Once upon a time, in the beginning of November, I cycled to a village with two Dutch guys and two Belgian women. It was at 11 a.m. when we stood near a rice field. The sun was overpowering at that time. One of the Dutch guys took off his watch and after awhile he said, "It's 44 degrees."
Then, we moved on someone's house terrace, avoiding the sun. "How many degrees now?" I asked him. He took off his watch again and said, "It's 40 here." It was VERY hot. I could drink one bottle of mineral water (600 ml) in short time.
Suddenly, there she was: A lady with motorcycle passed in front of us. She wore complete protection: helmet, jacket, long trouser, scarf, gloves, and socks. That lady was not the only one. Take a look at the city streets and you would see many others. A big question emerged, 'Isn't it hot?'
 | |||
| The people's common fashion on the street |
Many people had asked me the same question before. In this hot weather, it seems unbelievable to wear very thick clothes. Maybe the logic is like this: less clothes when it's hot and more clothes when it's cold. In opposite, it is not always like that. Some people even wear winter coat while they are riding motorbike here in Yogyakarta.
There are many reasons for this unusual action. Every person has their own reason but let me tell you some of the reasons so you can understand...
Sunburn
One
time, I cycled in the city. The sun shone so bright. After that, my
neck burned. So, wearing thick clothes is also a way to protect the skin
from the sun. It is painful if you just let it exposed by the sun
everyday. A little hot feeling under the jacket is tolerable if compared
by the pain of sunburn.
Your skin could also develop its own protection like increasing the
pigment. But, if you can protect it from the outside, why not? Besides
that, skin cancer doesn't sounds good, right?
Minimum Clothes is Uncommon
Wearing
complete clothes happens not only on the street. If you go to the beach
in Yogyakarta, you will see nobody who wears swimsuit. Everybody swim
and play in the water with their complete clothes, even jeans. This
habit maybe influence by culture itself. Here, we are expected to cover
our body properly. People (usually women) who wear minimum clothes will
get bad stereotypes. That's why, people try to reconcile with the heat
to respect this culture.
Protection if You Falls
If you like to see MotoGP, you will notice that every racer wear thick
clothes even when they are having race in sunny country like Malaysia. Nobody wants to fall from motorbike. However, it's okay if you have some
protection, just in case.
When you falls from the motorbike, thick
clothes could be your savior. It keeps your skin protected from having
minor wound or injury. Well, I had an accident before. At that time, I
wore a thick jacket. My jacket was ripped in some part but I was okay. I
only got injury on my hand's palm, where the jacket didn't cover it. My
friend (he fell with me) got worse injuries because he didn't wear any
jacket. His shoulder and arms were badly wounded.
Big NO to zebra-pattern skin
For some people, they have easy-get-tanned skin. I have it also. I just stand in open area while the sun is shining bright and voila, I become darker. Unfortunately, the skin tone is uneven. I mean, one area is getting darker but the other area is lighter and it's very visible. To avoid it, I have to choose whether I want to cover or open it all. And sometimes, I choose to cover it when the sun shines way to strong.
Light Color Skin is Better
Besides that, this covering thing is related to the desire of having light color skin. Too much sun makes skin too dark. That's not good for some people. So, cover it all, hide it from the sun, don't give a damn about the heat because they believe it makes them beautiful~
Picture source: http://teknologi.kompasiana.com/otomotif/2012/08/07/tips-mudik-bagi-pengguna-sepeda-motor-483987.html
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