Culture Shock!: Jakarta at Your Door (Culture Shock! at Your Door)

Rating:
Summary: Garuda In-Flight Magazine Review by David Jardine
Review: Derek Bacon knows Jakarta well, and indeed Indonesia. He has 'been there, done that' and is qualified to comment. In this fiesty volume he sets out his stall plainly and very readably, taking the reader into the heart of the matter of what it is like to be a foreigner - at least a 'bule' Western foreigner - living and working in this collar-rubbing clamshell of a city.

In the 'blurb' on the back cover he describes Jakarta as 'a frankly mad city' but then proceeds to take the intending newcomer, for whom this book is meant, on a colourful tour that demonstrates how you can come to terms with its 'insanity'.

Although he gets one or two things wrong - Bogor is not the world's wettest place, Cherrapunji in India is - the gist is very accurate and well-informed. Bacon has certainly observed the Big Mango in fine detail and is particularly good on the warp of street life, which he captures right down to the last 'gerobak' or hand cart. Any incoming foreigner could learn a great deal, for instance, by reading his descriptions of the many hawkers that will inevitably pass the house on an average day. Whether he has actually eaten all the food he describes and in all the types of places he mentions is beside the point - he knows what he is talking about.

Culture shock ? If you have never suffered it and can't imagine what it is then this volume will alert you. Take the vexed matter of 'personal space', which many Westerners, especially Anglos, value so much. Bacon rightly insists that if you do not come to terms with the fact that in Jakarta you are never really alone - the 'pembantu' insisting on mopping the toilet the moment you leave it - you will 'go out of your mind'. Better it is to come forewarned and forearmed. Indonesians simply do not understand 'privacy' in the European sense and find it hard to come to terms with the man or woman who values solitude.

'Hello Mister'. Ever been 'Hello Mister'-ed to death by children of all ages ? If you haven't then Bacon can enlighten you on the danger lurking on every city street. Of course the 'bule' is exotic. Taller on average, sometimes more buxom or pot-bellied, often blonde and blue-eyed, bushy-bearded, fast moving, flamboyant, he or she is ever so likely to be a sore thumb in a society that notionally at least welcomes conformity. What you have to learn is to screen it all out. It is not easy and Bacon is spot-on in telling the reader so.

Hassles abound. One would have to be an ostrich to ignore the fact that vigilantism is a factor here. The author wisely counsels not going out of one's way to annoy people, lest one finds a large group arriving to exact retribution.

Bacon editorialises freely and certainly hits some sensitive buttons. His reference to 'the immorally rich' would not pleased the New Order and probably does not endear him to that heady class of satraps we all know too well even now. If you are just arriving, the gap between rich and poor may be beyond your prior experience, but perhaps some caution is in order here. Modern Britain, for one, demonstrate an alarming social divide on a similar sort of scale.

The book is essentially about getting the best out of your time here. It is not for the veteran expat, the kind of person who has not really been 'home' for donkeys' years and who has hung his hat in every port from Lagos to Yokohama. Neither is it for Indonesians, although to be sure many an Indonesian might find it illuminating to 'see themselves as others see them'. No, it is for the perhaps somewhat nervous first-timer heading for these shore, and it would not be a bad idea if every company recruiting personnel for Indonesia made it compulsory reading.

Good value.

(Review by David Jardine and originally appeared in Garuda In-Flight magazine and Jakarta Kini magazine).


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Summary: Buy it even if you have no intention of going there.
Review: Having lived in Jakarta for 18 months,reading Mr Bacons book took me straight back to the city that's ' in danger of imploding.'Straight back to the smells,the noises and the heat.The infomation and incredible insight that is packed into this book is quite amazing. I think it's difficult to understand quite how accurate this book iis until you've actually lived there. Really humourously written little stories had me chukling all the way through.I reckon , even if you are not about to move to Jakarta or even visit the place ,its well worth reading.

Rating:
Summary: Culture Shock! Jakarta at Your Door
Review: I found this book an exceptionally good read. Bacon takes us on a ride through the hot and crazy world of Jakarta in a way which is both informative and entertaining; summing up with great humour what he rightly describes as a "complex problem". Not only does he cover enough practical information to leave even the most unforwarned visitor feeling fully prepared, but he goes to great pains to explain the nature of `Indonesian-ness' - and how to avoid the inevitable `clash of culture' that foreign visitors might expect. As well as covering broader areas such as History, Politics and Culture with clarity and sensitivity, the author peppers the book throughout with the kind of detail and annecdote which brings the book alive. Bacon really hits the mark with this one.

Rating:
Summary: Culture Shock! Jakarta at Your Door
Review: I found this book an exceptionally good read. Bacon takes us on a ride through the hot and crazy world of Jakarta in a way which is both informative and entertaining; summing up with great humour what he rightly describes as a "complex problem". Not only does he cover enough practical information to leave even the most unforwarned visitor feeling fully prepared, but he goes to great pains to explain the nature of 'Indonesian-ness' - and how to avoid the inevitable 'clash of culture' that foreign visitors might expect. As well as covering broader areas such as History, Politics and Culture with clarity and sensitivity, the author peppers the book throughout with the kind of detail and annecdote which brings the book alive. Bacon really hits the mark with this one.

Rating:
Summary: Jakarta At Your Door
Review: If there's just one book to put in your rucksack on your travels to Jakarta, this is the one. It's obvious that the author not only knows his stuff, but loves Jakarta too! A winner!

Rating:
Summary: Jakarta At Your Door
Review: If there's just one book to put in your rucksack on your travels to Jakarta, this is the one. It's obvious that the author not only knows his stuff, but loves Jakarta too! A winner!