1. What does ViaVia mean?
Via is very common word in many languages. “I heard about Jogja VIA my travel agent.” Or “ I know about jazz night via-via my friends.” In Latin VIA also means road. In Indonesian it translates to JALAN. And JALAN-JALAN stands for traveling.

2. Is ViaVia a franchise?
Every ViaVia has a different organizational structure according to the local rules and restrictions.  One thing we all have in common is that we belong to the big Living Stone group and all the ViaVia’s share the same philosophy and logo.  The ViaVia cooperative in Belgium structures and binds us all together.  

3. How long has ViaVia been here in Jogja?
We opened our doors on the 18th of December in 1995 as the first international ViaVia.  ViaVia Leuven was the first one starting in May 1995.

4. Why Jogja?
Back in the 90’s Indonesia was still a very popular travel destination well known as being a good introduction to the rest of Asia.  On the Java - Bali route, Jogjakarta usually is one of the first stops for travelers. We thought that by offering alternatives besides the traditional tours, at the start of people’s travels through Indonesia, we could somehow contribute to bringing the daily local culture and the sensitivity to sustainable and community based tourism a bit closer to them. Maybe we could even have a tiny small impact on looking at this culture and at traveling with a different pair of spectacles. We thought that if just one or two travelers would go home with a tiny itsy bitsy bit of intercultural awareness and pass it on to others, we would be happy.
Moreover Jogja is a pleasant town with lots of traditional and contemporary art, music and culture.

5. Why is there no ViaVia in Bali?
It’s hard enough in Jogja!

6. Why are there so many women working in ViaVia?
In the restaurant:
- because women are good in multitasking
- because we want to empower women
- because many men are afraid of some of the women working in ViaVia
- because of positive discrimination

In ViaVia travel:
-    because we wanted to give travelers a chance to get viewpoints on life, culture, habits, values from young educated women (usually guides offering their services throughout Indonesia are male)
-    because they are pleasant and professional to work with

7. Why don’t you wear a veil?
- because I am a Christian
- because I am not ready
- because it is not my culture
- because I am free to choose
- because there are many interpretations

8. Are ice cubes safe to consume?
In ViaVia all ice cubes are made from boiled water. In other more touristy places it is probably safe.  On the street sometimes yes, sometimes no.

9. Can we brush our teeth with water from the tap?
The chance that you will get sick from brushing your teeth with water from the tap is extremely small.  Just don’t swallow it.

10. What’s the weather forecast for tomorrow?
Maybe it will rain, if not it is hot!
It is always warm and sometimes it rains.

11. Why do people wear a jacket when it is so hot?
Well, it is just because it is hot that we wear a jacket.  The thicker the jacket the less chance the sun will reach our skin and make us feel hot.  Besides, we don’t like to tan and become black.  White is our beauty ideal, just the opposite of many tourists who want to get tanned.
At night we wear a jacket because we are afraid the wind will come into our bodies and make us sick.

12. Are there any traffic rules?
Yes there are some rules.
We drive on the left side.
The bigger the vehicle you come across the more powerful it is, so respect it, or be careful.
At a traffic light, depending on the sign, you can turn left even if the light is red.
General rule: ‘primacy to the left’.
General rule: drive defensive, don’t get aggressive and look at everything that happens in front of you.

13. Why do people throw their garbage anywhere and everywhere?
The awareness of the impact of throwing garbage around is slowly growing but it will need time.  In Europe it is also a fairly new concept introduced in the early seventies.  In Indonesia the transition from natural materials to plastic was a very sudden one, with the big commercial multinationals seeing a huge market for plastic in Asia.  Where people were used to throw banana leaves (plates), terracotta containers and bags from natural fibers away, now they do the same with plastic. To raise awareness  will be a time consuming process, which has to start at basic school level.  But it will for sure come.

14.  Do we need to take malaria prevention?
We are 25 people in ViaVia, coming from different parts of the country and none of us have ever suffered from malaria.  If you travel through Java and Bali, we strongly believe it is enough to use mosquito repellant especially at night. (more so in order to have a sound sleep).
We do have a problem with dengue fever every year during the raining season but no prevention other then mosquito repellant exists.  These dengue mosquitoes seem to wear watches because they only bite from sunrise till about noon.