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When Dolly passed her driver's test, her friends decided to arrange a party for her. They would include their husbands who after all are the first victims of this newly acquired token of independence.
"Husbands are the ones who had the courage to let us go", they argued. "they are the ones in constant fear when we are on the road. Indonesians are the most friendly people but once on the road, in the big, big world of traffic, where cars, motorbikes, buses big and small, bemos, bajajs are roaming, each try to survive and outsmart the others like animals in the jungle."
During the party Dolly had to listen to some frightening stories as well as some good advice from her friends. When we made up a list of the pro and the cons we finally came to the following conclusions:
First of all it is important for Dolly to realize any tips only apply in Indonesia, she should forget them as soon as she leaves the country, because elsewhere she will get a ticket for doing the same things.
An important part of driving in Indonesia is the art of squeezing between cars and it is this art that makes a good driver. Squeeze into a lane, if you have to go left or right, or if you want to cross a road, as long as your indicator is on, the cars behind you will slow down, for they too do not want their car to be dented.
There is no compulsive insurance for cars here, therefore drivers can sometimes be careful. Giving way is not only a form of politeness, but also trying to save your own car.
Dolly should not only know Jakarta's road map by heart, but she should also find out about the different Jalan Tikus or the rat's roads. These are the small roads, probably not seen on the road maps, but drivers take them to avoid traffic jams and traffic lights. It is exciting to try them, because you pass the kampongs where everybody is friendly and usually say hello and wave to drivers.
Sometimes driving is not as problematic as parking. One must be prepared to park far-far away from the building and must walk through rain or sunshine. If Dolly is lucky enough to find a place, she should open her window to be able to hear the parking attendants' directions. Of course she knows Kiri and Kanan, and their Oop-oop sounds so commanding, that she understands it is time to stop. But she may get puzzled when she hears Ateret! Well, that is the Indonesian pronunciation of Achteruit, a Dutch word, which means "reverse".
Thus it may be good for Dolly to learn a little Dutch before she ventures on the road. After all, many car spare-parts are in Dutch here, just like the fact that household items are in Portuguese and business terms may be in Chinese. She may not find it difficult to understand what a karburator is and the sen, which is the indicator of course. But Bensin is gas and ban is tire, whereas a peleg (velg) is the wheel-rim. But we speak of aki for accu we mean battery and would Dolly know what the kenalfot is? Well, the meaning is very difficult and funny: the pot that makes explosive sounds, the exhaust pipe. Very proper isn't it? And in case your brakes do not work Dolly, just say: "Remnya blong", we am sure the mechanic will understand.
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