A potted portrait

of Indonesia and Timor

Tourists who are “just passing through” are a necessary part of the tourist set-up. Tolerated but never really liked by local popu

lations, they are invariably those

who carry the largest assortment of cameras, wear the loudest shirts and own the heaviest, glossiest collection of travel guides and brochures.

It also seems ironic that those who visit the most places in the minimum amount of time (around the world in 30 days and 100 rolls of film), seem to be the most eager to soak up as much about the customs, traits and peculiarities of a people as possible. From the safety of an air conditioned coach, of course.

For this heavy-spending branch of the tourist industry a whole legion of travel guides, brochures and hand outs have printed. Because they are aimed at the tourist and not the traveller, most of them are superficial, supercilious and often plain irritating.

No exception is John Cockcroft’s Indonesia and Portuguese Timor which, at the price of $5.25, offers a potted look at virtually all the islands of Indonesia and Portuguese Timor within the space of two hours.

Heavily illustrated

To justify the cost, the book is heavily illustrated with the sort of pictures one would expect in a tourist travel guide. What irritates me most about this book is the way Cockcroft seems to have visited the places, written about them and presumably researched into them, without getting involved.

One of the only times we are given any indication that Mr. Cockcroft has done any actual travelling in the places he writes about is in Bali.

He also throws in a Balinese wedding for good measure and a potted look at the various Balinese dances.

From Bali he takes us with bewil dering speed through Sumatra, Kali mantan, the Celebes, the Moluccas,

West Irian and Portuguese Timor.

At Timor Mr. Crockroft had a decent look around.

He seems to have liked what he saw in Timor under the Portuguese.

Although quick to pick up on the slums of Djakarta, he seems to have overlooked the shacks which make up the outskirts of Dili, the capital, where only the Portuguese soldiers and Chinese traders seem to be getting anywhere fast.

As a travel brochure this book is more than good enough. But with such a price-tag, such a size, such glossy photographs one should expect more than that. The wild-life, the history and the customs of each Indonesian area are dealt with in a few paragraphs for each country.

Perhaps that is the trouble with this book. Mr. Cockcroft has written too little about too much. He would have done better to have sat down in one place for a while, perhaps even talked to a few of the people (not the travel chiefs) and then written a more personal account of

what he saw.-

Jse.

Melanesia: Isles of the South Pacific, a companion volume appear ing at the same time, suffers from the same weaknesses. Mr. Cockroft went to Fiji, the New Hebrides, the Solomons, New Caledonia, Norfolk and Lord Howe Islands. We get a dull recitation of facts, generous acknowledgements to the travel

industry and no involvement-

SI.

(Indonesia And Portuguese

Timor And Melanesia: Isles Of The

SOUTH PACIFIC. Angus and Robertson.

Each 5.25.)