Tag: Food

Update on resolutions (part two)

Now that I’m almost leaving Jakarta, you may wonder how it went with the resolutions (see the resolutions here, check out the first update here).
Well, some things were easier than others, but all in all, I think I failed a little.

It was easy to eat fruit and yes, I ate a lot of rice and a lot of vegetables. So that’s good. I’ve tried exotic and weird fruits, such as dragonfruit, snakeskin fruit (yes, it’s a thing), starfruit, papaya and the best mango’s in the world. The food here is fantastic, but, even though I thought it would be very healthy, it turned out to consist of a lot of oil, sometimes a lot of sugar… Yes, they use fresh ingredients, but a lot of the food contained some not so healthy additions as well. So that was a downside.

Walking to work is something I did every day, and most of the times I walked back also. Sometimes I had plans after work, or I just felt lazy and ordered a Go-jek.

The thing about Indonesia is that it is hot. And the warmth makes you feel lazy and slow, which made it very hard for me to get off my but and hit the gym. So I only did this a couple of times and I wasted perfectly good money on the membership. So even though I did walk to work everyday, and back, most of the times, I didn’t really run or jump or whatever. In the next few months I will let this resolution go also, because with all the travel it will be tricky, but there will be a lot of walking. And then when I move to the next location for a longer period of time, I will create a new plan.

I really wanted to learn yoga while I was here, but I didn’t. I feel bad about that, but my new plans include a ten-day meditation retreat in Thailand, in March, where the morning includes an hour of yoga. So I hope that will give me the basis I need to start doing more yoga.

So yeah, not all my resolutions were accomplished, but that is basically how they work though, isn’t it? I have many resolutions for my time in Paris as well, but we’ll just see how they go. But right now, I am assuming I will accomplish them all then, so I can go on a guilt-free trip the next month and a half.

 

(full disclosure, the picture at the top was taken in Singapore)

 

The touchscreen technology in Indonesia

In contrast to what you may suspect after seeing this title, this post is about food, not technology. In Indonesia, there is this thing. This amazing thing. It is the kind of restaurant that they should have everywhere. Actually, a variant of this does exist in several countries under the name of ‘buffet restaurant’. But it is not the same.

In a warteg (Warung Tegal, named after a certain region in Indonesia), they have many different features, which all create a technological idea causing many people to name these kinds of restaurants a touchscreen restaurant.

Feature one: touchscreen. You can look at the different kinds of food, and point at what looks good. Then, the seller will put it on a plate for you (if you want to eat there) or wrap it up in paper (if you want to take away). It’s very easy.

Feature two: voice-activated search. If you are not sure what you’re looking at (which is not uncommon with Indonesian food) you can try to use the voice-activated search feature. If you want to eat some vegetables, you just say ‘sayuran’ (vegetables) and the seller will point at one of the plates that has vegetables on it, all the while looking at you questioningly. If it looks good, nod once. If it does not look good, shake your had, or give a small wave of the hand.

This kind of restaurant is really great. There is something for everyone. But, most of these restaurants make the food in the morning and they will leave it out until it it sold. So if you go there for dinner, you should know that the food won’t be very fresh. For me, a person who doesn’t eat meat, fish or egg, that’s not a problem. But I wouldn’t recommend buying these foodgroups late at night (but, me being me, I wouldn’t recommend buying these foodgroups at all :) ).

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This will be the only piece of vegan propaganda on this blog, I promise :)

A funny thing is that when you want to eat at a warteg and your friend wants to eat at the street-cart outside… there is no problem. One of you can just get the food and sit at the other establishment (if you can call them establishments). You can also bring your own drink to the warteg if you want. Oh, and, you will probably never spend more than a euro when you eat at a warteg. They also have loads of krupuk, free for the taking. But you have to pay afterwards ;)

There is also another kind of shops, called warkop (warung kopi). Literally translated this means coffeeshop, which is funny because I am from The Netherlands. While at the warteg they sell full sized meals, at the warkop they sell snack-like foods. To go with your coffee, or tea.

