There are many things that strike me as funny about Indonesia and one of them is the fact that the number 4 is considered unlucky. In my apartment building there is no 4th floor, or 14, 24, 34 etc. In the huge malls nearby, they go to great effort to avoid the number 4, but still have malls with many levels. There is a Basement level, then Ground followed by Upper Ground, 1, 2, 3, 3A, so a 7 level mall without ever getting to 4!
Another thing is that it is uncommon to have hot water in the kitchen, except for in the fancier homes. In my apartment the only hot water is in the shower. The kitchen and bathroom sinks have only cold. The good thing is that the "cold" is actually tepid. No cold showers here!
Another rare thing, at least in apartments, are ovens. Most apartments come only with a stove top. I think that may be because most Indonesians seem to eat out rather than cook. There are small cafes and food carts everywhere. Speaking of eating out, some more funny things; water is always served at room temperature unless you specifically ask for cold (mostly foreigners), you could sit all day and they would never bring you the bill until you ask for it but once they bring it they stand by the table waiting while everyone sorts out the money.
The movie theatres are amazing. There are the regular theatres which are spacious with comfortable seats and are really cheap, ($3 for newly released movies) and then there are the more expensive theatres. For a few dollars more, you sit in a comfy reclining seat (like a lazy boy), configured in twos with a table in between to hold drinks and snacks which you order from a waiter. In the drawer of the table are freshly cleaned blankets to cuddle up with while you watch the latest release and wait for your drink and snacks to be delivered.
Some men here have only one name.
One last thing - you don't go to "pick up a dozen eggs" because the cartons here hold 10!
No comments:
Post a Comment