Farewell to Indonesia - the good, the bad and the beautiful
People i met here who contributed to, and improved my trip: Julia (Russia)
Arriving back in Medan, i became quite confused as to the city i had arrived back into! With Ramadan finished, the street that had been closed to house all the outdoor market, had been re-opened to vehicles and many of the street sellers also seemed to have moved on. If it wasn't for the Grand Mosque and McDonalds serving as reference points, then i would possibly have gone instantly insane!
That evening Julia and I went out in search of boat tickets and were pretty horified to find that the boat to Malaysia cost more than any flight that we had taken internally within the country. After checking into last minute flights and realising that these were even more expensive, we were pretty much left with our hands tied, as our visas were all but expired, so bought the boat tickets.
The following day a bus took us to the port and from there it was a 5 hour journey across the Strait of Melaka to Georgetown, Malaysia. It brought to an end a topsy turvy 3 months in Indonesia, with countless happy memories and great experiences, but sadly with quite a lot of sour notes regarding the treatment of foreigners, by a minority of the population. The real problems seemed to lie in and around transport links, where drivers, ticket sellers, food sellers and touts were not only rude, but often aggressive. Other problem spots had occured around guesthouses and i guess the theme of it was, that wherever there are tourists, the locals that were used to dealing with them had also come to expect something for nothing. If you have time and from my experience a LOT of patience, then its a wonderful country to be within, if you are lacking either these (i occassionally lack the latter!) then it can become a real drag at times. Nevertheless, i will look back on my time in the country fondly and hopefully will get to check out Sulawesi and Papua, next time i'm in this neck of the woods.
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