Not to sound like a perve or anything but you should be aware that Indonesian culture dictates bathing in the afternoon. If you don’t, you’re fowl, alright? The exception is if you are a fast paced bawse-baller who’s too busy to exit the boardroom for a quick roll in the trough, or if you’re simply not in a place that has convenient showers (the office?). But if you’re like me and gone full on “pulang kampung” or actually living in or around a kampung, village, small city, etc. you’re expected to sleep, pray, and bathe every afternoon before sundown. I jumped on the bathing bandwagon to fit in with the family who all seem to have wet hair in the afternoon. I needed to get with the crew.
Cleanliness is literally next to godliness here, is pleasant to others, and with so much water bucketing down from the skies, the people of Indonesia put it to good use. It’s a religious, cultural, and habitual ritual and frankly feels good as a relief from the afternoon heat. If you don’t want to be a stinky bule, get used to it.
Most Indonesians do it with a trough and pale. That’s called having a “mandi”. Similar to standing under an exotic waterfall, except you’re in a small bathroom, with a trough, and you pour the water over yourself. Its very exotic.
The ritual is an addiction because nothing feels better than waking up from an afternoon nap (another fervent practise of Indonesians that I will explain to you in another rant), feeling groggy and foggy from the humidity, and washing it all away with ice cold well-water from a bullet proof bucket.
If your services have been delayed because the personnel are “mandi dulu”, or you’re wondering why on earth that lady is prancing around town with a cascade of wet hair in the afternoon public, it’s because of the national passion for a good old “mandi”. I urge you to jump on in! But whatever you do, don’t you dare get into the trough.
princess Jakarta 