Thursday, 21Dec06
Highlights: almost got myself thrown out of the mall, Gods & Generals, my book
I went to Citos to develop some pics and go shopping with Lydia today. Some ladies outside the grocery store were showcasing model executive homes for sale. “How much does one of these homes cost?” I asked. “16 Milyar Rupiah.” ($1.76 Million U.S.) came the response. Huh,,, “are there a lot of Indonesians that can afford these homes?” I asked. “Oh yes!” Really? Not Chinese, Malay, Westerners,, but Indonesians who buy these homes. Oh sure! Lots! Really? Because last time I looked, most Indonesians are substantially poorer than their Chinese, Malay & Western counterparts, except Generals & government officials who served under Suharto. How do you explain all of these wealthy Indonesians who can afford to buy these places? “That’s private info, and we don’t ask that.” I thought it best to leave the conversation at that. Refrigeration in the room kicked in all of a sudden, as icy stares were honing in on me.
Aside from that, I met an Indonesian friend of a friend the other day. She owns 3 or 4 bars & restaurants, drives a Mercedes, parties 4 nights a week at all the hot spots, and recently bought my friend a $500 (Rp 5 Million) hp, because she didn’t like his old one. She roundly thumbed her nose at Hotel Cemara as a measly little 3-star rat trap where prostitutes probably hang out. Huh! Interesting opinion, considering USINDO, Fulbright, and several other NGOs host their staff there. I saw no prostitutes there, and according to Jakarta Undercover (Emka, 2006) & embassy staff, much of the prostitution in this city tends to happen at the fancier 4-5 star hotels. This is a poor country, where a small group of people have profited heavily through years of corruption at the expense of millions of countrymen. And this spoiled 30 year old general’s daughter acts like a snob towards poor Indonesians while throwing her money around? Pisses me off.
So I went home, frustrated & popped in a movie to take the edge off. Gods & Generals. Well, anything with Robert Duvall is probably good, right? Yeah. There’s nothing quite like 3 hours of American Civil War to get you out of a frustrated mood. (=
I did get through it, and then stayed up till 5am reading my new 527 page book (Indonesian Destinies). Interesting read, but told through a distinctively biased, non-Indonesian tone. Kind of how I feel lately actually.
Highlights: almost got myself thrown out of the mall, Gods & Generals, my book
I went to Citos to develop some pics and go shopping with Lydia today. Some ladies outside the grocery store were showcasing model executive homes for sale. “How much does one of these homes cost?” I asked. “16 Milyar Rupiah.” ($1.76 Million U.S.) came the response. Huh,,, “are there a lot of Indonesians that can afford these homes?” I asked. “Oh yes!” Really? Not Chinese, Malay, Westerners,, but Indonesians who buy these homes. Oh sure! Lots! Really? Because last time I looked, most Indonesians are substantially poorer than their Chinese, Malay & Western counterparts, except Generals & government officials who served under Suharto. How do you explain all of these wealthy Indonesians who can afford to buy these places? “That’s private info, and we don’t ask that.” I thought it best to leave the conversation at that. Refrigeration in the room kicked in all of a sudden, as icy stares were honing in on me.
Aside from that, I met an Indonesian friend of a friend the other day. She owns 3 or 4 bars & restaurants, drives a Mercedes, parties 4 nights a week at all the hot spots, and recently bought my friend a $500 (Rp 5 Million) hp, because she didn’t like his old one. She roundly thumbed her nose at Hotel Cemara as a measly little 3-star rat trap where prostitutes probably hang out. Huh! Interesting opinion, considering USINDO, Fulbright, and several other NGOs host their staff there. I saw no prostitutes there, and according to Jakarta Undercover (Emka, 2006) & embassy staff, much of the prostitution in this city tends to happen at the fancier 4-5 star hotels. This is a poor country, where a small group of people have profited heavily through years of corruption at the expense of millions of countrymen. And this spoiled 30 year old general’s daughter acts like a snob towards poor Indonesians while throwing her money around? Pisses me off.
So I went home, frustrated & popped in a movie to take the edge off. Gods & Generals. Well, anything with Robert Duvall is probably good, right? Yeah. There’s nothing quite like 3 hours of American Civil War to get you out of a frustrated mood. (=
I did get through it, and then stayed up till 5am reading my new 527 page book (Indonesian Destinies). Interesting read, but told through a distinctively biased, non-Indonesian tone. Kind of how I feel lately actually.
posted by jonathan adventures at 12:21 PM
1 Comments:
Yeah.. tell me about it... people said Indonesia is in a monetary crisis yet the rich people still becoming more rich and the poor people still poor. Have you seen those houses around Pantai Mutiara??? you should go there.. they even have a yacht parked on thei backyard!
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