Happily, I can report that that is not the case. Oh, it's dirty and dangerous and chaotic all right, but it's not Cairo. Hamdullah! (Praise God! I'm keeping that little bit of Arabic in my vocab.) I purposely stayed at a B&B in South Jakarta to have a bit more peace; it's a lovely home, more like a compound of three connected buildings with a lovely garden, a pool, a miniature moat (that description sounds tacky but it isn't), and parrots. The woman who owns it has her extended family over every weekend, and this weekend she just happens to be hosting her family's annual clan meeting. Those are her words, not mine. So the whole place has been crawling with aunts and uncles and kids of all ages. It reminds me of Christmas or Easter in Corpus Christi actually. That's when the Shirleys have their clan meetings, only we don't get official and set up aisled seating. Clara's clan does.
I arrived yesterday and could do nothing more than shower, eat some delicious chicken satay, and somehow force myself to stay up until 10pm. I'd had no more than 4 hours sleep on the plane, so it took an effort. Refreshed after ten hours of sleep, today was, by choice, my only day of sightseeing in Jakarta, so I motivated, went native on public transportation, and headed to the center of this huge, sprawling city. First, I got a minibus, which is basically a small Toyota truck with a cover over the bed and bench seating. That cost 3000 rupiah. Then I transferred to the green P20 bus, which is a bit like a short school bus, only there is less leg room. I do not kid. I can barely fit my legs in, and I'm 5'6" when I stand up very straight. The attendant signals the driver with taps. I didn't get a good look, but he holds something metal in his hand and taps the metal interior, the parts that aren't rusted over, that is, to signal to him to pull over or start moving again. Bus performers come on sporadically and sing a song with a ukulele or some sand in a plastic bottle as accompaniment, a homemade maraca. Tipping is optional, but the ride is 2000 rp. The P20 bus dropped me off right in front of the train station that I will be leaving from tomorrow, where I bought my 230,000 rp first class ticket to Yogyakarta.
It seems like things are expensive because the numbers are so large, but 235,000 rupiah is just over $26. Still, I have trouble with all these zeros. Wearing a borrowed polyester satin robe, I toured the Istiqual Mosque, which is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, and the third largest mosque in the world. At the end, I gave a donation to the mosque and a tip to my guide. Hours later, I realized I had divided by 900 not 9000. It was a bad, bad tip and a sorry donation too. But it's probably not the only stupid thing I did today.
I read a warning on wikitravel about Indo street food that said you should let your stomach adjust for two weeks before partaking. I scoffed! I'm only here for three weeks - this time - and I love street food. It's cheap, authentic, and even more important, tasty. I was not going to follow that advice, but I did mean to be discriminating. So after my walk around the Monas, aka National Monument, and a stroll through its museum, I scoped out my street options. Would I eat the peeled fruit? No. Would I buy iced tea in plastic cups to quench my thirst in the sweltering humidity and sun? No. Would I have some hot broth with veggies and rice on the side? Yes. That seemed safe and sound, until I saw the cook pull down a chicken breast from a shelf on his stall and start slicing it into my future bowl of food. Suddenly, I had all kinds of doubts. How long had that chicken been there? When was it cooked? How hot was today?* How did he clean the bowls? Would sambol, the chili sauce, improve my chances? Why don't I speak Bahasa Indonesian so I could have requested no meat? I ate the soup, even the chicken, but not the bits of chicken skin that had been chopped and added separately. I was hoping that I wouldn't, but I think I'm already paying the price. My scenic 8 hour train ride tomorrow could be compromised. It was a very good dish though.
Some of today's other highlights and lowlights:
I got to bang on the biggest drum in SE Asia! It's at Istiqual Mosque, and the barrel is made from one tree trunk, one huge tree from one of Indo's islands. The skins are each made from the skin of one cow apiece. This is a big drum, folks. It makes an awesome sound.
The line to go to the top of Monas for a panoramic view of Jakarta was two hours. So I chose not to go. But the museum in the basement, which tells a necessarily abridged version of Indonesian history in diorama was still pretty entertaining. The diaramas were ok, but the English translations of Indonesian independence efforts over centuries were both informative and redolent of propaganda. And it's chock full of Indonesian families. That's why the line was two hours for the tower - it's a Sunday and this place is hugely popular with Indonesians, not just tourists.
I popped into a peaceful Catholic Cathedral, which is across the street from Istiqual, and took the opportunity to meditate. Aside from the chirping of dozens of birds, it was perfectly quiet inside. Very un-Jakarta.
My last stop was Jakarta's Chinatown. A very nice postcard seller at Monas had told me how to get there with the express buses and said that the Buddhists there maintain the world's biggest candle. I didn't go just to see the candle, but once I was there, I thought it would be cool to check out. Well, that's when having a guidebook would come in handy. Where the hell would they keep the world's largest candle in a steaming metropolis? I'm pretty sure it would melt outside. I know I do. I had no idea of where to look, and I couldn't find anyone who spoke enough English to ask. So I called it a day and took two express buses, one shorty bus, and one mini-bus back to my haven in Cilandak. Who knows what else I missed, but to me, one Chinatown is very much like another. Full of smells, cheap junk, and buckets of food I'm not sure I'm brave enough to eat. Ever seen a butterflied frog? Come on down to Jakarta's C-Town - they've got them to spare!
* Today's high was 34 degrees C or 93 degree F. Certainly hot enough for bacteria to grow on unrefrigerated meat.
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