The flight was good, and I was agreeably surprised by the mod cons that have made it on to planes these days - USB ports and movies on demand. Speaking of which, I can now give 2 stars to Alice, and 4 stars to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - definitely worth a rewatch.
My cunning plan of using my APEC card to get through immigration worked brilliantly, only to be frustrated by my bag being the last one off the conveyor. Spurning the taxis, I found my way to the bus to Gambir Station - a mere 20,000 Rupiahs instead of the 150kR for a taxi. Another 20kR on a motorised trike saw me at my Jalan Jaksa hotel. Quite a salubrious room - I had a second bed as well as a fan.
Trying to get my body clock adjusted, I settled in at Memories Cafe with a Bintang (perfectly acceptable local beer) and a view of a big screen to watch England hang on against Slovenia. I was nearly falling off my barstool by the end of the game, having gone around 24 hours without sleep.
Heavy rain woke me around 4.30am, and shortly thereafter the power went out. No fan! I tried to sleep with sweat pooling around my body, and got up at 6.30am to head to the station. Fortunately my walk in the humidity was saved by a moto. With my pack wedged in front and me on the back wearing a helmet with the strength of an eggshell we raced off - shades of Saigon all over again - a real blast!
Over a breakfast of Nasi Goreng (what else for my first meal?) I reflected on Jakarta, having spent all of a few hours there. It's a typical Asian city - big, sprawling, hot, industrial, reasonably modern with lots of high rises, but with areas of abject poverty as well. Not dissimilar to an amalgam of Saigon, PP and Bangkok. The traffic's manic and congested, the smells are bearable, and the people are friendly. They tout, but don't scam as overtly as the Vietnamese. They also smoke like chimneys - everywhere. Not sure if I could live here - my cousin Rod did for years, so I guess it's possible.
But now it's off to Yogyakarta for a more relaxed introduction to Indonesian culture. Stay tuned.
1 comment:
sounds exciting dad, and typical re powercuts.... I also see you got published in the north shore times (again)! keep up the good writing xx
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