesia and Neighboring Countries)
However, we enjoyed our trip to
As people and language are similar to
Islam religion is also common to both countries
We outsider could not differentiate two peoples easily
Indo sneaked into
They remain undetected living in the Malay community.
(President Sukarno of Indonesia Symbolized Greater Indonesia Policy)
Once Sukarno tried to annex Malay Borneo
I mean Malay majority
As the people, language and religion are similar
But, British advised Northerners to consider;
(Sukarno Addressing a Mass Rally in Indonesia)
Affiliation with the Malay peninsular to be better
Hence Sarawak and Sabah became parts of
They enjoy special state rights and status not granted to others
Even other Malaysian citizens have to take separate visa to enter.
(Tunku Abdul Rahman Addressing Malays for Independence in 1957)
It did not ask for independence from colony
British had to grant it and offered security
Gurkha Battalions are still serving in its territory
Brunei Sultanate is rich with oil and gas monopoly
(Malaysia's Deputy PM Abdul Razak and Indonesian FM Adam Malik
Ending Confrontation in 1966)
Dr Maung Maung Nyo
17.01.2009 (original)
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