Pandoraspace

My friend Danang

I no longer remember what I said or did that prompted Padma to tell me that she made many Muslim friends in Indonesia and that they are wonderful people.  I had no Muslim friends then and no way of knowing whether what she said was true. So, I did not give the matter much thought until now as I remember my friend, Danang Purnomo. 

Danang is my first Muslim friend.  He is more than a decade younger than me.  Danang is a college student who does part time work as a tourist guide in Jogjakarta, the place where he lived all his life.  As a favor to his friend who knew our hosts in Jakarta and without knowing who we were, Danang agreed to “babysit” LS and I in Jogjakarta.  I use the word “babysit” because I somehow got the impression that Danang thought he would be looking after very young tourists. Of course, LS is young.  I am past young and I would rather think of myself as a traveller rather than a tourist.  As soon as we got the age issue sorted out, I think Danang was momentarily relieved that he would not have to exert much effort in the babysitting department.  Of course, Danang’s relief lasted only until I decided to do some marathon Batik shopping.  But, this is a story for another post.       (more…)