finally 17
17 is the year to celebrate for Indonesian youngsters! That is when they come of age and traditionally it will be celebrated with a big feast. But don’t think that you might be surrounded by a bunch of bloody drunk teens - no! Due to the Islamic tradition drinking alcohol is not a custom in Indonesia, at least for 95% of the country.
We got invited to this 17th birthday as special guests, as it is always a honor to have western visitors at your table. It was really a special experience to witness this happening. The buffet was tasty (Chinese cuisine due to their original background), the music was extremely loud that you couldn’t understand a single word and most surprising, they had hired three transvestites as moderators (dressed with "Bavarian Dirndl")! My brother said that this happened often, no good party without transvestites!