I’ve only been here a very short while. Less than a day. I’m tired and nothing in particular appeals to me about Indonesia. Not even the name, it seems to be a term whose etymology is founded in an inability to remember and a treatment for diarrhea.
The entire city thus far, smells like a casserole of garbage riding thick on the humid night air – freshly hosed down pavement, reeking with diesel exhaust, raw sewage, old dishwater, and smoldering fish grilling for hours on filthy hibachi’s.
There is just a cacophony of vehicles and voices – there are as many 500 rupiah pieces as there are kids willing to work for one…and they are. Millions of dollars to be earned by billions of people.
