Indonesians, I have concluded, must be big fans of Einstein, whose theory of relativity is put into practice here on a daily basis. Yes, time is relative in Indonesia. And the further you travel from the centre, the more relative it becomes. In Indonesian they call this phenomenon, jam karet, which literally means rubber time, as in indicating the elasticity of time in these parts. Now I have had some experience with the elasticity of time, as it is a phenomenon not exclusive to Indonesia alone. It is only in the western world where the rubber of time has petrified, elsewhere it has retained some of its pliability, to a lesser or greater degree. In Banda my PELNI boat, which is the national shipping line of Indonesia, was only one hour late in leaving, corresponding to
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