The everyday normal - TRANSPORTATION!

We've been in Indonesia 7 months now and noticed that all of our posts have been about the fun places we're travelling to while we're in Southeast Asia. We realized that we aren't doing a great job of showing what our experience is REALLY like by not sharing much about the day-to-day life of Jakarta - which takes up the majority of our time. Even though our photos show the exotic, glamorous, fun, at the end of the day, we spend most of our days sitting in the office and sitting in traffic.

The best way to truly remember our time here and share it honestly with our friends is to give you the good, the bad, the everyday normal, and the wtf? So we thought we'd spend a few posts about what life is like, Monday through Friday and most Saturdays and Sundays. It's not always beaches and sunsets - those occasions are more rare than not. So here goes! Today's post is about TRANSPORTATION!!!!

We've talked a bit about the traffic but we hadn't talked much about the modes of transportation - so here goes! Transportation here is a free for all - there is something for everyone!

Taxi's - not terribly different from the taxi's back home except for one thing; if you get on the wrong ones, I've been warned by my Indonesian co-workers that you could get robbed or taken "the long way" home. The trustworthy taxi company in Jakarta is called Blue Bird (the more luxurious version of Blue Bird is Silver Bird and these are usually Mercedes'). We've only taken non-Blue Bird a couple of times and that's because we were sweating in the middle of a street and 20 full cabs had already passed us. And we were together. Taxi's are super cheap - costs 3 to 5 USD to get any where in the city.

Blue Bird = safe!

White Taxi = sketch

Blue Taxi but NOT Blue Bird = FAKE!!

The Train - This is the main form of transportation that gets folks from the more rural areas coming into the city. They're much like our trains back home except, what's this? The trains have NO DOORS! So wherever they go, you'll see folks just chillin' by the door, even when they're on elevated railroads like the ones below.

Safety, shmafety. I need access, bitches.

We're just enjoying the scenery

And here's a view of an ordinary train stop - no excuse to complain about the NY subway being crowded after seeing this madness...

Buses - There are two types of buses in Jakarta. First, there's the Transjakarta Busway which is by most standards a normal bus when compared to home, it's probably the only trustworthy and reliable type of public transport that Brian and I would dare to take.

Bright Shiny bus.

Oh, and the difference is that their bus lane is in the middle of the street which requires an overpass pedestrian walkway in order to get to the bus lane.

Then there are these rogue buses that don't stop! They've gotta be at least 20-30 years old with exhaust as toxic as the Springfield Power Plant. They slow to a roll and you hop on and hop off and there's always an "attendant", a man with a handful of cash hanging out the open door.

Looks innocent enough...

My arm out the door has the power to stop all traffic! YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!

Dolla dolla bills y'all....

Mikrolet - This is basically a mini van with two planks of wood inside and about 14 - 16 people squeezed in the inside in the "seats". There are typically 3 people in the front including the driver and 2 - 3 more people crouching in between the seats and but the open space where a door would be.

Again, from the outside, this looks innocent enough.

This Mikrolet in particular carried 14 people - not even close to capacity!

This is the "door". Indonesians don't waste valuable seating space with petty things like doors. Pssh.

In between the Mikolet and Bajaj - not sure what these are called but they look like little pick up trucks. As you can see, they are not very big but they manage to fit 6 people in the back, and up to 3 in the front including the driver. Resourceful Indonesian, as always!

Bajaj - this is run on a motorcycle engine with tight squeeze room. From what I understand, it's a pretty reliable ride if you can tell your driver where to go, but it's hot and basically appears to be a tin can on wheels.

Oh heeeeyyy....

Motorbikes - this is the most affordable means of transportation a family can own which is why you'll see families of people on one. It may appear risky and unsafe, but it's the only option and it's so commonly used here that both parents and children know how to balance themselves, most of the time while holding some bundles of groceries, water bottles, or delivery.

Mom is holding on tight to two sleeping babies. Legit.

Sure honey, I'll pick up the new fridge on the way home.

Other interesting sights

"School buses" - I don't think these actually exist so we've seen this scene SEVERAL times. Kids will run into the middle of the highway, 1 - 2 will stand in front of an empty pick up type truck, the others will jump in the back. OR if the traffic is slow enough, which it usually is, as soon as the truck slows to a roll the kids climb on and hitch a ride home. Our driver, Viko, tells us that the drivers hate it but they can't do much about it.

Jack! I'm flying!

BYEEEEEEE!!!!

The Police/Paddy wagon - this is my favorite. My manager calls it "the car with two park benches back to back" and that's basically what it is. It's a small flat bed with two benches on the back. It appears this is what they use to pick up the riff raff and ship them out of the city, or to pick up jockeys and take them off the main highway.

Yeah, looks like it's a TOTALLY reliable way to restrain felons.

So there you have it. Transportation in Jakarta! We plan to continue sharing these every day normal experiences with our family and friends and if there's anything you're curious about, please let us know!

xo!