Jakarta and Bandung 21/08 - 25/08

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After a 6 hour layover in Kuala Lumpur and 2 McDonalds each (it was a steal at £2.50 per meal!) we arrived in Jakarta at around 11pm and crashed out in our room. We didn't see much of Jakarta during the taxi ride from the airport but had heard the stories of the pollution and traffic so after some careful research of the best places to visit we set out to the nearest cinema! Jakarta really is a shit hole, the rivers which run through the city are effectively open sewers, the traffic is horrendous, there are no paths for pedestrians which makes for very treacherous exploring and the buildings look like squats. We picked our way along the roads dicing with motor bikes and buses until we finally reached a safe haven of a cinema complex. We bought tickets to the next English showing "the hitmans bodyguard" and went to kill some time in Pizza Hut next door. The film was alright, it was better than anything else in Jakarta, but everyone else in the cinema seemed to find it absolutely hilarious. It appears people in Indonesia have a very simple sense of humour (like Jack) they loved the silly slapstick moments! After the film there was a bar outside shouting the SEA (South East Asia) Games football match - Indonesia vs Vietnam and so we joined the crowd watching the footy.

After our very cultural experience in Jakarta we both agreed to leave on the next train out of there tomorrow. Unfortunately when we arrived to get the train to Bandung they were all fully booked until 3pm (obviously we weren't the only people trying to escape!). We had already carted all our bags through the city and so we spent about 4 hours killing time in the train station before our saving train arrived.

As soon as we stepped off the train in Bandung we felt instantly happier. People were smiling and friendly, the street food smelt and looked delicious, the air was cool, fresh and actually breathable and we happily toddled off to our hotel (helped by a friendly local) and slept soundly. As we only had one day in Bandung we got up super early and went out to explore. The city felt like Indonesia as opposed to Jakarta. We were pleasantly reminded that we were in fact on an island. There were lots of higgledy piggledy buildings, men drinking coffee in small groups, kids playing on the streets outside there houses - just generally friendly and welcoming. We wondered about and headed for 'Jeans District' as its known on Champosak road to get some much needed jeans ready for New Zealand in a few months time. Every shop was selling second hand designer and high street brands and all the shops were named after comic book heroes. We attempted to sift through the jumble sales but our hunger pans got the better of us so decided that our shopping would be more successful on a full stomach. We found an amazing Korean restaurant. In true Korean style it was all high tech with self ordering tablets and a cinema chair for a seat. We had an amazing banquet for £2 each. After playing about with the tablet and chairs we went back to score some denim. Jack is now the proud owner of navy blue Levi's and you'll find Char sporting some skinny black Gucci jeans which were tailored by 'Mr Jeans' himself to take off the 2 inches of leg that are always the problem.

With big grins on our faces we stumbled across a cafe, so with most of our afternoon left we thought we'd kill the time. We were sat overlooking hundreds of red tiled roofs that looked like a big village. The Imams were banging out their prayer tunes and there were lots children flying their kites on the roof tops. It was a really peaceful, beautiful spot.

The sun was starting to set and we thought we'd make the most of our time their so naturally went in search of a beer garden. We found a lovely little place which actually had a SELECTION of beers (we still went for the cheapest). Sitting in the beer garden we'd noticed a lot more equality with women sitting, drinking and smoking with the men. This the first time in a LONG while that we'd seen this. Char was much happier as no one even gave her a second glance. We bought some snacks for the next day and made our way back to the hotel for an early-ish night as our train for Batang (our volunteering place) left at 6am.

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