Jakarta’s backstreet money changers and existing in two worlds
Jakarta, February 2022.
It's 4.40 pm, I just arrived from the airport, coming in from Bali. I don’t know that yet, but I’m about to be reminded of the magic and chaos of existing in two worlds.
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It's been a busy and strange week (as most weeks are these days, aren't they?)
I'm stressed and tired and I need to exchange some Indonesian rupiah into dollars for a fee I have to pay the very next morning, in dollars, in cash.
I check-in at the hotel and then walk out to try and find a money changer in the area. On Google Maps, there seem to be plenty of options within walking distance. But it turns out, none of them are still open. Some banks are still open, but their 'exchange service' only works until 3 pm.
I'm roaming around trying to find one last pin on the map on an intricate backstreet. This doesn’t bode well for my early morning appointment.
An older guy in a batik shirt and scruffy shoes comes out of nowhere asking me what I'm looking for. I’m taken aback and annoyed, but not really surprised.
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Now, let's take a quick pause here for some context. The thing is, in Indonesia, there are (at any time) a large number of people minding your business. Your neighbors know exactly what you like to cook and who visited you last night. It's commonplace for people to approach you and constantly ask you where you're going (even at night, in the dark, when you're a woman on your own). No malicious intent. Or if you're married? And for how long? How much money do you make? How much is your rent? Why don't you have kids yet? All when you've just met, or just happen to be on a street or in a cab together. Now, those I mentioned so far are personal questions. There are also the incessant "commercial" questions. Do you maybe want to buy something? Rent something? Or take a cab instead of walking? (like a crazy person! - walking is not a thing here, and I grew up loving walking in all the European cities I lived in).
All these questions are coming at you from all directions, all day, every day.
This, to be honest, is one of my least favorite things about Indonesia, and generally makes me quite uncomfortable. I try to always be polite and go along, but deep inside me, there's a little girl getting really squirmish and curling up in a ball and wishing to become invisible every time I'm being subjected to these interrogations.
Disclaimer: this is not the person in the story
Back to our Jakarta backstreet and batik shirt gentleman.
So he keeps asking me what I'm looking for.
And eventually, I tell him, annoyed, hoping he will go away.
But he doesn't. He says "Come with me".
And he takes me further down the street to a small place. A place that has no signs of being a money changer. It also has a large TUTUP (closed) sign. I'm really unsure why we're here and start to think he didn't quite understand what I'm looking for. He goes in and talks to the people inside (who sound like they're done with work and about to leave).
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Lo and behold, it IS a money changer. He gets them to help me, and leaves. I manage to change the money (seamless transaction).
I come out, he's still there, he asks me if all was fine.
I thank him and he says "Thank you too, have a good day, lovely!"
I still have no idea who he really is and what his job is (a good guess is a parking guy for one of the office buildings in the area).
I would've never found this place on my own let alone tried to go inside.
I walk back to my hotel with a big smile on my face.
All I can think of is that someone I considered an annoyance and wanted to get rid of went out of his way to solve my problem.
Notes to myself:
Get out of your head and your own paradigms more often.
Stop applying your own frameworks (e.g. we should all be minding our own business) to everything and everyone. Trying to always solve problems in Asia using pre-conceived frameworks (e.g. searching on Google Maps instead of asking the locals) often doesn't work.
The very thing you consider to be a nuisance can be the key, the person, the angle that solves a problem you're currently wrestling with.
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Indonesia is often absurd to ‘outsiders’. It is also heartwarming and amazing.
Within the chaos, there is magic. It’s hard to digest both at the same time. And sometimes, the chaos is so overwhelming that it’s easier to shut down or just be upset.
But if I manage to keep my sensors out for both, it makes otherwise impossible things possible and teaches me lessons like this every day. And, in that way, offers so many more opportunities for growth I wouldn’t have in a more predictable place.
I’m grateful.
