Only in Indonesia

As you travel longer, it's often said that you stop seeing the differences between your own country and your destination, and instead see similarities. But still, every country has it's quirks that are sometimes subtle, and at others times colossal in their differences. Indonesia has it's ways and here's just a few things I've spotted over the three weeks so far:

Shaving

Now this is a first. I've observed a lot of men not shaving their face, but either cutting the hairs with nail clippers, or literally just sat there plucking the hairs out with tweezers. Suckers for punishment!

Blackberry phones

The phone maker Blackberry may be dying a slow death elsewhere in the world, but in Indonesia they couldn't be more popular - everyone seems to have a Blackberry. And like everywhere else in Asia, mobiles are ubiquitous - I expect more people have a mobile than running water in their homes.

Water

Like most of Asia you can't drink the tap water, but one thing I'm extremely impressed with is these water filtration stations that you find in every town and village. Everybody owns their own 20l water container and a water cooler just like in offices, and goes to a central place to fill up. No dysentery and cholera, and no mountains of plastic bottles behind. I'm very impressed.

Football

Like Malaysia, the nation is obsessed with football. They have their own 'Indonesia Super League' (after the premiership collapsed after just a year) which even attracts one or two internationals, stadiums in all the big cities and pitches in most towns and villages. The standard is relatively low, but they enjoy it nonetheless.

What they really love though is European football - English, Spanish, Italian and German league. So many people wear replica kits on no daily basis (fake no doubt), and people gather under communal shelters in villages to watch the game together. Even in a small village accessible only by a three hundred miles boat journey up a river, kids were running round with Juventus, Real Madrid and Manchester United shirts on. 

Cars and scooters

I've been impressed with how new all the cars and scooters are, with no bangers in sight. I'm guessing the reason is that ten years ago there simply weren't the cars on the road at all, and with a growing economy comes increased ownership. Most of them are Japanese made with the odd Korean or Malaysian car. People carriers are particularly popular, and they're big into modifying them boy racer style. For once in Asia people almost universally wear helmets on motorbikes.

Smoking

The trend for smoking may be declining in the developed world, but smoking has never been so popular in Indonesia. It's very much a male-only habit, I can't say I've seen any women at it, and unlike even India where indoor smoking is frowned upon, the Indonesians smoke everywhere. Even lying in bed trying to sleep on a ferry recently, I had smelly grey clouds of puff blowing my way. Cough cough.

Music

Indian Hindi music is popular despite the language differences, and people seem to love these awful, cheesy dance remixes of western songs, butchered like stray dogs into something that should never be consumed. What's most prominent of all however is cheesy ballad music, not just listened to but sung as karaoke. Every home no matter how rich or poor seemingly has a huge sound system, and they're not afraid to use it, nor endlessly repeat the same song. Respect for eardrums is not on the agenda here.

Bathrooms

Asian bathrooms often lack the amenities I'm used to at home but indonesia steps it up another gear. Hot water is never found (except expensive hotels), toilets are often of the squat variety rather than Western (which in reality are actually more hygienic), toilet paper is entirely absent (you carry your own, if you can actually buy it), but most prominent is the lack of sinks and showers. You're often presented with just a huge container of cold water, and a pail to pour it over yourself, which you never get used to now matter how many times you use it. But craziest of all is the lack of sinks. I mean everyone needs a sink, right? I've never been to a country without them, but here a tap and a spit on the floor is as good as it gets.

Caterpillars on dashboard

These long fabric and foam things which look like draught excluders are quite common sat on car dashboards. I have no idea why!

Car fans

Indonesian cars are the first I've seen that have dials which simply give you the option of cold, or very cold. Errrr, I'll take very cold please.

Adverts on TV 

Advertising on TV is in all our lives these days, you simply can't get away from it. It's often of the reasonably subtle variety, but in Indonesia it's a different story. Every panel show, quiz, or pop contest is so highly sponsored that sometimes the camera is sometimes focused on the advert whilst that host is talking, the same adverts pop up more times than a meerkat, and at all times the sponsors logo is in sight somewhere. I'm straight down the shop for noodles ever time.

Eating out

Buying a meal in a Warung - a cheap local cafe is so cheap you could never cook for yourself for that sort of money. It's spicier and more varied than Malaysia which I welcome, and at times spicer than even Indian food. Eating just rice and noodle based dishes is a little repetitive but after six months of Asian food I'm fairly used to that, but the dishes are tasty and often served with a lime, soup, aubergine, cucumber, tomato.

Unfortunately despite having learnt some of the Indonesian names it's often guesswork picking any meals beyond the basics which has resulted in all sorts of surprises, mostly good. However for some strange reason menus never have prices printed on them. If you can even get a menu that is - you sometimes have to walk outside and pick a dish from the banner above the shop!

Drinks in a bag

Everywhere you go you see people drinking through plastic straws from clear plastic bags, a novel sight. Cheaper than cups and less waste I guess, a winner!

Superstars

As you may have guessed from my other writings, I am famous in Indonesia. Well I'm not, I've done nothing at all but been born with white skin, but it feels like it. Borneo island, or Kalimantan as they call it in particular doesn't see a lots of foreign faces, and everywhere Rene and I go we're accosted with friendly shouts from across the street and people starting conversations. Common lines are:

'Hello mister'

'How are you?'

'Where you come from?'

'What u think of Indonesia?'

'Where you going?'

As well as this are the amount of people asking for photos. It's fun and only occasionally irritating or overwhelming, and I know now how it feels to be Brad Pitt. Well, sort of.