Millionaire. That's how many people might think they have become when they arrive to Indonesia. Not only because of the currency ratio (with US$ 100 you make 1.000.000 rupiah), but the cost of living and transportation are incredibly cheap as well. Average expense per day = US$ 4 to 5 including a room with 4 beds, bathroom, breakfast, lunch and dinner. This bargain paradise for tourists is the result of 3 combined fatal factors: economic, political and social crisis that emerged since 1997.
Indonesia is a huge archipelago with more than 13.000 islands scattered from Asia mainland to the Pacific Ocean.
Some of its history:
Indonesia was dominated by a couple of European countries according to its heyday period. First by Portugal and mainly by the Netherlands for 350 years (no surprise why many words are written in Dutch there). The natural resources (quinine, pepper, rubber, coconut, tea, sugar, coffee and oil) nourished the Dutch wealth/industrialization and created a powerful company called United East India Company (something like an ancient Microsoft in the spice market), which influenced the Brazilian history as well.
The independence came after a struggling period and was finally recognized by the Dutch government in 1949.
Just like the former Yugoslavia and India, the social differences/gaps started to come out after the unification factor wore out (common enemy or charismatic leader) With its thousands islands, mountainous terrain, many religions (mainly Islam with 90%, Hindu, Buddhism and Catholics) and two main ethnics: Malays and Chinese (which is the wealthiest group) is pretty hard to coexist with each other. Particularly during crisis when someone or ethnic group has to be responsible for the whole mess. Chinese are the people's first choice target, since they are the wealthiest. Remember the Jews in Germany or the Korean community in CA in the very beginning of the 90's?... just like that). Chinese people have a hard time to keep their culture, since the government discriminate it by law. Chinese characters were banned and Chinese schooling was forbidden. (in the immigration form, they make very clear that Chinese magazines, books or anything related to Chinese culture is prohibited as much as drugs)
Follow some impressions about the places that I've been so far.
-=> Medan
It's a big city with more than 2 million people. The first thing that stood up, being the first place in Indonesia was the prices. Very, very cheap, even for South East Asia standards. It's really a give away. Accommodation for US$ 1 or even less, McMeal for US$ 1,5 and so forth.
With the economic nightmare, people are eager to work for cents. Tourists are touted every second to get a taxi, or tuk tuk (modified motorbike) or just answer the greetings: "Hello Mister", "Hello Mister", "Hello Mister",....
-Religion:
--Sumatra Island is mainly Muslim. You can see mosques everywhere with serious sound systems that they use to broadcast the Muslim prays every hour starting at 5 am (lets say that's a more exotic way to wake up than listening to the rooster’s singing).
In a society where religion plays a critical role in shaping people's behavior, being a woman, especially tourist can be a hassle. Men are considered a supreme creation and women in the other hand, merely a "by-product" of the human's reproduction cycle. Indonesia is not a zealot Muslim country, but if you are a woman, expect some annoyances in the islands where Islam is big. (e.g. Sumatra)
--5th of March was a very important religious date. The Idul Adha, a Muslim festival that commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Isaac. The owner's of the place that we stayed, offered a traditional Idul Adha's day breakfast with rice, fruit salad, chocolate and some other chili food. When we were heading to Bukit Lawang, we saw another typical thing of this date: goats being sacrificed at mosques. Their meat is then distributed. Can be nasty at first, but it's the same meat that we all eat. It just has the outdoor show as an add-on.
-=> Bukit Lawang
Bukit Lawang is 96km (60 miles) north from Medan. It took more than 4 hours to complete the journey. Stopping everywhere to get more people, I can say that breaking the sound barrier wasn’t our priority. It was fun though. Particularly if you imagine 2 seats with 5 people (fair enough for 30 cents). In Bukit Lawang, they keep a touristy Orangutan Rehabilitation Center, but you can see them in the wild as well. We saw one passing in front of one waterfall, just like in the National Geographic magazine. Very beautiful.
-=> Danau Toba or Lake Toba
Lake Toba is 100 km (62 miles) south from Medan. It's the biggest lake in South East Asia that occupies the place os a collapsed volcano. The first 2 days wasn’t very nice thanks to a massive food poisoning that we all had. Visiting the toilet on regular basis wasn’t, lets say, the best highlight of this place. At least it was "free of charge" :). We survived after all. It's a very relaxing place. Perfect for trekking, cycling, swimming in fresh water (for a change) and reading.
-=> Bali
Bali was nice but it could have been nicer. We (me, Steph and Gina) stayed in Kuta, a very touristy place, paradise for Mastercard and American Express with a wide variety of high end products at cheap prices. A good thing that is worth buying is tailored clothes, shoes and accessories (wallets, hats and etc) and wooden handicraft. Tailors and wood carvers are very gifted. Just come with your idea and they will do it for a fraction of the price you would pay back home. (to be honest, I didn’t order anything special but the girls didn’t resist the temptation… girls and credit cards… explosive combination :) )
Since Kuta is the most touristy place in Bali, expect touting people every 10 sec offering from batiks, sarongs to accommodation, drugs and believe it, stolen mini vans!
