Today was actually quite a calm kinda day until nightfall.
One funny thing about Indonesian society is their tendency to shorten everything. It's akin to Singaporeans' love for acronyms (PIE, NUH etc). This shopping mall I went to today is called Plaza Ambarrukmo, but the locals call it Amplaz. This is just one of the many instances that I've seen this happening (I just cannot draw up any more examples right now). Is this probably due to the long line of syllabus formal Bahasa Indonesia has?
We needed passport sized pictures for matriculation at the university tomorrow, so we had to take some. Rp35.000 (about S$5) is pretty expensive by local standards, but they use photoshop and everything! It's quite different from the S$6 affair in Toa Payoh Central where they print straight from the digital camera.
This shop had a real photo booth so the person is properly lighted, and the person is able to choose from a total of 4 shots. And then, the assistant uses photoshop (like a professional, I must say - I was VERY impressed) to erase the customer's spots etc. And lightens the whole picture so the skin tone is a lot lighter than it is. I'm amused at this country's preoccupation with skin whiteners. I don't really care about how dark or white I am.
So, the result is printed at an ink-jet in a format like below:
Besides the basic photo-taking, the shop also provides services like below:
A customer enters the photo booth dressed in something crappy, and the assistant is able to change what he/she was wearing using photoshop!
I never thought about that before, and it's so innovative! Many times, my I/C sized pictures have me wearing stuff that I wear during leisure, and I have to send them to universities (like above) or for an application for a job.
And, this picture is given to the customer on a CD so he/she is able to print it at home or at a professional photo printing shop at a much cheaper price! (That's how I'm able to upload it to photobucket)
Indonesians really believe in providing service to the maximum.
We left the shopping mall at about 5.30pm, when the buses have already stopped running due to the dark. (The bus I'm used to does not run after nightfall.)
I dropped Shalina and Feng Yi at their place, and proceeded to ask the taxi driver if there is any good food on my street. He drove me a restaurant, and since I thought the restaurant was on my street, I refused his offer to wait, deciding to walk back instead.
When I got out of the restaurant, I realised it wasn't my street after all! I was about 4 streets away (though I didn't know it at that time). And it was really dark then. I waited along that street for a cab, but none came. I wanted to walk back, but I didn't know where I was. In my desperation, I called Karina (local student who was at NUS last semester) for help, since I knew she arrived in the city on Monday. She called a taxi for me (I also didn't know the number to call a taxi). After waiting for about an hour and a half (the taxi driver got lost) beside a shoe shop with a salesgirl who helped me greatly (I doubt salesgirls are that helpful in Singapore), I finally got a taxi. And a minimum taxi charge of Rp15.000.
The saying, 'You'll never know what you have missed until you need it' is very true. While I was waiting on the street watching motorcycles whiz by, I longed for the organised streets of Singapore where everything is laid out in squares. Also, taxis in Singapore usually arrive within 15 minutes after the customer calls. Of course, there is a horrible surcharge of S$2.50+ (depending on time belt), but at least they arrive quickly.
P.S: dinner bought at the restaurant was horrible. Vegetables were terribly dry and it was not terribly good. The meal cost Rp 10.500, about twice the cost of a bowl of bakso at a warung near my place. -_- I had to break open a packet of instant noodles.
Moral of the story is to keep a number to call taxis while in Yogyakarta.
The number to call is: 0274 565565. This is in case anyone needs it for next year or something.
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