Still fresh in my mind from my last visit to the region some two years ago was the welcome I'd received. Banners had already been hoisted and were busy fluttering their greetings to all with a hearty 'Welcome to Banten Province', even though provincial status was to be attained only later, in October 2000. Banten was certainly anxious to detach itself from West Java—and for good reasons. Not only has it the means to support itself (it's home to