And remember, if all else fails: NASI is everywhere.

I thought it would be harder

It’s been a month now. And I really – really – really – like it here. I heard a lot of stories from people going abroad, that they would have moments where they would get homesick, they missed Dutch food, and most of all they experience culture shock.

I am not homesick. I’m sorry to all my friends back home, but I am just not. I don’t miss The Netherlands at all. I do miss my friends but we still keep in touch and Skype whenever I can. Maybe I don’t miss it because I prepared for this for so long, I was ready to leave it all behind and start over.

I can write a whole post (and maybe I will some time) about the food. But here, suffice it to say… I love it. I am in love with it. Everything I eat is so good and it is all so cheap. You can buy it everywhere and anywhere and it never fails to amaze me. I tried to discover why it was that I loved it so much and I came to a conclusion. It’s because everything they use is pure. It’s just vegetables, herbs, rice… Okay, sometimes they add some oil (or a lot of oil), which is the only downside, but still. The ingredients are not processed and that really improves the taste. I have to say it again, I really love the food. Really.

I have not experienced any culture shock. But I think that is because I came very well prepared. I had already seen a little bit of the world and I actually made everything way more scary and different in my mind than it really was.
I also have a theory that the culture shock will be bigger if you try to hold on to your Western beliefs and ideas. I like to think I am a very open-minded person and so when I got here, I just let everything happen and I literally went with the flow. I wanted to eat what the locals ate, travel the way they travel and learn as much about the culture as possible.

I imagine if you intend to find the Western food and culture here and you don’t find it… that might be a shock. But I immersed myself in everything Indonesian and that made it really easy. I was looking forward to all the cheap fruit, the rice and the joy of not having to cook. I wasn’t looking forward to going around on the back of a motorbike, but I gave in to that experience too and now I love it.

And I discovered something very important along the way.
I love Indonesia…Honestly, I didn’t think I would and I don’t know why. I figured I would miss the comfort of home, having people around you who you can count on and knowing your way around. But a new place is only new for so long until it becomes something else…
It becomes home too.

I think a big part of me loving it here is the food and the other part is the people. Because making friends is not that hard. Great people are everywhere and the Indonesian people are just so nice. It is impossible to not feel good here, when everywhere you look you can expect to find a smile on someones face. Where in The Netherlands something would be too much effort for someone, here they do it for you without complaining. They even offer!

I do have to admit that another part of my love for Indonesia has to do with the prices. Everything is so cheap here. You can take a taxi or ride on the back of a motorbike to go to places, food is super cheap and the rent is cheap.
I feel like I get such a good deal every time I buy something and really… It all adds to the happy feelings!

So, if you were wondering how I am doing here, the answer is great! I’s been a month and even though I still have four months left, I am already dreading the moment I have to get on a plane to leave it behind (but then again, it will be to travel, so maybe excitement will overrule my dread).
Regardless, I already know I will definitely come back to Indonesia after I leave it this time.

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How about them resolutions?

As you may remember I had some plans for the time I would spend here. At first I was very optimistic, but when I arrived in Jakarta, things were a little different than I expected. Even though I googled intensely, I still found some things I didn’t prepare for (shocker…).

The first thing I wanted to do was walk to work everyday. Well, when I worked in the hotel I did it two times, but it was more like a hike than a walk and it was much further than I predicted. Furthermore, the area that I lived in did not have a sidewalk. Soon I discovered the amazing go-jek, which is like a taxi service but for motorbikes and it was so cheap and fast that I caved and stopped walking to work.

The second thing I wanted to do was eating a lot of fruit and rice with vegetables. Well… It was harder to find the food I wanted than I thought. So in the very first days that I stayed here, I ate way too little, because I didn’t know where to look for it (and secretly I was a little scared to go outside because everyone stares at me… all the time). But finally I found a good place to eat dinner, lunch was covered because I ate with my colleagues and I bought fruit at the supermarket (which was really cheap).

