
To wash it down, I had a Bintang beer. It’s a standard pilsner, made by Heineken, which offers no surprises. At first, I did think it was a bit surprising that they even had beer, given Indonesia’s current alcohol shortage caused by a crackdown on the black market for alcoholic beverages as the government tries to funnel the trade into the legal zone, where a 400% tax applies.
But it turns out it’s a luxury tax, and beer is not considered a luxury good. (Too right -- more like a staple for those of us from Belgium.) And the shortage is really only hitting the imported stuff in any case. No fear of too few Bintangs, then.