Experiencing different culture in Indonesia
As a hardcore backpacker, I’m quite interested in the social interaction with local people whenever I visit a country. I look forward to culture shock experience because it’s so refreshing and makes me taste different spicy flavours of cultures on Earth. This time I’m in a town called Tangerang in Indonesia (it’s near Jakarta). Here are some of the interesting cultural experiences that I wish to share with you:
People who enter shopping mall are checked twice for weapon and bomb.
The cars are big and luxurious, but the roads are narrow and in poor condition. This is a sharp contrast with Malaysia, where roads are wide and nice but cars are small and old.
Cars accelerate quickly even when there are many vehicles in front. The road is like a dangerous racing circuit.
Small kids beg for money from drivers in the middle of the road when vehicles stop at red light. A kid plucked his toy guitar randomly and asked for money. Where are their parents?
Some random guys standing on the street to help drivers to make U-turn and drivers pay them a small fee as reward.
Space seems very limited, where many people cramp together in a narrow space.
People travel by mini van bus. They come out of the bus in the middle of the road.
The Indonesian currency, Rupiah, has so many zeros in it, which is confusing for those who are not used to it.
There are more than 40 political parties competing for the coming general election. The voting form is larger than A3 paper to fit a huge list of parties in it. This is a pretty interesting form of democracy.
The word kakak means elder brother in Indonesian. But in Malaysia it means elder sister. It’s pretty weird experience to learn about it. It’s like knowing a new language where “mother” actually means father.
The people are quite approachable, which makes the working environment pleasant. This is a sharp contrast to the Germans who can be very cold socially.
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Seriously, 40 parties, this is really quantity > quality.
Vestige’s last blog post..This could be the one of the clubs in Taiwan that has girls prancing around in their skimpy inner wear.
yeah I’ve heard of the condition around there
if they are poor they are really poor and if they are rich they are really richer than a rich family in Malaysia..
i didn’t know about the kakak thingy… so weird to learn that!! lolx
Lisalicious’s last blog post..How many times will you contact your love ones during the day just to hear his/her voice or find out how he/she is?
Kakak can be use for elder sis too according to an Indonesian friend of mine. Pemilu is getting hotter there (Pemilu = Election) like the by-elections in Malaysia
kruel74’s last blog post..Real life is weirder than fiction
hi relax..
it’s nice to read ur comment about indonesia
u’ve been there for 5days but u can write a lot about it..maybe if u stay longer, u will find a lot of new things in Indonesia that could make u smile, angry, puke, happy, etc and u can’t find that situation anywhere else..but that’s what impress me when i was staying in overseas. .hope u can enjoy staying in Indonesia..specially in Tangerang.. =)
about Indonesian wealthiness, there’s still have middle class that is quite a lot. but like Lisa said, the gap between the poorest and richest man is very significant..for example, one man can spend 1000US$ (even more)everyday just for his living expenses without getting poor and the other side there is one family who can’t eat everyday.
as for the traffic, wait till you visit Ho Chi Minh or Saigon in Vietname
mtsen.com’s last blog post..10 value buy on consumer stocks ?
Interesting! I didn’t know kakak also means elder brother in Indonesia. Sounds really weird to me! : )
Wow, interest posting and comment…
Must be patient in line, but its a little consequence of democracy [even a lot of people prefer not to follow the election] :p
Kakak : older sister or brother
Not all city in Indonesia has traffic like Tangerang. Try Bukittinggi, Temanggung, Bengkulu, etc
About the election, hmm… I took more than 8 minutes to open, vote and fold the voting form
and like Silent said… just stay longer, and u will find a lot of new things in Indonesia… bad and good things