The third thing was learning yoga and creating a morning routine. Up until now, my bed is so good to me, but then in the morning it will not let me go. We’ve got a bit of a love/hate relationship going on (but mostly love). As you may have guessed, the yoga thing is not yet happening.

But now that I moved to a new house, things already feel so much different. Even though the current bed is even more comfortable than the last one, I am confident that I can start my morning routine here. I can walk to my new internship. I did it today, while listening to music, and it was great. There are sidewalks, there are less people staring at me and when I take the time to look up it is into a smiling face. Finally, there is just one road I need to cross like I don’t care about my own life.

Also, even though I already figured out the food, still it becomes easier and easier to find places and things to eat. Every time I order something I will look at it skeptically, because I am sure that this will be the time it is something I will not like. Statistics tells me it must be coming up, because it is impossible to like everything the Indonesian kitchen has to offer. But three weeks in and I still haven’t eaten one single thing I didn’t like. Obviously, I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

I am a little surprised by how much I like it here. I was so sure I was someone who would miss the luxury of my own house, I thought it would be so hard to make real new friends here and I thought I would have a lot of moments where I just wanted to stay in and not make an effort. But none of this happened. Sure, I would miss luxury, but there is luxury here. They clean my room every day and do my laundry and I pay less than half of what I did before. Making friends is easier than ever with couchsurfing, not to mention the great colleagues that come along. I have met so many amazing people already, and I want to hang out with them all the time (which makes that I don’t want to stay in, but I want to take a freaking go-jek and go out)!

So far, so good. I can’t wait to see what the rest of my time here has to offer.

Rice, vegetables, fruit and walking

These four words pretty much sum up all of my great intentions for the time in Indonesia. During one of her pep talks, these four keywords were mentioned by my friend Jeanine (thank you for unknowingly giving me a title for a blog. I really enjoyed our day <3) and she is so right. If this was all that was waiting for me in Jakarta, I would still be pretty happy (but it is not, which makes me even happier).

Because I don’t eat meat or fish, a lot of people warn me about the hard time I will have finding something to eat in Indonesia. But for me, it’s very simple. I have set my mind to a plate of rice and vegetables every night for six months, and nothing could make me happier (except for the fact that I am having the adventure of a lifetime). I seriously think I will not get sick of eating the same thing every day! I am actually looking forward to the simplicity.

Here in The Netherlands, I eat a lot of fruit, but it is so expensive (doubting my fruit addiction? Check my fruity Instagram: @traveling_sunny. #healthylifestyle ;)). Even though I decided quite some time ago not to save money on healthy food, it always costs me an arm and a leg. In Indonesia, fruit is so cheap! I cannot wait to try all the exotic fruits and save money on the regular fruits that I have grown to love.

I’m also used to get my exercise by jogging or cycling, but in Jakarta, I will not venture out into the traffic on a bicycle (because I don’t have a death wish) and jogging while inhaling all of the smog and avoiding cars and scooters doesn’t seem like the best idea (not to mention I won’t have my running gear there). So I have found other ways to stay/get in shape.
First, ever since I knew I was going to Jakarta (which is a long time, I’m kind of a planner) I decided Indonesia was a great place for me to learn yoga. So I will take a yoga class and practice yoga every morning. Also, because I am slightly afraid of the traffic, I will walk a lot! I’ll walk twenty minutes to and from the hotel where I will do my internship, and I will walk everywhere else (within reason). It will prepare me for all of the long days of traveling later on! Also, I think I will do quite some swimming. You know why. No? Because it is hot in Indonesia, that’s why.

As you can read, I am not only looking forward to the standard experiences of moving abroad for a serious amount of time. I am also very excited about the little things, the daily routines and the new life this place will be able to give me.

I’m just pretty excited in general.