Bule pays different fare here.

I have decided to go back into writing. After a long (2 years) period of being lazy, I've decided to start writing again. Remembering things that I loved about writing and utterly expressing how I feel. For those of you who were once a cult follower of this blog, hope you enjoy what I have to offer.

I was reading an interesting posting in one of the many forums I visited when I'm idle, and I found this posting here.

Note: idle here means I am basically at work, supposedly doing work, but I just got nothing to do. 

Anyway, the writer were questioning, about how Indonesian government were charging different entrance  fees for bules and locals for the same service. 

Note: since many Indonesians are still ignorant, they call everyone with caucasian/ hispanic descent as "bules" (meaning literally: white skin) 

If you eat burritos, you are bule

If you eat hamburger, you are bule

If you sit in the toilet, as opposed to squatting, you are "like bule"

Same place: 

Different Fare: 

About a buck fifty (1.50) for the locals

And about 11 bucks for the bules

Almost 10x the difference for a bule to see the same place, touch the same stones, take the same pictures (with or without monkeys), and look at the same gerombolan Indonesian asses. 

Why is that? 

I know here in L.A we charge different rates to enter community college for local residents and non-residents, but not in public places such as museums, art exhibitions, clubs etc. 

Even the writer of the post were questioned, is he from China, Japan or other foreign country so that they (the government) can impose a different fee; while he was born and live in Indonesia all his life! I can't help to think that many Indonesians are equipped with automatic racism programming capability (embedded) to immediately shut their brain of the possibility that there are diversity amongst all of us. 

I think that charging a higher fee for tourists are justifiable, but not at 1000% rate difference. The fact is Borobudur cannot be claimed as "Indonesian Property" only, it belongs to the world. Just because I have an Audi parked in front of my side street, does not immediately makes it my property. 

Poor bules, they should learn how to squat in the toilet, by then they would probably pay the same rate as the locals.