Dean Yates, Bogor – From across Java island they have travelled. Farmers, widows of soldiers, mothers with babies, some seeking a favour from Indonesia's next president or telling him which of the country's problems he should tackle first. Others just want to shake his hand.
Since Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono won the country's first direct presidential election in a landslide on September 20, thousands of ordinary Indonesians have journeyed to his home in a palm-lined luxury housing estate south of Jakarta.
The excited crowds waiting outside each day offer an insight into his popularity and show how many have placed extraordinary hope in the former general after three years of lacklustre rule under outgoing President Megawati Sukarnoputri.
In contrast to Megawati's aloof style, Yudhoyono has emerged each day to meet the crowds while he waits for the election commission to declare the ballot result official.
"I am the victim of injustice," said one man fighting back tears as he grabbed Yudhoyono's hand, one of nearly 1,000 people who lined up amid tight security to do so on Monday afternoon. "I hear you, I hear you," Yudhoyono calmly replied as bodyguards ushered the man along.
One middle-aged women threw her arms around Yudhoyono and kissed him on both cheeks. "I dreamt I would hug you," she said.
A young woman, heavily pregnant, asked Yudhoyono to give her unborn child a name. When Yudhoyono told her to tell him later whether the child was a boy or a girl, she replied: "Please pray that I have a boy, I have only girls."
Several widows of soldiers who died fighting guerrillas in East Timor, a former Portuguese colony that voted to break free of Jakarta's brutal rule in 1999, sobbed as they sought comfort. "God Willing, I will visit Seroja," Yudhoyono told them, referring to a complex on the outskirts of Jakarta for veterans who fought in East Timor.
With nearly 92 percent of ballots counted from the presidential election run-off, Yudhoyono has 61 percent of the vote, an unassailable lead over Megawati who has 39 percent.
People keep coming
The election commission will declare the result valid on October 5. With Megawati refusing to concede defeat until then, that has forced Yudhoyono to keep a low-profile at home, where he has been discussing cabinet choices and policy with advisers.
While Indonesia may be an emerging beacon of democracy, the dominant Javanese culture which puts an emphasis on humility, refinement and caution still determines how many people act.
Andi Mallarangeng, a political analyst advising Yudhoyono's team, said the "open house" sessions had not been orchestrated but became unavoidable when so many people began turning up. "From early morning until late at night, people are coming. From the ordinary, to the political elite," said Mallarangeng.
Few doubt the intelligence or sincerity of Yudhoyono, 55, who has served in several previous cabinets. But many wonder if his penchant for caution and consensus will stop him making the tough decisions needed to tackle high unemployment, corruption, and Islamic militants blamed for several deadly bomb attacks.
The open house sessions have also given an insight into some of the men in Yudhoyono's inner circle. On Monday, three former generals including a one-time military commander in rebellious Aceh stood with Yudhoyono as he patiently shook hands and kissed babies for two hours in a yard next to his house.
Agustin Santoso, a middle-aged woman, gave Yudhoyono a poem called "My Leader, My Idol". In it, she urged the former security chief to make Indonesia safe from terrorists. Imam Syahroni said she had travelled from Bandung, capital of West Java, to urge Yudhoyono to make education cheaper for her 15 grandchildren.
Another visitor, Sarwi, said his four-year-old grandson just wanted to meet Yudhoyono. "He keeps shouting 'Mr Bambang' in his sleep," Sarwi insisted.
[With additional reporting by Telly Nathalia.]