Is monetary crisis a crisis of identity?

Is monetary crisis a crisis of identity?

JAKARTA (JP): During the Independence Day holiday weekend I
thought I would be safer anywhere except in Jakarta, where
according to the rumors another bloodshed, worse than the May
atrocities, was expected.

Lured by the prospect of paying only 70 percent of the airfare
to Bali (for senior citizens) and special rates for hotels, I
thus set out for my travel agent to do some research. Juli, my
favorite agent showed me the special database on their computer.

A five-star hotel? She had them all. The only difficulty was
choosing between Nusa Dua, Ubud or Sanur. But, after some
mathematics, the amount I was asked to pay for the few days was
still too much for my budget, which has been trimmed considerably
in the last few months. The four stars too, were not really a
choice for me because, in spite of the special rates for the
rooms, they had extraordinarily high prices for meals, even for
breakfast, so they would not have been much of a saving at all. I
finally settled for a three-star hotel in Kuta where I could
enjoy the sunset, in case the weather was good.

The hotel was OK and on the day of my arrival I enjoyed a
splendid, almost pollution-free, sunset in the front yard of the
hotel. But the next morning at breakfast came the disappointment.
I was only allowed an Indonesian breakfast and had a choice of
chicken porridge, toast or fried rice. The other guests, mostly
tourists from Europe and Japan flocked to the buffet table and
could enjoy a sumptuous meal, including bacon with two eggs,
omelette, cereal, fruit and so much more. One of the tourists
asked me join her at the buffet, but I smilingly told her, that
the porridge was better for my cholesterol level.

I did not worry about the krismon which had caused this social
imbalance between these foreign tourists and myself during my
relaxed and pleasant stay in Bali. Instead I felt lucky to have
enjoyed such a good deal. But at the airport I met an old friend
from the U.S. who was furious about the cheaters who had spoiled
his holiday. He and his wife stayed in an international five-star
hotel, because it had been advertised at a low price. On arrival
they were met by a man who took them to the hotel in the hotel
coach. They were happy for a while with this courteous service.

However, during their stay they met some domestic tourists who
told them that they paid only $30 for their room, whereas they
had to pay four times as much for the same type of room. And not
only that, on checking out they also found out that they had to
pay Rp 250,000 for the transfer from the airport to the hotel. So
they decided to take a taxi on their return to the airport and
paid only Rp 40,000!

"What a rip-off," they complained and thought that the tourist
board should do something about it. As long as there are
differences in prices, people are bound to feel cheated.

"Oh my goodness," I thought, there goes the special fare for
the krismon victims." I wanted to tell him that these privileges
were not forever, but only in these times, to give us the
opportunity to spend our holidays in our own country, which most
of us would otherwise never do. Instead, he gave me a lecture on
how to save the economy by attracting more tourists to flock to
our resorts and buy up all our craft products and enjoy the
natural beauty of our country.

He went on and on and I was happy when it was time to board
the plane. He was traveling first class and I was in the back of
the plane with the crowd so I did not have to put up with his
lecturing any longer.

Back home another friend told me that he had to go to
Singapore. I thought I would do him a favor by telling that a
five-star hotel had advertised special rates in their hotels for
Indonesian passport holders.

"You will also get a cuddly bear to accompany you at
nighttime," I added. Instead, my advice only made him angry.

"Who do you think I am," he said. "Am I from a nation of
special rates? Do I have to travel at discount prices with cuddly
bears? No, I have my pride, I will go only to places where I pay
the same amount as everybody else!"

Judging from his reaction it seems that krismon is not just a
monetary crisis. It is also a crisis of identity.

-- Myra Sidharta