Wow!!!
I think I spent too much time in an holiday country. Time to go back to travel to start the last chapter of Asia travel - Sumatra.
I really wanted to take a ferry from Malaysia to Sumatra but they stopped working two months ago. Flights got too cheap... Environmentally scary a bit. Finally I took one hour flight and I landed in completely different world.
Much poorer, less developed than Malaysia and Thailand.. And much more challenging to travel.
In quite a few places I was proposed an overpriced tickets 2 or 3 times. But in Indonesia my first ticket that I was proposed, was 10 times more expensive than the real value! I read before what should be an real value of the ticket, but it took me 10 minutes discussion to get there. Than I made a small mistake. I thought that the guy that I made negotiation is a driver and I paid in advance!!! In a moment the guy left and the driver wanted to leave and he told me that he did not received money from the other guy and I would have to pay once more or try to find the guy in the neighboring restaurant. My backpack was packed already in the car so I did not wanted to leave my backpack. I had also the feeling that the driver knew very well the other guy and is not too serious - kind of checking me. I just said that I would call police and that the driver would have to wait at the spot until they would come.
My feeling was right and the situation was not serious at all. The other guy was called by the third person and the situation got clear out very fast
For me it was a reminder not to pay for anything in advance. I have to be as careful as I was in India or maybe even more careful...
Indonesia - second impression
In few days I landed back in Medan and I needed to take an overnight bus. I already figure out how to behave in Indonesia. The most important is to know the real, local price of the ticket. I wanted to catch the bus to Banda Aceh and I went to the official ticket counter of the bus company. I knew that I should pay 12$ but the guy said 14$. The bus was about to leave, I said no 12$ and he agreed with me very easily. I also figure out the public transport in Medan. It is very useful, very cheap and convenient. It is based on the pickups trucks with two raw of seat at the back.
Basically the petrol is very cheap in Indonesia, one liter cost below half a American dollar, so all transport is also very, very cheap.
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