Religion:
Besides all that, Kuta in general is very interesting, thanks to its Hindu influence. Temples and especially offerings can be seen everywhere and local people are more easy going comparing to Sumatra (some of them really try hard to scam you though)
After Kuta I split from Gina and Steph. They went to Ubud (better place.. more cultural and less touristy) and I came to Gili Trawangnan.
-=>Gili Trawangan
Gili T. is a very small island in the west coast from Lombok with no traffic at all (just some horse powered coaches). Like Sumatra, it’s Muslim, giving you the opportunity to hear Muslim prays every hour from the mosque’s speakers. Snorkeling is a highlight. Excellent spot. After the first 2 meters or warm cloudy layer, paradise! Cooler, crystal water (30m vis) with loads of fish and soft corals. So beautiful that it pushes you unconsciously to stay longer and longer.
Miscellaneous:
-Monica’s Team: one thing that surprised me in a shopping mall in Sumatra was to see a very traditional Brazilian comic book called "Monica's Team" translated to Indonesian. Monica's Team is a nationwide hit back in Brazil for more than 30 years. It stands out in the comic book scene for showing relationships between parents and their kids and exploring the kid's stereotypes, personalities and the typical situations faced by them. Very far from the "Don’t Touch me Hero" or miniatures of characters and their uncle, aunt, nephew relationship (e.g.: Uncle Donald). OK... enough of comics.
-Driving in Indonesia: be sure to get your license to kill by having your driving license issued in England with a double 0 before the serial number (I’m quite positive that Indonesians do that). Beeping the horns every 10 seconds, dodging trucks, speeding, running over motorbikes... these all make the driving game experience more exciting. In Brazil we used to have a road called the Death Road (much better nowadays), but after Indonesia, it looks like a child's game.
--Talking with some girls that approached me in Sumatra to "practice their english" or just to chit chat (all Catholics and they make sure I was aware of that), makes evident how they "worship the West". For them Western people deserve all the good superlatives. Ironically, Indonesia is a main supplier of goods (using contemporary slavery) that enhances the glamour of the Westerns.
-Petrol price: 1 liter = US$: 0,112 or 1 gallon = US$0,41 (I don’t have any idea how they manage to set this price, since the price of the petrol is set internationally and as far as I know, Indonesia is not big in petrol production)
(update: Indonesia is pretty big in oil & gas)
sábado, 5 de setembro de 2009
quarta-feira, 2 de setembro de 2009
Amazing Thailand - 2000 / 2001
One of the Thais’ prides is that Thailand is the only country in South East Asia that has never been colonized by another country. One of the main reasons for that was the development of a good diplomatic relationship with the Europeans countries since 1851 by the king Mongkut or Rama IV (Rama stands for a royal title). It doesn’t mean, however, that the Western countries did not influence them. From the education of the royal family (many of them studied in England, Switzerland or United Stated since the middle of the 19th century) to the building of railways, purchase of Western products as a mean os status, use of Thai labor by western companies and etc.
The current king of Thailand, Rama IX, took the throne in 1946, being the world's longest and living reigning. His image can be seen/found everywhere throughout the country, amid Buddhist amulets, before every film at cinemas and at 8am or 6pm when TV stations and radio broadcast the national or royal anthem (when is audible or visible, everybody stops what they are doing to stand up and listen to it)
Rama IX has a huge charisma and is idolized by the nation. It's a very good example of how to create a long-term idol.
Besides its official political system (constitutional monarchy) the king enjoys a respectable non-official political power and he is untouchable in his royal position. If you say or write something against the royalty and make it public, you may get free food and free shared accommodation for seven years (behind bars)
Follow some general topics about Thailand and the places that I have been so far.
- Bangkok
Beautiful and exquisite Buddhism temples are scattered throughout the city with an impressive richness of details and are really well maintained (I didn’t see any trace of pollution on it)
Entertainment
- All sort of fighting events such as chicken fighting, fish fighting, bull fighting and of course, Thai fighting are the big time for Thai people. Many of them gamble on a fighter, making the game/fight more exciting. It lasts roughly for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Some places in Bangkok offer the ultimate high tech night clubbing experience, featuring the latest releases in terms of sound and light systems. These places usually gather the top of the social pyramid of Thailand (which is quite a minority)
- Thai massage is found in many places. I got one at Wat Pho and I must say that's really professional and relaxing. One hour of massage costs 250 baht or 5 dollars
Business & "Business"
- 7 Eleven must be the strongest franchise in Thailand. Just in Bangkok, you can find 72 branches, and in some places, 2 branches in the same block. AMPM tries to do some inroads in this market, but it has a long way to go to become a real competitor.
