Quick Hit (literally): Driving in Indonesia

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So, after having seen only one small road incident with a motorbike lightly plowing into the back of a taxi, I was in a little dust-up of my own yesterday on the way to work.

I have to admit that my directions could have been sooner for the taxi to turn (I'm trying to learn, but my Indonesian is still pretty basic), but without looking he geared left, and we had a motorbike scrape the side. The guy stopped, looked at his leg, his bike, then kept driving!

Needless to say, I ended up giving the not-so-impressed driver a nice tip on arrival to try... Thankfully, with a million+ taxis, I probably won't have to worry about seeing him again...

I threw on a video of morning traffic in Jakarta that I took when I first got here. It shows how crazy this motorbike travel is. But it's far cheaper than owning a car, and often you'll see a whole family riding on one as their only means of transportation. In the more fringe areas of the city and out in Jogja, they've cooked up ways to pile these things high with market goods, chicken, banana, wicker furniture, bottled water, etc.

On the plus side, most people tend to wear helmets... all that is, except for kids and babies, whose appearance on these bikes are really frightening.

I'm not sure if there is a driving age in Indonesia, or if it is strictly enforced, but you see kids who look as young as 10 or 12 riding around solo or together sometimes, though moreso in Jogja.

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