Tag Archives: Indonesia

Medan Mosque – Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

Medan had a beautiful mosque. That’s good, because it didn’t have much else.

Flat Fixer – Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

This is a flat fixer. I saw them everywhere I went in Medan. It’s a bicycle with a sort of trailer built on the side. On the trailer is an air compressor run by a gasoline engine. There was an air tank hooked to the compressor. Someone would pull in with a flat or leaking tire and the guy would take it off and fix the tire on the spot. If you live in Medan, Indonesia you’d never have to worry about having a flat tire.

Medan Palace – Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

This was the place at Medan. You got to see one room. It was a good thing it was free.

Chili Sauce – Medan, Sumatra, Indonesia

I would have thought it was ketchup. But it’s not. In many countries in SE Asia, when you see a push-pump out in the condiments section, it doesn’t contain ketchup, it contains chili sauce. Ketchup you have to ask for. So is the chili sauce hot? You’re kidding, right? You’re asking me if the chili sauce is hot in places like Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia where you can’t get bland food? Yes, it’s hot. I usually cover my nachos in jalapenos back home, but I’ve had a couple of situations in SE Asia when I really regretted taking a bite of food, because it contained some of the hottest chili peppers I’ve ever had the displeasure of tasting.

Monas

Monas is a tower, much like a cross between the Washington Monument and the Statue of Liberty. Monas is, technically, named the National Monument. It is located in Merdeka Square in Jakarta, Indonesia and is the city’s principal landmark and the final extravagance of former President Sukarno. It stands around 400 feet high and is a tower that has a large sculpted flame at the top which is supposed to be covered with almost 80 pounds of gold leaf. I read that it took over 15 years before the full construction was finished. Notice the rain crowd in the background? I now know what tropical rain forest means.

Jakarta Gang

In Indonesia they call the little alleyways off of the main streets "gangs" although I’m not sure why. This is the gang in the backpacker ghetto where poor wandering homeless people like me stayed in Jakarta. It wasn’t much, but I found it to be all I needed. One thing I will say for it is that it had a lot of character. Rooms were about $15 a night. Jakarta is not the cheapest city in Indonesia.

Ancestor Worship

When I was told what this was I was a little disturbed. Here’s the concept. A relative dies. You want to remember them. So, you take their skull and put it on a little carved body. They are now with your forever. Sounds a little weird? They do this in certain parts of Indonesia. In s a strange way it makes a little sense.

Chili Sauce

Why would you need chili sauce for your donuts? I donut know. However, it wasn’t just in my donut sack that I found chili sauce. No matter what I bought in Indonesia, if it was bought take-way or to-go, it had a package of chili sauce in the bag.

Bali Rice Terrace – Indonesia

These are rice terraces in Bali. They’re everywhere. It seems that Bali is really hilly away from the beach and they have grown rice here for centuries. Terraces work really well. These terraces are the ones on the tourist trail. There were other terraces as well as traditional fields everywhere I went in Bali.

Bali Beach I

Bali is beach worship personified. Everyone in Bali goes there sooner or later. Some people seem to live there. I guess there are a lot worse places in the world to spend your days. Note that, contrary to popular opinion, most of the people at the beach are Indonesians, not Australians.

Rolling Okie

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