The cost of hurt feet...$5?
There is always an adventure to be had in Asia! A group of 6 friends came to Thailand, went home, and I went to Indonesia, taking advantage of having a friend there that could show me around. We went to a cultural show that was pretty cool.
Jake posted a blog about it if you are interested in an informational explanation of what we saw.
www.statesocietyandme.blogspot.com
In other news, I ran over the foot of an Indonesian man and then had to pay him off which made everything better?!?
It went like this, we were riding around a track in these colorfully lit carts that have bike wheels on the bottom and a steering wheel in the front.
Seems pretty fun and harmless, right?? It was until I decided I wanted to drive it! :)
The steering wheel pulled terribly to the left and it didn't help that I was laughing and talking while I was driving, when all of a sudden...BOOM! I looked at the object that I hit just in time to see a skinny Indonesian man limp away! Onlookers saw the color of my skin and grabbed the cart we were driving in yelling at us to 'STOP' because the "white girl hit him!" This was the picture right before impact...
One of the Indo friends I was with spoke pretty good English so we ran over to where the guy was sitting...who by this time had attracted quite a crowd. I looked at his foot, nothing looked broken, but he said he was in great pain. He said the wheel grazed his foot, not ran over it but it obviously still hurt. I wish I would have snapped a picture of him sitting there.
I repeatedly told him I was sorry but he would not make eye contact with me. As my friend interpreted for me, he was saying that he was going to have to go to the doctor.
Then an older Indo man pulled out some menthol drops and started rubbing it on the victims' foot. Continuing to apologize, I asked what they wanted me to do when my friend said that one of the men said I needed to pay him. I asked how much and he said $5 would be enough which is 50,000 rupiah (Indo money).
I handed the money too him and immediately the man rubbed his foot and said it felt better and that he didn't need to go to the doctor. When my friend interpreted this for me, I reached out and handed him another 50,000 or $5. Still not making eye contact, the victim lifted his foot up, wiggled his toes and said that everything was going to be alright.
Walking away, my Indo friend told me that I gave him way too much money, that the initial $5 was plenty!
I asked what would have happened if an Indonesian would have hit him. "Less money would have been paid, or maybe they would not have stopped at all. But they saw you were white, you had no choice but to pay."
That $10 was a lot of money for that guy...but what is the cost of a hurt foot? AT least I didn't hit the Lexus SUV that he was standing in front of!
Back in Bangkok, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sister and cousin for the adventure to continue!!
P.S. This is what happens to your feet when you razor sharp coral gets to them...
Jake posted a blog about it if you are interested in an informational explanation of what we saw.
www.statesocietyandme.blogspot.com
In other news, I ran over the foot of an Indonesian man and then had to pay him off which made everything better?!?
It went like this, we were riding around a track in these colorfully lit carts that have bike wheels on the bottom and a steering wheel in the front.
Seems pretty fun and harmless, right?? It was until I decided I wanted to drive it! :)
The steering wheel pulled terribly to the left and it didn't help that I was laughing and talking while I was driving, when all of a sudden...BOOM! I looked at the object that I hit just in time to see a skinny Indonesian man limp away! Onlookers saw the color of my skin and grabbed the cart we were driving in yelling at us to 'STOP' because the "white girl hit him!" This was the picture right before impact...
One of the Indo friends I was with spoke pretty good English so we ran over to where the guy was sitting...who by this time had attracted quite a crowd. I looked at his foot, nothing looked broken, but he said he was in great pain. He said the wheel grazed his foot, not ran over it but it obviously still hurt. I wish I would have snapped a picture of him sitting there.
I repeatedly told him I was sorry but he would not make eye contact with me. As my friend interpreted for me, he was saying that he was going to have to go to the doctor.
Then an older Indo man pulled out some menthol drops and started rubbing it on the victims' foot. Continuing to apologize, I asked what they wanted me to do when my friend said that one of the men said I needed to pay him. I asked how much and he said $5 would be enough which is 50,000 rupiah (Indo money).
I handed the money too him and immediately the man rubbed his foot and said it felt better and that he didn't need to go to the doctor. When my friend interpreted this for me, I reached out and handed him another 50,000 or $5. Still not making eye contact, the victim lifted his foot up, wiggled his toes and said that everything was going to be alright.
Walking away, my Indo friend told me that I gave him way too much money, that the initial $5 was plenty!
I asked what would have happened if an Indonesian would have hit him. "Less money would have been paid, or maybe they would not have stopped at all. But they saw you were white, you had no choice but to pay."
That $10 was a lot of money for that guy...but what is the cost of a hurt foot? AT least I didn't hit the Lexus SUV that he was standing in front of!
Back in Bangkok, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sister and cousin for the adventure to continue!!
P.S. This is what happens to your feet when you razor sharp coral gets to them...
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