A Midwestern Boy in Strange Land

When I was a kid, if you had asked me if I'd ever live in a wild, exotic place like California, I probably would have said no chance. Little did I know just how far from Muskegon, MI I would go. Alas, here I am in Jakarta. I arrived here 2 weeks ago today, and since that time I've been doing my best to take in the city and get my bearings. But first, a couple thoughts about my travel here:

• Lightning and planes don't mix. My very first flight of the trip was canceled due to the plane being struck by lightning during its landing into Grand Rapids, MI. So, I had a multiple hour delay in Grand Rapids, followed by a 6 hour delay in San Francisco. But, everything was saved when I boarded my flight from SFO to Hong Kong. How you ask? Simple: Business Class is awesome! Check out the video below. It shows the view walking into my seat in business class. The seat is a little pod with room to stretch my legs out as far as I could, my own (large) tv screen, noise canceling headphones, pillows, blankets... oh and it lays flat. That's right, it's a bed! I had never traveled like this before, and it fantastic. I highly recommend it. Thank you GSK!

So despite some initial hiccups, my travel to Jakarta was quite enjoyable. Since my arrival, I've had a lot of the same impressions Gloria noted in her 48 Hours in Jakarta post, along with a few of my own:

• Traffic here is truly something to behold. Imagine cramming all of the traffic of a city of several million people onto mostly 2 & 4 lane roads. Also, those roads are not in great condition and don't feature luxuries such as convenient turn-offs onto side streets, traffic lights, stop signs, or really much direction of any kind. It's very much a free-for-all, but somehow everyone here seems to make it work and thus far I haven't seen any real accidents or anything. There are just far too many people and cars to fit on the streets. 
• As Gloria noted, of said traffic, a driver is a must. 
• People find "creative" methods of travel. For example: 



Seems legit...

• This is a Bajaj. It is a 3-wheeled form of public transportation. These originated in India, but are now built in Indonesia.  We have yet to experience a ride in one personally, but from what we're told, a ride in Bajaj is hot, bumpy, noisy, smelly, and best described as harrowing. 
• When public transportation isn't available, people take to carpooling. 





This is OSHA compliant, right?

• Indonesia is home to the world's largest Muslim population, and you really can't miss it. There are mosque's all over the place, and you can hear the call to prayer coming from loudspeakers across the city. This is especially pronounced on Fridays. Check out this video to see an example of what it sounds like:

• There is also huge discrepancy between the wealthy and the poor. Take a look at this panorama I took from our balcony. One the right side, you see the towers that make up the rest of the complex where we live, with the skyscrapers of downtown Jakarta in the distance. Then, on the left, immediately across the street, there is a village of old houses and shacks. It is a striking difference and really makes me appreciate how fortunate we are.
• Also notice the haze on the horizon. That is pollution. Jakarta is an extremely polluted city and there seems to be a permanent layer of hazy pollution covering the city. Along with that pollution, there seems to be a distinct smell here. It's sort of a mix of pollution, overpopulation, heat, humidity, and smoke, all stirred up in a tropical stew. It's definitely something I notice every time I walk outside. 
• Adventures in Eating
• Coming into this experience I figured my stomach would have to adjust to the new kinds of foods and spices. The first few days were uneventful - lots of chicken, beef, noodles & rice. Pretty standard stuff. Then, at lunch one day I took a bite of what I thought was some kind of a squash type vegetable. Wrong. Holy hell that was a pepper! For the next couple hours my mouth was kind of on fire. It was pretty intense, but I made it. I thought that was it, but oh no. At some point the next day, I managed to eat something that really didn't agree with me. Let's just say my system did not appreciate whatever it was I ate, and Cipro is a wonderful, magical medicine. 
• I'll write more about the food here at a later date. Undoubtedly there will be more food adventures in my future...

That's all for now. There is much more I'll write about later, but this post is already rambling and scattered enough as it is. Until next time...