The Everyday Normal - Walking

Continuing with our series of posts about everyday life here in Jakarta, we bring you our next subject: WALKING. You may be wondering how or why something as simple as walking deserves its own post (because our blog is sooooo prestigious), and that is a legitimate question. Before living here, I would have wondered the same thing. Well, allow me to spin you a yarn about life here in the Big Durian (that's Jakarta's nickname).

Just like Jakarta: rough around the edges, and it smells bad!

Being a pedestrian was one of the best things about living in Philly. Gloria's office was about a mile from our apartment and she generally walked to work every day. When we heard we'd be moving to another "big city" we assumed walking would be an option....nopppppeeee. You may have heard us lament about the terrible traffic as a result of the lack of urban planning. Just as the roads here were not well thought out, neither were sidewalks or pedestrian areas. In most places, sidewalks are non-existent. But even when there are sidewalks, they're usually either very small, covered/blocked by debris, have holes in them, etc.

Watch your step. This one's a doozy.

This looks like a good spot for a light pole and a tree. Let's just leave it here.

There's at least a foot of clear sidewalk there. Spacious!

That cover fits perfectly

The greenery really adds to a peaceful walk (it's about 3-4 ft. high)

Literally blocking the entire sidewalk

As of a result of these obstacles and blockages, walking anywhere requires stepping into the street, which given the traffic in Jakarta, can be a bit of a harrowing experience. Usually it means making sure there aren't 10 motorbikes bearing down on you before you step in the street, and then moving quickly back to the sidewalk. Here's a little montage of me walking around our neighborhood a bit.



So when we say "We can't really walk in Jakarta", you know the reason why! And there you have it. Another installment in our day to day life in Jakarta. We'll be back to our usual epic trips and fun posts shortly, but until then (in the words of The Governator), hasta la vista, baby.