Chaos in the Streets

Chaos in the Streets

One of the first things our Fulbright director in Indonesia told us was that the most dangerous thing for a foreigner was not a terrorist attack but trying to cross a main street on foot. You literally take your life in your hands. We discovered the truth of this dictum as we settled in Malang.  The main streets wind in various directions about the city, and without a compass it is very difficult to determine which direction you are going.  Off the main streets are warrens of neighborhoods with narrow streets (except for our upscale Cemara Tujuh).

On the main streets, traffic flows in a never-ending stream.  Countless motorbikes weave in and around autos and trucks in a ceaseless and unpredictable pattern. The vehicle emissions are nothing to breathe, and the cacophony of sounds, including the revving of motorbike engines and frequent honking of horns, is constant.  Our friend and Director of International Programs Pak Parto says that he drives by intuition, and added, “Don’t try this at home.” Once in the midst of a early evening traffic jam, he said, “What are you thinking, Bob, when you see this?” “Crazy,” I replied, and we all laughed. There have been a few times when we gasped as a motorbike suddenly cut in front of us; the driver took it in stride. But you would have to put a gun to my head, or I would have to be faced with an emergency, before I would get behind the wheel here.

Yet, somehow it all works. We’ve yet to see an accident, and what we would think of as a close call is merely part of the ordinary flow of traffic. Someone expert in Chaos Theory should undertake a study of traffic flow patterns here; she would have a great time working out formulas that might end up visualized as a “strange attractor," with a beautiful set of fractals.

And, we are learning how to cross the streets on foot, weaving our way through traffic, or awaiting those rare moments when a break in the flow occurs and we can move expeditiously.