- The energetic drink, Red Bull, enjoys respectable brand awareness, comparable to Coke's. It’s easy to find people wearing T-Shirts with its logo stamped.
- Next time you want to do "heavy" shopping, forget New York or Miami and head to Bangkok. Electronics and clothing are really cheap. One of the most popular places in Bangkok to shop is the Weekend Market with a wide variety of products and shows of chicken fighting and fish fighting. Thai people really flock to this place, making the movement from one stall to another, a daunting job. Popular shopping malls are crowded and have the best deals, while the high-end shopping malls have more sellers than customers (and of course, are more expensive)
- Pirate industry: a myriad of products (e.g. gems, clothing and media) are fake or don’t pay any royalties at all. CD players with built in MPEG (e.g. MP3) decoder are widely deployed, spurring the pirate media industry even more. For example: it's possible to buy one CD in MP3 format with the entire album collection of famous bands like Metallica or Pink Floyd, or even watch the latest movie releases (e.g. The 6th Day, Pay it Forward, Charlie Angels and so on) while having lunch or dinner (specially in Phi Phi island)
- Stalls that sell all kind of products occupy many sidewalks in Bangkok. From colorful glasses to fried insects (that I haven’t tried...yet :) ). Sometimes it's really difficult to walk on the sidewalks, making the streets a "better" and faster alternative.
- Touting people are the biggest "disinformation provider". Regardless of whether you are going to a temple or to a toilet, for them, all directions lead to a store (and to their commission) or worst, to an attempt to rip your money through scams. In tourist spots, they are ubiquitous. You realize pretty soon that the best thing to do is to ignore them to avoid that annoyance.
- Prices in many islands are standard. From inet connection to pancakes or scuba diving. That's for sure the best way to avoid war price. If a someone make a "special offer", there's a big chance of having a friendly gathering with all of yours competition's colleagues to make sure that you are 100% clear about the meaning of the word standard.
- Commission is a huge industry in Thailand, employing loads of people, but in the other hand that inflates the prices a lot. Just check out the "non official" price list of the ferry from Krabi to Phi Phi island. (1 US = 43 baht)
=200 baht: if you buy from one of the millions travel agencies scattered everywhere without bargaining.
=180 baht: if you bargain at a travel agency.
=150 baht: if you buy directly from the ferry's office and bargain a little.
=120 baht: if you have a good bargaining skill and use it at the ferry's office
=100 baht: if you look like a Thai and speak Thai as a native
= 75 baht: probably the break-even price
Having in mind that commission is merely the monetary correlate of deficient distribution, I believe that in 5 years from now, with the development/deployment of communication technologies, payment methods and digital signatures, the "facilitators"/travel agencies will have to be more creative to get their money. (Europe, SEA and Oceania share the same wireless protocol, so... booking service via mobile can be a reality soon)
- Phi Phi island
- Tao Island
- Other Topics:
One of the images that are widely broadcasted by the international media is the sex industry. Some tourists come here just for this purpose (fortunately, this kind of tourist is an exception among backpackers). In some districts of Bangkok, pedophiles, whores and homosexuals are easily seen, since they're tolerated by the Thai society. However, the majority of the Thais have a descent way of getting their income.
Women and men to get a better "rate" among Thais, must be white... very white (just like plain yogurt or sheet of paper... some of them literally "bleach" their faces with whitening products... probably endorsed by Michael Jackson) with "Westernized" eyes. Sometimes is even hard to tell if they are actually from Asia. Thai soap operas and the entertainment industry as a whole love them. Following the examples of the Mexican and the Brazilian soap operas, they go for the "exotic stereotype" for the main roles, letting the "cleaning crew roles" for the typical stereotype.
Tourists:
---Thailand is very popular among English and Swedish people. Roughly 55% to 60% of the tourists (backpackers) are from these countries.
---Bearing in mind that tourism is a huge income stream to Thailand, they run a tourism campaign every year called Amazing Thailand with services and conveniences targeting the package tourist. Comparing to other countries in South East Asia, they are very successful.
Health:
-Bangkok is bloody hot and humid. If you don't want to become a raisin, drinking mineral water is highly recommended. Water was my main concern about health in Thailand. In the beginning I was brushing my teeth with mineral water, but it seems that I can skip this procedure, since most os the tourists rely on the tap water (to brush the teeth only)
-Most of the sanitary vases work in the manual mode. There's no secret about it. You just have to follow these easy steps:
1-fill one bucket with water (you can find it beside the sanitary vase)
2-throw the content of the bucket in the sanitary vase
3-if necessary, repeat the operations 1 and 2
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