A Day in Jakarta

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I arrived yesterday morning, exhausted, after an overnight in Kuala Lampur's LCCT terminal. That terminal, unlike the normal one, closes each night between midnight and 4am for cleaning. So when I landed at 1am I went straight to McD's for a needed snack and to try and stay awake until my early morning flight. I was lucky enough upon my arrival in Jakarta to have an honest cab driver--perhaps he's new--because he took me straight to my hostel while I fell asleep in the back of the taxi.

I spent the rest of the day sorting out my money, napping, and buying a train ticket for tomorrow. I made friends with two lovely women, one Dutch and one Australian, and we had dinner at a 24 hour restaurant across the street that only serves local food. Luckily for us, the server/host speaks a bit of English and our hostel provided us with a list of food terms to use. I spent the rest of the night talking with a guy from Equator (who lives in Germany) until we were both exhausted and went to bed.

Today I got up at 8 and the four of us had breakfast. We ladies then took the subway to Kota. This is something I would advise against unless very modestly dressed and in a group. The Dutch woman and I both were and were both as tall or taller than the men that leered at us. One man got a little too friendly with my Australian friend, but he was pretty discreet about it; she didnt' tell us about it until after we got off the train. Ladies, beware!

We walked to the harbor because my Dutch friend's grandfather was stationed here years ago. It was pouring rain and the streets were messy and muddy. (This was just before the flooding a few days later.) We found the watchtower and the ship museum, built in 1652. They had some impressive ships and models to look at and the building it a sight in itself.

We went back to the former Dutch area and ate at the fancy Cafe Batavia. It was like stepping back in time and I wish I'd been dressed more nicely, but sometimes that's how it goes.

After lunch we met some schoolgirls who were looking for foreigners to interview for the English class. They video taped us and wrote down our answers and then we all took pictures together.

We took a taxi to the Monas monument, but it had closed half an hour earlier at 3 o'clock. So there were were without a taxi, in the rain, wanting to go home.

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Photos

My new favorite food
Nasi Goreng with spicy sambal sauce and a mango shake

local restaurant
All meals less than $2 USD

hungry? got a fire?
Here ya go.

Just a few suggestions
Note how it says nothing about keeping your hands to yourself.

The Watchtower
Now it's just a monument.

lots of traffic, little roads
Even better in the rain.

I didn't take this photo...
Batavia restaurant

making new friends
They interviewed us for a school project.

On the train heading east
In the first class cabin