“What do you need here ? – strictly asked the border guard of the Russian traveler at the airport in Jakarta (Indonesia). And then he added the following standard question: “What are your plans for Indonesia?” The tourist shared the details of how to answer them, as well as the attitude towards the Russians, tried on herself, in her Yandex.Zen blog.
“For more than six months now, my friends who have never traveled abroad in their lives have been asking the question: “How are Russians treated now?” Naturally, they are sure that it is bad. And even more so against the backdrop of all the lawlessness that is happening now. In their opinion, now it is generally dangerous to go abroad,” she said.
If previous countries, such as India, Thailand and Malaysia, met the girl with honors when they found out where she came from, then in Indonesia, at first it seemed to her that the reception would not be the most cordial. “When we first arrived in Indonesia, the border guard asked: “What do you need here? What are your plans for Indonesia? Such questions need to be answered clearly and to the point, and in our case, the answer is travel. Our passport with many stamps can say everything for us. The border guard flipped through the passport, smiled and wished a successful trip to Indonesia,” the author wrote with relief.
As it turned out, the locals are also friendly and hospitable, despite the utterly unsanitary conditions on the streets, where they sell street food right there (for details, read the article “Rats and huge cockroaches run: a Russian tourist came to Indonesia and urgently wanted to go back to Thailand”). “People ask where we came from, and then they are delighted with the answer. We haven't encountered any aggression so far. Yes, and nowhere to meet her. Staff, waiters, people in the store, just passers-by – everyone is happy to see foreigners. And when we start mentioning Russia, people dissolve into a smile. They often express words of support by clenching the palm into a fist, after which they demonstrate “cheers” by raising their hand up. We often saw this, and not only in Indonesia. It was the same in India, Thailand, Malaysia,” the blogger reassured her compatriots.
In addition, the tourist explained that the locals are following the events taking place in the world and what is happening in Ukraine. “We even discussed the current situation in Russia and Ukraine with passers-by, and in response we received only words of support. I hope this is not our ability to meet exceptionally kind people,” the traveler concluded.
For those who value a healthy lifestyle, we recommend reading: “The Russians were told which mushrooms harm the liver and which ones remove parasites from there” .