I was in Jakarta from 21 till 24 November attending a regional French Language Conference, spending 3 nights in Harris Hotel in North Jakarta, I think. From the air nearing touchdown, there are quite some marked differences between Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur the fact that numero uno: no glaring patches of red earth screaming at you from the windows of the plane. Secondly, the adjacent residentials are surrounded by rice fields and have an "ancient" feel to it, especially the tiled roofs aged by the sun. Even the earth seemed to have been tilled and worked for a millenia...well, things ancient however, did not seem so pleasant upon touchdown as the airport didn't have very good signages and the lines could be confusing as to what and where to go next...felt like I was transported back to the seventies somewhere in Asia...Because the organisers told us not to heed any solicitations by taximen and to head straight for the designated companies (Bluebird being one of them reputated to be "safe"), I ended up lining up for almost forty minutes under immensely humid and hot weather for a cab. The fare was fair - around Rp120 thousand for an hour's ride to Kelapa Gading where the hotel was. From high up, Jakarta is an immense city with tree-lined boulevards spreading in all directions, giving it a calm cover. This almost flat horizon is only broken here and there by some tall buildings far in between but once you're in a taxi on her roads, the view is completely different: chaos reigns supreme! Cars, taxis, buses, lorries, motorbikes and everything else with wheels seem to be locked in perpetual traffic jams, making travelling anywhere in the city needing at least an hour. For these reasons, I had to forgo my rendez-vous for a cocktail at the French Embassy as I arrived with an hour an a half to the cocktail...didn't want to rush. Besides, it was at the other end of the city!
View of Jakarta from outside my room at 11th floor...the hotel was practically linked to a mile-long mall and that kinda served me well as I had no intention of visiting anywhere in Jakarta on foot with the humid, chaotic and possibly rainy weather outside...the mall however, was disappointing as it sold everything that more or less ressemble those in Malaysia, maybe a tad bit more expensive and less choice...
The next day, after the last round table session, we were invited for a dinner at a Balinese restaurant called Jimbaran at the seaside. As luck would have it, we were greeted with a heavy thunderstorm just before departure on bus. As the buses couldn't come up to the driveway due to constricted access, we were required to brave the thunderstorm to get to the bus. The journey took more than an hour, locked in traffic jams and inundated roads everywhere. There just seemed to be no end to it all...
The deserted platform for performing in the open air...
A spicy fish-vegetables soup (very peppery...)
The exit gate has a rather melancholic light after the rain, a waiter waiting patiently under its shadow for customers...
Lights of Jakarta far away...
We were treated to some performances later that night: a "Tarian Orang Tua", the dancer was very apt portraying the movements of an old man...actually kinda freaked me out at the beginning.
Nicer things - two dancing Garudas or peacocks
Then the antics of an idiot on a motorbike - definitely not traditional dancing!
The return trip was a breeze but ended up paying quite some ringgit for last minutes souvenirs at the airport. And yes, every person leaving the Indonesian soil needs to pay Rp150 thousand tax or else no boarding pass - so be warned. Not sure I'll ever be stepping back here anytime soon in the future...
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