Have you ever thought about how and what aspects of your culture affect your travelling style? The thought came to mind when I teased my cousin for packing a few bottles of chilli sauce into her luggage whenever she flew overseas. As a culture-curious person, it made me wonder whether there are culturally shared traits while travelling.
Travelling While Indonesian
Chilli in our carry-on
It’s not news to anyone that Indonesians love our spices, especially chilli. It’s well embedded in the Indonesian food culture.
The cousin’s (mentioned above) latest chilli saga was her arguing with a top restaurant chef on top of Bergen as he asked her not to bring outside food while dining in. The so-called outside food was, yep, you guessed it, a bottle of chilli. And her point was that it was a condiment. I understand where both sides came from. The chef, of course, would want us to enjoy the food he prepared as is, but to be fair, the food was pretty bland for our Indonesian palette.
In the end, she hid her chilli bottle inside her bag but only after putting a generous dollop on the plate, which NGL I dipped into as well. Because yes, I teased her chilli habit endlessly, but I was also secretly glad she brought that chilli bottle, especially during our Scandinavian view-so-good-food-so-bland trip. And although I am not going to admit to her ━ ever, ━ I too carry chilli (I prefer Indonesian chilli flakes) whenever I travel outside of Asia. Not only that, I took those bottles everywhere I ate during my first few years in Melbourne (and I still do when I have lunch in the office).
Sometimes I carry a pack pop-mie (Indonesian instant noodles) during my travels because sometimes, those things are easier, cheaper and definitely tastier than the many alternatives.
Oleh-oleh
One of the distinct differences between Australian and Indonesian culture when it comes to travelling, which I realized only after I moved to Melbourne, is that bringing souvenirs for your mates back here is not the norm. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, nine out of ten times, I will be sent off half-jokingly with “don’t forget my oleh-oleh” whenever I share my travel plans with my friends.
Oleh-Oleh is a souvenir you buy from the travel destination you give to your loved ones, including friends and office mates. Though the tradition is not as austere as Omiyage in Japan, Oleh-Oleh is still somewhat expected even now.
Personally, I would like to think that the Oleh-oleh tradition is not as prevalent as before in Indonesia, but maybe it’s because I started giving less f about buying things for others when I travel, with the exception of my parents.
Weather-bound
This might not be a travelling Indonesian problem in general, ━ just myself, but hear me out first. As an Indonesian who grew up in Indonesia and had never ventured much outside the equator until I was 25yo, it took several travels for me to understand that unlike the forever 32 degrees of sunny Indonesia all year round, there is no standardized temperature for Winter or Summer.
That Summer in Perth is not the same as Summer in Japan (and how Summer in Japan almost killed me). Nor Autumn in Amsterdam is what Autumn in Auckland look and feels like. Heck, even 20-degree in windy Melbourne is not the same as 20-degree in Sunny Sydney. And each type of weather needs a different set of clothes depending on the country, city and moon position.
Indonesian Food Adventure
Unlike the previous point, I can attest that this is not only a me-specific problem. I, myself included, like to eat Indonesian food when we travel.
It’s not a must, and I also don’t want my first few meals to be Indonesian food. Still, there is an inherent curiosity about how Indonesian food is overseas (usually good but expensive). And if they are good, there is an undeniable sense of pride and something to report back to the next Indonesian travelling to that part of the world. Also, it’s nice to be reunited with rice, sambal and Teh Botol after days and days of another kind of food. Lastly, it is not that easy to find Indonesian food when you travel, compared to Chinese or Indian, for example, so there is a thrill that accompanies it as well.
More of my overseas Indonesian food adventure: Rijsttafel-ing Indonesian Food in Amsterdam 🍲 Indonesian Eating Indonesian Food in Zurich Switzerland 🍲 Last Day in Singapore.
Visa
Kind of a sour subject and not really culture related, but still, an Indonesian passport. Therefore, nationality is related to travelling. Because travelling while Indonesian means, you must check the visa requirement wherever you go. And most of the time, you will need a visa almost anywhere you go in the world (as of today, Indonesians are allowed to enter 30-something countries without a visa ━ that’s 30 countries out of 197 countries in the world. For perspective, Indonesia is the 14th largest and the 4th most populous country in the world).
Having an Indonesian passport adds to the unrequited tension of travel preparations. Anything and everything needs to be prepared at least two months beforehand and is significantly more expensive because visa and visa preparation is expensive. And from personal experience, visa submission has never been a pleasant event aside from Japan.
There you go, these things I can think of, for now, that set us Indonesians aside while travelling, albeit the title Traveling while Indonesian.
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