"Terimakasi". In Hindi, the Indian national language this Indonesian phrase phonetically sounds similar to 'Teri Maa Kaise Hai?" which literally means - how is your mom doing?
But this is not really a polite inquiry about your parent. Rather a soft spoken heartfelt 'thank you' in Bahasa - the native tongue of the Indonesians. The airline's recorded announcement told us that we had arrived in Bali and thanked us for coming.
So began our introduction to the sounds, culture, foods and weather of the island nation of Indonesia. We flew in with a Taiwanese air carrier from San Francisco, via Taipei into the isle of Bali, one of hundreds that make up the archipelago of this Republic.
Bali happens to be occupied by people of the Hindu faith while the rest of the islands are largely Muslim faith. It is overall a fascinating place with its own set of idiosyncrasies, lifestyle and pace of life.
We were smitten and amused by a variety of phrases and words that in Indian languages would mean completely different things. Certain cultural and fashionably astute ideas also made a few desi's aghast. For example the consumption of coffee (Kopi Luwak) made from beans that are excreted by a nocturnal mammal called the Civet cat (that previously feeds on fruit or the coffee pods)
are considered a delicacy and sell for quite a pretty penny.
A desi from Delhi ran into me at a sampling booth and noticing that I had imbibed said beverage proceeded to ask me what it was. I innocently told him it was coffee.
He asked his spouse to join him to try it and as the explanation came forth of the process, almost gagged on a perfectly fine brew.
Similarly every morning at breakfast we had caffe latte made with fresh 'Susu' (urine - in Hindi) but just plain milk in the local language. I wonder if that desi I met went hungry for the rest of his trip?
But this is not really a polite inquiry about your parent. Rather a soft spoken heartfelt 'thank you' in Bahasa - the native tongue of the Indonesians. The airline's recorded announcement told us that we had arrived in Bali and thanked us for coming.
So began our introduction to the sounds, culture, foods and weather of the island nation of Indonesia. We flew in with a Taiwanese air carrier from San Francisco, via Taipei into the isle of Bali, one of hundreds that make up the archipelago of this Republic.
Bali happens to be occupied by people of the Hindu faith while the rest of the islands are largely Muslim faith. It is overall a fascinating place with its own set of idiosyncrasies, lifestyle and pace of life.
We were smitten and amused by a variety of phrases and words that in Indian languages would mean completely different things. Certain cultural and fashionably astute ideas also made a few desi's aghast. For example the consumption of coffee (Kopi Luwak) made from beans that are excreted by a nocturnal mammal called the Civet cat (that previously feeds on fruit or the coffee pods)
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| Napping Civet at a coffee farm we visited |
A desi from Delhi ran into me at a sampling booth and noticing that I had imbibed said beverage proceeded to ask me what it was. I innocently told him it was coffee.
He asked his spouse to join him to try it and as the explanation came forth of the process, almost gagged on a perfectly fine brew.
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| Poop or Treasure |
Similarly every morning at breakfast we had caffe latte made with fresh 'Susu' (urine - in Hindi) but just plain milk in the local language. I wonder if that desi I met went hungry for the rest of his trip?
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