Global Coffee Review- 2012/2013-Indonesia’s Outlook of Quality
Indonesia’s Outlook on Quality
By: Leighton Cosseboom
Garuda Magazine-2013-Surabaya Art Society
http://garudamagazine.com/insight.php?id=22
By: Leighton Cosseboom
A Twisted Park for Misfits
A giant crab looms over the entrance of Wisata Bahari Lamongan
The day began normally enough. I woke up at a friend’s house and took an Indonesian shower with a water-bucket and cloth, a new procedure for me. The previous night my companions informed me that we were embarking on some sort of adventure in the morning, and that I should get a decent night’s rest. This advice fell by the wayside, however, as I had been busy drinking Bintang and socializing with some new friends.
At any rate, the morning arrived, and we were now heading to Lamongan. I imagined a secluded beach, or perhaps a lagoon where a young man like myself could go for a swim, enjoy a nature walk, and maybe even fashion a crude tree fort of some kind. This preconceived vision couldn’t have been further from the truth. Wisata Bahari Lamongan (WBL) turned out to be a strange ocean-side amusement park, where the rides and attractions ranged from peculiar and queer to menacing and concerning. I was told it would be my kind of scene.
I took note of the entrance, a giant crab that beckoned visitors into its mandibles while simultaneously puking others out in one uninterrupted flow.
Once inside, the first place we stumbled into was a cat museum. But there were no rare or exotic felines in this establishment, just ordinary house cats behind glass windows. The odd thing wasn’t that cats were on display, but that each one’s room had its own unique theme. One looked like a boutique apartment you might find in Paris or London. Another room appeared to be a miniature nightclub, where a calico kitten was draped imperially over several bottles of Bacardi Silver and Chivas Regal. Strangely pleased, I was now confident that this sort of thing could be found nowhere else in the world.
Visitors play in the water park section of Wisata Bahari Lamongan.
Next was the Hospital of Horrors. The only thing horrifying about it was the fact that a fully grown Indonesian man was so afraid of the ketchup-spattered, string-operated mannequins that he kept grabbing my hand for a sense of security. This was awkward, especially because my language skills were not adequate enough to inform him that I could offer no protection from our automated attackers.
The roller coaster section of WBL was actually quite scary, partly because when I looked at the rides, the first thing I thought about was how long ago they were properly serviced. The first ride was a standard roller coaster, to which I felt safely strapped in. However, a 100-pound girl with a very poor excuse for a seat belt was now sitting in my lap. The feeling became very real that my arms were the only things preventing her from being catapulted into an oblivion beyond the edge of the rumbling track. The entire time she shrieked like the pod people from the Invasion of the Body Snatchers film.
As our car darted recklessly around several hairpin turns, I caught short glimpses of the beach that I’d pictured in my mind earlier that day. But it quickly disappeared, and was replaced by the open mouth of a giant clown face which soon passed through.
We boarded the next ride thinking it might be safer than the first one; never mind the rusty joints or the questionable operator. Wrong again. At first glance, it appeared to swing strictly in a pendulum motion, like those quintessential pirate ship rides. But suddenly it became evident that this ride would perform a complete circular revolution high in the sky. Although immediately regretful, we’d already committed to this centrifugal death device and there was no turning back.
A ride operates in the sun at WBL amusement park.
Clenching the rickety seat, while inverted 40 meters in the air and screeching like a child being mauled by a rottweiler, I peered down the coastline of Lamongan. There was a moment of silence just long enough for me to experience a feeling of euphoric elation. A sense of levity and nostalgia for Indonesia washed over me. I soon exhaled, let out a nervous cackle, then plummeted back to Earth.
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