In many ways, Calle Santander, the main tourist drag through Panajachel, could be in any of Asia's backpacker ghettos - Pham Ngu Lao, Kuta, Khao San Road, Thamel, and so on. It's got all the internet cafes, bus ticket agents, colorful English menus, and culturally ambiguous pseudoexotic craft stalls. But when I saw this menu board, I knew something was going on. Nasi goreng? In Central America? The Indonesian/Malaysian term for fried rice is understood everywhere in Southeast Asia. But here, where even English is hard to come by?

Some years back, Singapore made news when it struck a deal with China to franchise its socioeconomic process to development zones in that country. China would provide the land and the labor, and Singapore would provide the economic policy and planning.

I think the only explanation for what I saw here is that Indonesia has made the same deal with Guatemala. They're flown a planeload of t-shirt hawkers, bicycle renters, and beachfront cafe roof thatchers out here, trained the hoteliers on the finer points of banana pancake preparation, and now they're sitting back to watch the Europeans, with their brightly-colored backpacks - and more importantly, loads of cash - roll in.

Any other theories?