I spent the morning on errands, seeking out laundry and a tailor to repair my insect repellent hat in preparation for additional South East Asian countries, while finding local dishes and exploring back alleys where I observed the excess supply of vacant rental properties due to the tourist off season. The tailor was so delighted and inspired by the twisting hat design that he offered to repair it for free, and I wondered if this was how technologies spread little by little across the ancient world. Every place I walked, I was amazed at the quality and affordable price of the accommodations. Skipping back and forth between the tourist areas and local economy highlighted the geographic intersection of borders that separate Australia to the south from South East Asia to the north. This contrast was accentuated when my Indonesian friend whom I met in Papua New Guinea suggested that I check out Sky Garden night club past midnight. I decided that the expensive cover charge was not worth it and instead opted to blend in as best I could along the street to watch people going in and out of the various clubs and bars. I was troubled to see so many Indonesians loitering outside waiting for drunk tourists to exit so they could offer rides, services and friendship or even steal.

Tip:
High cover charges at clubs are intended to exclude a lot of people, but they are also a signal to thieves and opportunistic people of where to loiter and wait for victims. To avoid any issues, it’s best to make concrete plans with friends to go together and leave together.

Published by BE

I write about my travel and money experiences. View all posts by BE