Odds and ends

When I think of things to share while travelling, I don’t always remember them later: so instead of too many “what was it I wanted to write about earlier in the day?”, I take some notes on my phone. Of course then I don’t always check my phone when writing my daily log, or it isn’t pertinent anymore. So now it’s time to take these bits and pieces and to write them here, if possible with the right context…

First, directions. Never underestimate the importance of a compass, even in this time of internet and Google Maps. Because maybe sometimes, you just need to know in which direction starting walking on this street indicated by said Google Maps. You can walk 20m and see what you GPS says, in a 35-40° sun, or you know straight away if you should walk left or right. (At the same time, you will impress the fellow Kiwi traveller who goes in the same direction as you. The one who thought you were German because your English was so good.)

Seen in a shop: dried shark fins. In Malacca, I stayed in the Chinese quarter. The medicine shop displayed a large selection of dried shark fins in its window. At least, I don’t see what else would have this very specific shape…

Speaking of staying somewhere, I think that what they call “Homestay” is the equivalent of our Bed and Breakfast.

I may have mentioned once or twice how prevalent scooters are in Asia. That means gas. Which means petrol stations. You have of course a few petrol stations as we are used to see, huge pumps, with (Indonesia) or without an attendant to pump the gas for you. But far more common is the small stand at the side of the road with glass (whisky, in Cambodia) or (sometimes) plastic bottles filled with gas, a funnel, and sometimes a length of plastic hose. Easy then to buy gas by the litre.

Speaking of bottles, it is not uncommon to receive a complimentary bottle of water in a bus while travelling (Vietnam, Indonesia). Of course, that’s when travelling in style, when the ticket costs €4 instead of €1.5. I also got free water in a temple (Thailand) and when visiting a palace (Cambodia).

Speaking of ticket price, there is a curious inflation. I travelled from Yogyakarta (Jogja for the people in the know) to Magelang to Temanggung, then back to Magelang, Borobudur and Jogja. Each leg was around an hour. The first leg was from a luxury minibus (free water…), so it doesn’t count. The second one, from Magelang to Temanggung, was in a horrible bus without shock absorbers that filled quickly. (See picture at the top of the article.) I was asked to pay 15,000 rupias. When I did the same leg on the way back, the price had risen to 20,000 rupias. Magelang to Borobudur was 25,000 rupias, as was Borobudur to Yogyakarta. Being a tourist funds other people’s days.

Traffic still doesn’t have many rules, since a red light mostly means that you can go as long as the other drivers on the cross street haven’t started to fill the road. One-way streets are for the four-wheelers, it doesn’t concern the bikes, scooters or trishaws.

To protect from the pollution and sometimes the sun, many people wear masks and long sleeves while in scooters. I have seen more people with cloth masks than paper, disposable masks. Children’s are brightly decorated, adults’ more sober. Long sleeves seem to be there to protect from the sun, vest sometimes worn backwards, open side on the back, edges flapping in the wind.

Buying food in a mini-supermarket or snack stand has its hazards. When preparing for a long train journey in Vietnam, I bought a box of crackers covered on one side with sugar. What I hadn’t noticed was the cheese covering the other side. According to an Indonesian traveller I met in a later bus when going to Laos, it is an Indonesian snack. In Jakarta, tired of always eating the same things, I got a pack of dried sausages. They were, of course, sweet. But the single-serve instant mashed potatoes weren’t bad, it’s easy to store and easy to use. I’ve learned also, when cooking instant noodles (cooking being an euphemism), to use only part of the powder packet -and not to put any of the oil at all.

When I left George Town (Malaysia) for the Cameron Highlands, first I had some free time in the morning, so I went into a bakery for a cup of Early Grey and a peach feuilleté. That was a sweet moment. Then I went to get my backpack and went to the bus station. The address is like “shopping mall X, off street Y, ground floor”. Basically, that means that you should find the correct place on the parking level of a giant mall that covers several blocks. It’s not exactly precise, more like looking for a nicely-sized needle, let’s say a safety pin, in a small haystack. You will find it, but it will take you some time.  

And that has cleared quite a few of my stored memos! I hope you will enjoy these small snippets of life on the move.