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Yudi Herbie crossing the archipelago in old Beetle
Despite its advanced age, the 1961 Volkswagen (VW) Beetle, with stickers all over it, still boasted a roaring engine
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Despite its advanced age, the 1961 Volkswagen (VW) Beetle, with stickers all over it, still boasted a roaring engine. Seated behind its steering wheel was a bespectacled young man with shoulder-length wavy hair.
Iswahyudi Raden Sjarieef, 38, affectionately called Yudi Herbie, departed from Jakarta on Sept. 29, 2013, after being seen off by Youth and Sports Minister Roy Suryo Notodiprojo, for a tour across Indonesia.
The long journey, titled the Expedition Across Archipelago Indonesia (EAAI), is something Yudi chose to do to embody the spirit of Youth Pledge Day, that falls every Oct. 28.
Yudi claims to have aspired to travel across the country since he was in primary school. Before realizing his obsession, he had tested his ability and his car's capacity on trans-Java and trans-Kalimantan roads in 2009-2010.
The VW is nothing new to him as he had been familiar with the German-made car since childhood. His father, while working for state-owned oil company PT Pertamina in the 1970s, owned a 1967 VW Beetle 1500. Yudi recalled how he always enjoyed riding in the car.
He became preoccupied with the collector's car after finishing senior high school in 1994 but only managed to get what he craved in 1997. The car he is driving for his Indonesian tour is his first VW, although his collection now includes a 1974 VW Passat, a 1967 VW Beetle 1300 and a 1964 VW Notchback type 3.
His love of vintage VWs prompted him to leave the company he had worked with for several years and in 2008, he set up an automobile spare parts business.
'I wouldn't be able to travel nationwide as an employee,' said the father of one, whose passion is firmly supported by his wife.
Driving his favorite car, with all the passenger seats dismantled except the one behind the driver, Yudi was heading for the eastern tip of Java, to travel on to Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Bima, Flores and even as far as Timor Leste, the young country that was formerly a province of Indonesia.
'I managed to go there with my philatelic passport from the Indonesian Philatelist Association and the Indonesian Postal Service supporting this expedition,' he said while stopping over in Gorontalo on Jan. 20.
At every destination, Yudi takes the opportunity to visit historic places, museums, heroes' cemeteries and tourist spots. In Ende, Flores, he visited the house where Indonesia's would-be first president, Sukarno, was sent by the Dutch to live for more than four years.
In Kupang, East Nusa Tenggara, he observed a brief silence for Sobe Sonbai III, King of Timor, who until his demise refused to cooperate with the Dutch and waged a war on colonial tyranny in 1905. The valiant king is portrayed on horseback by a statue at an intersection in Kupang city.
In Gorontalo, Yudi visited the city's national heroes' cemetery where he paid homage to Nani Wartabone, a very important figure who was behind the raising of the national colors on Jan. 23, 1942.
He has also witnessed the beauty of religious harmony in different parts of Indonesia. In Kendari, Southeast Sulawesi, for instance, he saw the city's grand mosque and church standing side by side, which he also found in other regions.
Yudi has been posting his travel notes on his EAAI Facebook page.
'I hope the spirit of our predecessors' heroic youth will inspire the younger generation of today,' he said, adding that he planned to publish his notes in a book at the end of his journey.
His road tour hasn't been without risks. Yudi admits he has limited knowledge of VW engines, forcing him to seek technical guidance from his Jakarta-based team of mechanics by phone if anything goes wrong. He also relies on his close ties with communities of VW buffs in different regions.
'Thankfully, this car hasn't caused much trouble on the road, with only a slight reduction of its brake capacity due to age,' he said.
The worst experience during his road trip was when the rear left tire came off when entering Malili Forest in Luwu, South Sulawesi. He has also tried to avoid troubling many people, for instance, by spending the nights in his car or at police stations.
For his travel expenses, at first he used his own money before several companies offered sponsorship. One of his friends, an artist in Yogyakarta, had also given him some of his paintings to sell to help finance his tour. Part of the assistance he has received is also being set aside to be donated to several orphanages and old people's homes.
He maintains his health by consuming plain water, honey and vitamins on his journey, besides avoiding coffee and alcohol. He drives for a maximum of 12 hours a day and when he gets to cities, he does some running for exercise.
Now, having driven for more than 100 days across more than 10,000 kilometers, traversing eight islands and 14 provinces, he plans to explore Kalimantan and Sumatra.
Yudi also hopes to tour areas in Papua bordering Papua New Guinea, and in Kalimantan bordering Malaysia. As the first man to travel across Indonesia in a VW Beetle, he said he believed he may even be the first Southeast Asian to do so.
Several voyages have been taken either encircling or across this archipelagic nation. Two journalists Farid Gaban and Ahmad Yunus visited border islands across the country and recorded their experiences in Meraba Indonesia: Ekspedisi 'Gila' Keliling Nusantara (Grasping Indonesia: A 'Crazy' Expedition across the Archipelago).
When stopping in Manado, North Sulawesi, Yudi held a fund-raising for the victims of the recent landslide and floods in the region, as well as for the evacuees of the Sinabung volcanic eruptions in North Sumatra.
'We managed to raise Rp 10 million [US$864.6] as well as receiving medicines from sponsors and individuals,' he wrote via email to The Jakarta Post.
In the absence of extreme weather or other obstacles, his tour is expected to finish this month. While recognizing Indonesia's natural wealth, cultural diversity, local hospitality and mutual assistance, Yudi also commented on the country's sense of security everywhere, night and day.
This fact, according to Yudi, illustrated a picture quite different to those that lead to foreign governments issuing travel warnings to dissuade their citizens from visiting Indonesia.
' Photos by Syamsul Huda M. Suhari
