vonkoeller.de » Indonesia

You’re the Attraction!

Magnus — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 13:53:44 +0000

Being a tourist, ‘local’ things usually seem much more interesting to you than your own world. When you go a bit off the beaten track, though, things can easily change — and you become the attraction. I am talking about kids screaming at you from across the road, frantically waving to get your attention, just to be able to say “hi!”. Other kids come running out of their homes to great you, stick out their hands towards you when you pass on your bike so they can give you a high five and frantically shout “hello, Mr! how are you?” It’s quite amazing and helps you remember how privileged we Westeners are to be able to travel to all the different parts of this world. For many of the locals you meet, travelling anywhere on this world is completely unaffordable and their only way to meet people from elsewhere or to practice their English is talking to you — and if that means they’ll have to run, scream or shout, they’ll do it.

Travel Your Tastebuds

Magnus — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 11:17:17 +0000

You can get a whole lot of weird stuff when you’re travelling in Souteast Asia. Most of it is actually quite nice (except for those foul-smelling Durians, though I must admit I never tried them — the smell was enough). Avocado juice with chocolate sauce, however, is quite simply too much.

Transport? Yes, Taxi?

Magnus — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 15:43:01 +0000

We have now made our way to Bali (Indonesia). While many things are similar (for example, Malaysia and Indonesia share what is basically the same national language) many things are different. For example, hawkers and touts trying to sell you stuff on the streets or beach are annoying as all hell.

At literally every corner you pass, there will be some guy looking at you saying “excuse me, sir? transport?”. So, you ignore him. Next, he proceeds to say “yes, taxi?” and to impersonate the act of driving to you by suggesting the movements of turning the steering wheel — just in case you don’t know what transport and taxi means. Because it’s the only way to get rid of these people, you go on ignoring him, usually leading to the last question: “maybe tomorrow?”

You get used to it, you really do, but it can be difficult to keep your temper.