Product Description

With over three million copies in print, CultureShock! is a bestselling series of culture and etiquette guides covering countless destinations around the world. For anyone at risk of culture shock, whether a tourist or a longterm resident, CultureShock! provides a sympathetic and fun-filled crash course on the do's and don'ts in foreign cultures. Fully updated and sporting a fresh new look, the revised editions of these books enlighten and inform through such topics as language, food and entertaining, social customs, festivals, relationships, and business tips. CultureShock! books are packed with useful details on transportation, taxes, finances, accommodation, health, food and drink, clothes, shopping, festivals, and much, much more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #218206 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-15
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 356 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780761454076
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
From the fact that over 3 million books in the Culture Shock! series have been sold it is obvious that these guides are well known so I was happy to be asked to review the long-awaited update of CultureShock! Jakarta.

One important point to make about this series of publications, which now covers almost 80 locations, is that they are not intended as guide books for tourists although tourists will also find them very useful. They give good information on local culture and traditions, together with some very helpful guides to the language. Essentially, they assist travelers in adapting to their new environment and obtaining the most benefit from their experience.

The authors of Culture Shock! Jakarta, Derek Bacon and Terry Collins, are both highly qualified to advise newcomers to this hot, lively and often rather sleazy city; having spent many years living here.

They certainly aren't set out to sell Jakarta to the visitor as they are vociferous in their criticisms. Their very dry British sense of humor comes across in various ways but despite what could be construed as cynicism, irony and sarcasm, this is an extremely informative book. ...

The contents of this very reasonably priced book are far too numerous to mention in a short review but subjects covered include weather, a good outline of the history, geography and politics of the city, a substantial section on how to adapt to living with Jakartans and how to settle in, plus some very good advice on culture and travel. How to do business in Jakarta is also dealt with and, most importantly, there are some excellent tips on the language.

Once you have read all the advice and information, there is a light-hearted quiz for you to check on whether or not you have learned anything.

For a new arrival in Jakarta, this book is essential reading but it will appeal also to veteran residents who will recognize all the stages through which they have already passed and probably have a good laugh in the process. --The Jakarta Post, December 31, 2007

This 2007 re-write of the original book authored by Derek Bacon is an essential guide to living in Indonesia! Author Terry Collins covers a wide range of subjects, giving advice to newcomers on: First Impressions, Fitting into Society, Settling In, Food and Entertaining, Culture and Travel, Communicating, Doing Business, and of course a bit of Indonesian History and Government to round out this very informative guide! On sale in Kinokuniya stores in Jakarta (Sogo Plaza Senayan, Sogo Plaza Indonesia, Pondok Indah Mall , Grand Indonesia) and Periplus as well as online through Amazon. --Living in Indonesia, A Website for Expatriates

Customer Reviews

Highly recomended reading
I have been waiting for this book to come out for a few months!

I wish it was available when we first arrived in Jakarta.

This book is a very comprehensive guide to life in Jakarta, it should be compulsory for all new expatriates as it makes life so much easier when you understand whats going on around you. Even after living here for nearly 12 months I learnt a lot.

The book was originally authored by Derek Bacon nearly 10 years ago and has just been thoroughly revised and updated by a renown Jakarta Blogger, Jakartass.

Some of the topics covered:-

* First impressions
* History, Geography and Politics
* Fitting into society
* Settling in
* Food and entertainment
* Culture and travel
* Communicating in Jakarta
* Doing business
* Fast facts

I was very impressed with this book and hope you will be too.

To Be Shocked or Not To Be Shocked that is the Question
I am not quite sure why I bought this book!

Maybe it was to make sure that the authors (Terry Collins and Derek Bacon) get at least some royalties for their efforts or perhaps the more likely excuse is that I needed to see whether my experiences were the same or similar to others. Then again maybe I bought the book because I just wanted to criticize the characterization or stereotyping of what it is like for us white folk living in Indonesia and particularly Jakarta!

The book set me back some IDR 163,000 from Kinokuniya in Plaza Indonesia. I was in Kinokuniya to buy a cross-stitch magazine for my better half and I happened to see the book and thought, why not? So, I whacked it on the counter and I now have my very own copy!

You might be wondering why a bloke who has spent so long in Jakarta wants to read anything to do with Culture Shock. Well, even after all this time living in Indonesia I am still "hey Mister" and perhaps this is both the beauty and the beast that is Jakarta; no matter how long you might have lived here and no matter how much you have integrated into society, you will never get away from being "Hey Mister!"

The book is well written (at least for my mind) and I found myself smiling and chuckling to myself as I read through it. It is surprising how much of the experience is common and how much we tend to forget of what has happened. It was nice to read and remember some of those long forgotten experiences that were jogged back into the more conscious memory!

I know one of the authors (Terry Collins) and perhaps I should make this as a disclaimer. Nevertheless, those of you that know me would know that I pull no punches. If I thought the book was garbage I would say so in not such an eloquent way! Yet, the book, I have found has been worth the money I outlaid for it, if for no other reason than it reminded me of moments that I have enjoyed during my stay.

Funnily enough most people are reporting that they are not finding this book in the arrival halls to Jakarta but rather in the departure shopping areas. I guess this might afford those on their way out of Jakarta a chance to buy the book for the purposes of answering this question: "what the hell just happened to me?"

I would have thought though that the best spot for this would be in the departure lounges of foreign locales and the arrival lounges of points of entry into Indonesia...but I guess this is why I studied law and not marketing!

But for anyone interested in learning the "ins and outs" of the Jakarta experience then this is perhaps the book for you. The book contains sections on the history and politics of Jakarta, settling in for those of you who might want to be more than tourists, visa and immigration information, business information, food and entertaining, fitting in, and communicating, among a number of others.

I think the most valuable learning tools in the book are the short glossary at the end, the culture quiz, and the "do's and don'ts" section.

So, go out and buy the book as it might just help you understand the experience you are about to have or the experience that you have just had!

Loved the book
I loved the book! I'm going to go live in Indonesia, possibly Jakarta, and the book gives all the tips you would want to know. I would buy this series for any new place that I want to live. It goes over everything from how to pick a house to weather patterns. It give a great description of what the people are like and how they think. A must buy for anyone moving to Indonesia. Priceless information that would take years to learn on your own.