The last 18 days have been wonderful. We’ve really loved being in Indonesia and the biggest reason for this has been the people we’ve met.
Whether we’ve been in touristy areas or areas more remote, people here have been polite and seem to be genuinely friendly; both to us and to each other as well.
Unlike on most of our holidays, we haven’t been traveling with Westerners so much this year. Instead, we’ve been visiting the sites with Indonesians from other areas of the country. The rainy season seems to be when the locals explore their amazingly diverse country.
I know I’ve shared this picture before, but it’s still one of my faves. These were Indonesian tourists, on holiday, visiting Bukit Lawang. Everywhere we’ve gone, we’ve seen this smiling faces and happy greetings!
Today, we stopped at a little shop on the side of the road to stretch and I decided to get some pictures of the beautiful scenery while Dave ordered some snacks.
The Little shop where we stopped for a stretch and some snacks
I saw a couple taking some photos of one another at this lovely viewpoint so I offered to take one of both of them. They broke out in the biggest smiles, thanked me profusely and struck a super cool pose with their gorgeous backdrop.
In the background, you can see the ocean
Then, the woman said “now, one together!!”, And we huddled together and took a picture with each of our cameras. It wasn’t the usual “get a picture of a foreigner” either… Those situations feel very different (I would know…I frequently experience those moments in China.)
This felt more like a nice moment we all wanted to remember.
I love this country.
