The ramp hardly makes these stairs easier to navigate
As I’ve previously mentioned, on my last trip to Indonesia I ended up spending more time than intended at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. Security could be a lot better – the gates are designed so that arriving passengers walk through the area where departing passengers are waiting to board. Although they are separated by glass, they pass two glass doors which are not always locked, and are sometimes even open.
But the main danger is the design elements of the airport hotel. The airport hotel is a good place to take refuge from the bustle of the arrival and departure halls. Its main attraction is that it is air conditioned and has a bar and restaurant. The problem is, how to get there. In the picture above, you can see the view of the stairs from the restaurant. You can see two flights of stairs, but you can’t see the other flights of stairs which you have to take before you get to those flights! There is no elevator and those steps are steep. The management has thoughtfully built ramps on one side of the steps so you can drag your luggage up. Getting down is worse as you struggle to keep a grip on the handle for fear your suitcase will roll down and hit some other unsuspecting traveller.
Doorway to the toilet
The bigger danger is getting in and out of the toilet. As you can see in the photo, there is a tiny step to enter the toilet. Maybe I spend a little too much time in the bar, but it’s easy to miss that little step and come a cropper – going in or out.
As it happened, I observed a separate hazard which decided me against using the restaurant – one of the waiters used the toilet. It’s not a good policy for any restaurant or hotel to allow their staff to mingle with guests, but if they have to they should make sure the staff are seen to wash their hands!
Fire Fighting: Village Style
Yes, we shouldn’t laugh – he’s a brave man - but it IS funny. At first I thought he was hopping because the roof was hot and they don’t have any footwear. In fact, he’s trying to jump over a wire. I have no information as to whether he was injured from the fall.
It’s a desperate and forlorn effort trying to put out this fire with a bucket of water. A fire in a kampung (humble village) like this can spread very quickly and wipe out entire neighbourhoods. Of course, for many poor people, their entire lives are located in the posessions they keep in their houses – savings, tools of the trade, heirlooms. The poorest don’t have bank accounts.
I once knew an American, working as a teacher, a real pig. The only thing he did regularly was to go home drunk and beat his wife. He lived in a kampung. Anyhow, one night he decided to set fire to his house. The locals were so incensed they gave him a thorough beating. He only survived because the police arrived soon enough.