October 2019: ‘Hari Kemerdekaan’! Way late this year to hold the bash, as Independence day is actually on August 17th each year. Indonesian Independence Day Celebrations – Bahrain 2019 with all its colour.
Pretty colourful stuff when all is said and done with a lot of traditional stuff very present, for show or otherwise. All this mixed in with western flavour. The traditional dancing for example ranges from pop ‘Agadoo’ type dance 4 to the floor, to some intense tribal like displays with lots of simulated aggression. That is a bit odd really, because although Indonesia is a huge spread out country with a massive population, nowadays they all seem pretty friendly. Then you have Western pop played on traditional instruments, with everyone bopping along.
Indonesian food can be quite a mishmash as well. Those looking in expect Satay and stir fry and indeed it was deliciously present, but not shown in the video for time restraint, was the spread put on by the Indonesian Embassy. A very tasty display, which due to its obscurity to the average Western taste could be the subject of another report entirely.
As for the date, well that was decided in 1945, the day Indonesia was no longer the ‘Dutch East Indies’. But not celebrating it on the actual day is nothing unusual in Bahrain for Embassies. due to many factors. The weather being just one. August is extremely uncomfortable heat wise and a lot of people away. It is also a month of many other celebrations and they all have to fit in in accordance with the Foreign Office. So here we go, into October, but the day is not missed and a good time had by all.