Chemistry lessons in rural Java
I was with M at a shopping mall in a small town in Java. She posted a message on Twitter with a hashtag asking the locals to recommend something interesting for us to see. Soon enough, two local teens appeared on motorbikes.
They drove us outside the town to show us this homebrew setup. We were worried that the owner, an elderly lady, would not be happy welcoming a foreigner (M is Indonesian, though from Jakarta). But she was happy showing us around. The only condition she had was that we do not take pictures of her or her staff. To thank her kindness, I bought a small bottle. When the manager at my hotel saw the bottle, he joked that the stuff is so potent that it can fuel a mini space rocket.