Good and Bad Tourists
Solo/Surakarta - 8th September

Postcard #11 (transcription by Catherine Playoust)
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Picture
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A map of Surakarta, bearing the title "Map of Surakarta".
It shows an island. Predominantly yellow, with green on 
the coast and blue fringes at the water. Background is white.
The map includes drawings of labelled tourist features
such as transport and buildings.
Additional text is "Visit Indonesia Year 1991" 
and [pseudo-handwritten] "Let's go Archipelago!".

Caption
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Surakarta or Solo is one of the Javanese Cultural's Centre

Stamps
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2 copies of Republik Indonesia 300,-   
Blue drawing of aeroplane with multiple silhouettes 
    of a plane in flight.
Pelita V   1992
Alih teknologi

Text
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Solo 8/9/94

Kari (that's the Finnish-born Australian) had almost
reconciled me to tourists. We spent the morning together
visiting the post office and bank and one of the palaces.
Then we came back to the losmen and he showed his photos
from Kalimantan. I've asked Alan if he wants to climb
Lawu with me, and he is interested but not sure if he can
get away---he showed us photos from his climb of Merapi.
Anyway, my favourable opinion of my fellow tourists
suffered a severe blow with the latest arrivals---an
English couple. She is just quiet, but he is really loud
and obnoxious. First he wanted to pay the betchak driver
200 instead of 2000, and assumed it was the driver who had
made a mistake. Then he abused the staff here because the
price of a double room was 8000 and someone *else* had
told him it was 7000; and he made a fuss because the tea
was cold... This sort of unpleasantness is far worse than
the ordinary polite-but-ignorant tourist.
[I met one couple who had spent 10 months travelling in
Asia and had some interesting stories to tell, but who were 
firmly convinced that there were 11 men to every woman in
India! I tried explaining that this would make population
growth rather difficult, but they explained that away by
postulating 14 live births per woman (22 would be needed
by my calculations!)]
I hope they don't stay long...