Tuesday, March 23, 2004
bali vs. jakarta
i was walking with 2 of my friends downtown when i passed a souvenir shop that put a bunch of postcards in front of the show window, and suddenly remember that i need to send alaya one. so i browsed them and decided to buy 3, one for her, one for my another friend, and one just in case. the next day when i went to finnerty express at my campus to buy a cup of coffee, i decided to buy the stamps. so i approaced the cashier girl.
me: hi, can i have a cup of latte? and i need stamps to send a postcard.
her: hi, sure. where do you want to send it?
me: indonesia.
her: ok, that'd be 4.30 please
she handed me the stamps and i gave her the change, when she asked me another question.
her: i'm sorry, but are you from indonesia?
me: yeah, why?
her: oh this is great! cuz i'm planning to go there on september with my friends, it's gonna be fun! oh my god i'm so excited, i've never been to southeast asia before..
me: oh cool, whereabout?
her: i'm still not sure yet.. we might go either to bali or jakarta, or even both if we have the time.. which do you suggest?
almost instantly, without any thinking, i replied:
me: go to bali. don't go to jakarta.
and i stepped back. i couldn't believe what i've just said.
her: yeah? i thought so too, i heard bali's a lot of fun. and jakarta should be just like another city, no?
me: true, and it's not really a good representation of indonesia. all it offers are only pollution and traffic.. (half laughing)
and i stepped back further. that sentence was just slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it. do i really hate jakarta that much? it really was seem natural, but was it wise of me of saying bad things about jakarta to foreigners? do i really don't want them to look at the superficial part of indonesia?
her: (half laughing too) ok, i'll remember that. oh, your latte is at the other end, and the mail box is outside of the store. thanks for the suggestion, anyway. have a great day..
me: yeah, you too.
and i couldn't stop thinking about it. was i doing the right thing by saying that? should i just said that she should go to both places and compare them herself? or maybe it's better this way, because i've told her the truth? after all, jakarta's not that bad, or is it?
i remember a few months ago, i met a japanese girl from a wednesday coffee meeting, and we introduce ourselves to each other. when i said that i'm from indonesia, she told me that she went to bali for a holiday and had a lot of fun there. she even remember all the names of the places: kuta, ubud, jimbaran, denpasar, nusa dua. when i asked her whether she went to jakarta or not, she said that she was only there at the airport for about 2 hours. soekarno-hatta. curious, i asked her what did she think about it. she said that it was 'okay', as she expected smaller place, but it was fine. however, she also mentioned that 'the guards and the officials are unfriendly'.
perhaps i did the right thing by saying don't go to jakarta to the cashier girl.
_____________
*note: if any of you wants to get a postcard, just give me your full address and i'd be more than happy to send it to you :)
i was walking with 2 of my friends downtown when i passed a souvenir shop that put a bunch of postcards in front of the show window, and suddenly remember that i need to send alaya one. so i browsed them and decided to buy 3, one for her, one for my another friend, and one just in case. the next day when i went to finnerty express at my campus to buy a cup of coffee, i decided to buy the stamps. so i approaced the cashier girl.
me: hi, can i have a cup of latte? and i need stamps to send a postcard.
her: hi, sure. where do you want to send it?
me: indonesia.
her: ok, that'd be 4.30 please
she handed me the stamps and i gave her the change, when she asked me another question.
her: i'm sorry, but are you from indonesia?
me: yeah, why?
her: oh this is great! cuz i'm planning to go there on september with my friends, it's gonna be fun! oh my god i'm so excited, i've never been to southeast asia before..
me: oh cool, whereabout?
her: i'm still not sure yet.. we might go either to bali or jakarta, or even both if we have the time.. which do you suggest?
almost instantly, without any thinking, i replied:
me: go to bali. don't go to jakarta.
and i stepped back. i couldn't believe what i've just said.
her: yeah? i thought so too, i heard bali's a lot of fun. and jakarta should be just like another city, no?
me: true, and it's not really a good representation of indonesia. all it offers are only pollution and traffic.. (half laughing)
and i stepped back further. that sentence was just slipped out of my mouth without me realizing it. do i really hate jakarta that much? it really was seem natural, but was it wise of me of saying bad things about jakarta to foreigners? do i really don't want them to look at the superficial part of indonesia?
her: (half laughing too) ok, i'll remember that. oh, your latte is at the other end, and the mail box is outside of the store. thanks for the suggestion, anyway. have a great day..
me: yeah, you too.
and i couldn't stop thinking about it. was i doing the right thing by saying that? should i just said that she should go to both places and compare them herself? or maybe it's better this way, because i've told her the truth? after all, jakarta's not that bad, or is it?
i remember a few months ago, i met a japanese girl from a wednesday coffee meeting, and we introduce ourselves to each other. when i said that i'm from indonesia, she told me that she went to bali for a holiday and had a lot of fun there. she even remember all the names of the places: kuta, ubud, jimbaran, denpasar, nusa dua. when i asked her whether she went to jakarta or not, she said that she was only there at the airport for about 2 hours. soekarno-hatta. curious, i asked her what did she think about it. she said that it was 'okay', as she expected smaller place, but it was fine. however, she also mentioned that 'the guards and the officials are unfriendly'.
perhaps i did the right thing by saying don't go to jakarta to the cashier girl.
_____________
*note: if any of you wants to get a postcard, just give me your full address and i'd be more than happy to send it to you :)
