Adventurer Agustinus Wibowo: A journey home
- By Rory Howard
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E-mail China.org.cn, May 8, 2015
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A shop with iron bars in Papua NewGuinea. This is a common thing in the country due to extremely badsecurity. [Photo/China.org.cn] |
A journey home
When asked when he first got his wanderlust, Wibowo has multiple responses.
Wibowo became a stamp collector at a young age. His home is in a remote area of Java, sandwiched between mountains and volcanoes. Through stamps he imagined "exotic" places and the lucky people who lived there. "Countries put their best sides on stamps," he says.
He recounts how he wanted to see the mythological "land of his ancestors." Growing up as part of the Chinese minority in Indonesia, he remembers his mother constantly telling him about the people and traditions of their ancestral homeland. His knowledge of China came from books his mother read to him and from information passed on by his extended family and the general community. His mother and her ancestral land are the focus of his latest book, and coming home is his latest journey.
In "Ground Zero," Wibowo sits at his mother's side as she lies dying from cancer. He tells her stories of his travels through China in the same way that Scheherazade read stories to the king in "One Thousand and One Nights." Much like the storyteller in "One Thousand and One Nights" who hopes to prolong her own life for one night by telling the king interesting stories, Wibowo hopes to save his mother by reading to her from his personal travel diaries.
The book also tells of a journey of self-discovery. Wibowo tells me he feels part of a special group of people – the Chinese. His mum, who did not visit China until her later years, created a legend in which Wibowo has lived.
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