Indonesia May 2008

An eye opening trip is what I've been telling people about. Some say it is the 2nd most corrupted country in the world. I'd say it's in pretty bad shape. You even get to bribe an entrance fee. How? Well, you pay the entrance guy half the price of what you should be paying for the ticket. That way, you get to go in at half price and he gets to take the money home. That was just a guy at the park entrance servicing a tourist. Imagine what the government officials are doing.

Traffic is chaotic. Partly due to the high number of body count versus land area. Partly due to poor education. Most part due to the high 'I don't give a shite' attitude.You don't stop at traffic lights there. You honk like hell and make sure the guy in front moves his ass through the lights. Lots of intersections have humans directing traffic. When you pass, you tip the guy.

It is also a place where you can find prostitutes selling themselves for a mere RM15 for a bang by the road side - in a tent. You know the blue plastic roof you tie with a string on most mamak stalls use in Malaysia? That's their tent. Unlike Thailand where folks tell the world they are good at turning guys into girls, Indonesia cannot expose themselves to the fact that they supersede Thais in every aspect when it comes to flesh trade. Some say it is because they are a Muslim country. True to a certain extent but you have to see the gap between the poor & the rich to understand the situation there. These people are just plain poor & never got a decent education in their lives.

Poor Indonesian women actually prefer baby girls. They won't bother looking for a husband or get married legally. They'd get pregnant just so that they can raise the kid and teach them flesh trade. Why? So that when the kid can grow up & support them via flesh trade.

Sick? Not really.Its life for them.

Avacado fruit is sold in abundance there. I had it as juice mixed with chocolate at almost every meal for the 1st 3 days I was there. It only cost RM2.50 and it taste like heaven.