Indonesia: Likes

3. Things I Like About Indonesia

1. Friendly people 
Every time I think back to my days spent in a different country, there is one thing which pretty much determines whether I liked and enjoyed my stay in the particular country or not. This important thing is how I felt among the local people, it is the feeling whether I felt welcomed or not. Indonesia is one of the countries where you feel comfortable talking to people whether it is just asking for directions or small-talk. People in Indonesia will always try to get out of their way to help you no matter what the request is. However, there is one exception to this rule, which you can encounter when an Indonesian is trying to sell you something. I don't have in mind that every seller will try to rip you off given the fact that you are a tourist and that you don't know the real prices of things. This is common pretty much all over the world and especially in Asian countries and it is a thing which is even expected from the tourists. What I think is the fact that sellers and vendors will go as far as telling you lies to your face trying to take advantage of your desperate situation. It is for instance a common thing in Indonesia that people at bus/train stations will try to convince you that there no buses going the way you need to go and that the only way to get there is by taking a taxi or ojek, which is a service provided by them of course. It is really sad when you can actually see the bus stop in the distance and a taxi driver is following you and keep repeating that the there are no buses going today. Even though this can be very unpleasant, you shouldn't let it ruin your perception of Indonesian people. As I said at the beginning, people in Indonesia are very friendly and it is very easy to start a conversation with them.

2. Tolerance
It is not a coincidence that the Indonesian national motto says unity in diversity. There are as much as six religions officially recognized by the government and it is really amazing how well do people of different religions get along with each other. I was really amazed when I saw a church, mosque, buddhist and a hindu temple standing right next to each other in the street. Until I happened to see this, I always thought that each religion tries to create some sort of its own closed community. It is definitely not the case in Indonesia. It is obvious that people of the same religion will tend to have more friends of the same religion, but it won't be to the exclusion of the other religions. It is for instance not unusual in Indonesia to see Muslims in hijabs talking to Christians in front of a cathedral. People will always respect your religion as long as you respect theirs and this is how it should be in every country. 

3. Non-complainers
One thing I really admire in Indonesian people is that they almost never complain about anything. Indonesian people will always take things as they are even in a very uncomfortable or unpleasant situation and they will always adapt very quickly. You won't get to see people complaining about services or you won't even see drivers complaining about other driver's driving skills, which is in my eyes (given how hectic a chaotic driving in Indonesia is) really incomprehensible. You will see drivers using horns all the time, but at the same time you will see that they remain calm like everything is just fine. It is just the opposite from what I am used to see in Europe where everyone get can get easily annoyed only because of standing in a traffic jam. 

Written by: Martin Svec
(Czech Republic)