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Published: March 18th 2006
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My first real solo trip in Jakarta is an expedition to the distant Ragunan Zoo deep in the southern suburbs. It takes almost an hour for the taxi to reach it and I give up trying to keep up with all the parts of the city we ride through. Instead of getting stuck on a major toll road the driver takes me through lots of interesting neighbourhoods past markets, schools and upmarket office towers, all mixed for great effect. As we arrive at the gates I am starting to wonder if we have really arrived where we are supposd to be, as the place looks very peaceful. The Ragunan Zoo seems to be very large, and the signs seem to be appearing completely at random. You could be walking down a route looking for crocodiles only to end up at a junction which points left for elephants or right for camels, and so on. It is a very hot afternoon and not so many visitors around, except for a hoard of thirsty mosquitoes, and I keep getting bitten constantly. If I don't get dengue fever today I think I will never get it...
Still I am in luck as the
aviaries are close to the entrance, the birds usually hold my interest the most. I spend a couple of hours studying the various species and trying to shoot them with my camera. The pictures didn't turn out all that great but still give an idea of some of the cool birds you can meet. I was especially charmed by the Mynah starlings and their strange mixture of singing and talking. If the small shy weavers were diffcult to catch, the problem was completely opposite with some of the parakeets, who would curiously come up clinging on the cage right in front of your face making it impossible to try and take their picture.
The major attraction of Ragunan though, is of course the chance to see the Komodo Dragons without going through the troubles of battling the main tourist season over at Labuanbajo and Komodo and Rinca islands. After wandering aimlessly for a while trying to find any signs that indicate where they might be hiding I stumble on their penetentiary by accident. They're easily missed too, as the lizards are hiding from the sun in their underground dwellings, and there is not a single soul around. Save for
two lazy monitors lying flat in the shadow I manage to provoke some interest from one of the other beasts to come out and have a look. With their strangely coloured faces they really don't look the way I had imagined.
Over at another large circular pit lies what must be the champion and undisputed king of the pit, a gigantic and terribly foul smelling monster. It's beaten up body with some missing toes suggests he didn't attain this position without callenge. This guy has the most evil gaze I have seen in some time. Pretending to sleep it continues to slyly glance at me from the corner of a nearly closed eye from time to time. After spending a good hour with these interesting monsters I realize that the zoo will be closing shortly, and the sun is already on the decline. Besides I am rather tired from the long afternoon and happy that I didn't convince some poor soul to accompany me here...
Going back outside I suddely realize that this is not downtown Jakarta, because there are no taxis in sight. The only ones that appear are shuttling commuters back home from town. I decide
to walk north through the neighbourhoods to find a bigger road and hopefully some taxis hunting for customers, but to my big surprise there are none. This strikes me as rather intriguing, seeing as downtown Jakarta, every other car is a taxi. I finally find a car after about half an hour of poking around. Being a bit tired from my trip I order up a big pasta from the room service and take a well deserved break.
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