I saw a neurosurgery at Dr Hasan Sadikin Hospital in Bandung yesterday, 16th Feb 2017.
It was a supratentorial Sphenoorbital ? meningioma and craniotomy+cranioplasty was being done.
I was wondering if the electrical signals of cautery had any effect on the person after operation is over.
Reasons -
Nerves work on depolarization and repolatization, which is electrical activity.
We know about electrical shock therapy is psychotics as a therapeutic intervention.
This is my second last day in Bandung and I feel this is the perfect time to share my experience
For Indonesia -
Visa : You can avail of Visa on arrival (VOA) by paying 35$ for 30 days permit.
Advice - keep all necessary documents (passport, invitation letter, card or acceptance and confirmation, Aadhar card, travel insurance, health records, health certificates, return ticket etc) along with you, in your boarded baggage not checked in baggage.
They don't accept payment by card. So keep cash with you.
Immigration officer at Bandung charged me 510,000 for visa and gave me a receipt of 35$ ( And I'm still wondering how could I have confirmed the exact conversion rate at that time. Probably the officer charged more from me. But I don't think anything can be done about this.)
Just keep 600,000 cash with you when you arrive.
Language :
Download the offline app called "English Indonesian dictionary". Doesn't use data and app size is small.
Good is you just want to see meanings of random words you see while walking or on notices, menu cards, coupons, tickets etc. Downside is that this translates individual words only. You will have to resort to Google translate for better conversation.
Sim cards:
I had bought matrix sim card from Mumbai. But it wasn't very good.
Matrix probably has tie up with local company called "Tri" or "3" in Indonesia and their network is not up to the mark.
You'll get 3G at prominent places in the city but there will be pockets of "no network"
Money :
I had used an Axis bank forex card which is preloaded with money. Convenient but the minus point here is it will charge 2$ extra for every cash withdrawal.
And 0.03% extra on every transaction (ATM or POS machine)
For cash, better to get it converted from India. Since when I had enquired at a local money exchange shop (Dollarasia in Sukajadi, Bandung) they quoted me a price which was twice more expensive.
To give you an idea,
I got around 150 IDR against 1 INR. They quoted 95 IDR against one 1 INR.
(the actual bank rates are around 195 IDR for 1 INR)
Socket :
It's slightly different. Only 2 pins can be inserted unlike 3 pin plugs that we have.
I couldn't use my oneplus2 adapter since the pin was short. However, Samsung and Apple adapters work well.
Travel :
Download "Go-jek" and "Grab" when you arrive. And "Uber" you might have already.
These are the most popular transportation apps.
Unique feature is the two wheeler taxis like Go-jek or Uber-2 wheeler, that is cheaper than an Uber Car.
Be aware of local "Ojek" which is the traditional way of transport. They will always charge more than what you get on these above mentioned apps.
Food :
Non vegetarians, you can try chicken, beef, squids, fish, prawn, lobster, octopus etc.
If you don't want beef (sapi = cow)
You can also find authentic Chinese and Japanese restaurants here.
For vegetarians, all the best 😂
Nasi putih = plain rice
Nasi goreng = fried rice
The only traditional dishes I could eat were - Gado-Gado, Lotek and Cupchay.
For snacks - Tahu (tofu) and Tempe can also be eaten.
Say "pedas" if you want it more spicy.
Culture :
A lot of people, including teens smoke. People smoke while driving. Even your car / Angkot might just decide to smoke while driving, which can be quite disgusting.
Alcohol is a no-no in Islam however you'll find pubs at certain areas in the city.
Tea (Teh) is what everyone drinks morning to night. You may even be given one for free along with lunch.
At all the restaurants I have been, the waiters have always asked me "what would you order for drinks? Tea?"
And the tea by default is the Indian tea. It's without milk.
Entertainment : amongst Indonesian, Chinese, Japanese and Korean movies - Bollywood has a very special place here.
Almost all the people must have seen "kuch kuch hota hai" here and "chaiya Chaiya" song had become a big hit here. So don't be surprised to here Aashiqui songs being played when you are shopping or at a cafe.
They have a lot of respect for Indians in general.
Past history : Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch. So you'll find their architecture here in old buildings.
Even the Japanese had colonized Indonesia for 3 years (maybe thats why so much of Japanese influence)
Numbering : Lentai means floor.
They don't number from Ground floor. The ground floor in Mumbai (or India) is first floor here. When someone told me go to the "second floor", I climbed one flight of stairs and couldn't find anything more above it. Because the "first floor" was actually their second floor.
Tipping :
Thankfully it's not required at any restaurants. Most of them add a service charge and I haven't myself done or seen anyone tipping at restaurants.
However, (this will be new to you), every time I see a car parking or leaving from the gate, a local person will be standing to help or assist you in parking and will make other cars wait to make way for your car. In this case you should tip that person from 2000 to 5000 Rupiah. Even if the parking was not difficult, these persons will just come and stand near the drivers window to get money and still people pay!
My Bandung experience -
