Indonesia: Pulau Weh [Sumatra] - March 2010
Dear English-speaking readers, this page is an automatic translation made from a post originally written in French. My apologies for any strange sentences and funny mistakes that may have been generated during the process. If you are reading French, click on the French flag below to access the original and correct text:
Surprise, last Sunday, returning from diving ... There is a crowd on the beach of Gapang, usually almost deserted.
"Hello, you, photo, OK?"
People from Sabang, the town of Weh Island, came to picnic with their families and friends.
Here, on this small island located on the western tip of Sumatra, in Banda Aceh, the exotic is me. Which is why I am politely asked: "Hello, you, photo, OK?"
Understand: "Hello ma'am, can I take your picture please?" In general, I am happy to accept.
The ladies tell me that I am "beautiful" (I love it 😀 ), the gentlemen proudly pose next to me. It's to die for. Everyone wants my face in their cell phone....
To tell you the truth, I am not surprised. In Perhentian, in Bali, in Sulawesi, I often accepted to have my portrait taken this way. In Rantepao, I remember having a dozen of express poses in the street, for a whole group of schoolgirls... The fault of cell phones with photo sensors, now widespread everywhere.
So I play my role of exotic tourist and beautiful people with the big smile that goes well.
It's fun for me and it's convenient for me. I can in turn ask people who have approached me to pose for my lens. Usually, they are delighted. I end up with nice group photos...
😆
It's crazy, this immoderate taste for photos in Asia. It's a social thing, something that is done during the moments of relaxation... Real Sunday paparazzi!
Family atmosphere
In short, nice atmosphere, at the end of the afternoon, at the water's edge. The kids play and wade, without worrying about the divers of the Lumba Lumba who, block on their back, are heading towards the boat at the mooring for a new exit.
The women, often veiled, wisely contemplate the horizon, sitting in the sand, the men smoke their clove-scented Gudang Garam in the shade of the trees.
Some Singaporean or Malaysian tourists are dipping in their beautiful neon orange life jackets.
And I, satisfied with my little Sunday tour on the beach, I go back to sip a mango juice in the bouiboui next to the diving center.
8)