Indonesia's state philosophy was born in Ende, a secluded city in East Nusa Tenggara province that has become a good place to be on an exile, from the Lio-Ende people of an 18th-century kingdom, to Soekarno of the ‘30s, and to present-day explorers. Ende is where Soekarno, the country's first president, masterminded the Pancasila concept, the philosophical foundation of Indonesian politics. On a lighter note, Ende is home to the descendants of the mythical Javanese kingdom, Majapahit, and to a pleasant bay that rolls out a list of beach recreations for holidaymakers.
The traveler could have a few reasons why his aircraft or boat from Kupang must get to Ende. The pleasant mountain scenery, courtesy of Gunung Meja volcano, could be a fine place to soul-search, just like the way Soekarno was able to reflect the Pancasila beneath the shade of a big breadfruit tree, which is now marked by a Pancasila Birth Monument. The Bung Karno Museum is an old house where the former president stayed during his exile. Most of his original furniture is still there. Occasionally, a local theater group performs Soekarno's plays written during the exile. Among these are Rendorua Ola Nggera Nusa (Rendo that stirred the archipelago) and Doctor Satan, his version of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein.
