Blogs from Jakarta, Java, Indonesia, Asia - page 5

So we arrived in Java, the largest, most populous island in Indonesia on the 12th of February, and since then we've visited Jakarta (where we touched down), Bandung, Bali (which I'll write a separate entry for), Banyuwangi and the Ijen volcano, and Yogyakarta. Although Indonesia is so close to Singapore and Malaysia, it is completely different and when we first arrived in Jakarta, the place felt a lot more like India than any of its neighbours. Unfortunately the pavements and roads are not well maintained here so when we caught one of the local bajajs - very much like the Indian tuk tuks - from the bus station to our hostel we had a very bumpy ride! But also like India, the people are extremely friendly and made us feel welcome immediately. In Jakarta, we stayed ... read more

http://indonesianliving.tumblr.com/ - this is my more regular blog. Detailing the more day to day life of living in Jakarta and Indonesia. Please check it out. Cobra blood and meat Living in Jakarta is always interesting. The people are always a source of surprise, the weather is at times treacherous and the food is, well, its different. The weekend just gone, I finally got around to trying a particular delicacy I have been wanting to try for a long time. Snake. Note: I don't want to hear any animal welfare bullshit on this. I should note that the snake was killed instantly and more humanely than most pigs or cows in England. So put your bacon sarny down keyboard warrior and kindly get lost. We arrived at the warung, approaching cautiously, who knows if a snake had ... read more

So had a very nice Christmas in Jakarta. Found an old Dutch style bar where I whiled away a few pleasant evenings. They had live music and the first night the band came on all leather, tattoos and bandanna's so I thought we were in for a bit of an ear bashing with some heavy metal before they launched into their first number White Christmas followed by Jingle bells and Santa Claus is coming to town!! Spent the days, well afternoons I've been sleeping late, seeing the sights and a few museums. Jakarta is a great big sprawling mess of a place with appalling traffic and the fumes that go with it. It takes for ever to get anywhere but luckily Taxis are dirt cheap even if you do spend half the time going nowhere. I ... read more

so this is our last day of travelling. After much discussion we have decided to get a cab into the centre and find the what seems to be the only famous landmark in the city, which is strange for a vast capital. Taxis can take as much as 20 minutes to move a few hundred yards in Jakarta as the traffic is so bad. Currently there is no mass transit system so most people either walk or drive. Fortunately the cabs are trip and 1 hour trip cost sat little at £4.00. The cabs generally start on this back home. We got to the monument which is in the centre of Jakarta's main park. It's certainly a lot bigger than we expected and towers over most other structures nearby. The National Monument other wise known as ... read more

For the last few months ever since school began, the athletic department has been hard at work at teaching, assessing and training students in many different athletic events. On Friday we had our anticipated Senior School Athletics Day where everyone wore their house colours and battled for first place. It was super hot - the sun was shining and there wasn’t a breeze to be had. Man, did the ice cold lemonade taste good and at the end of the day walking into the air conditioned office was refreshing! Despite it all, there was a buzz of energy in the air. The day ended in a teacher relay. Four teachers from each house team were selected. I was asked if I would join the relay team and I very willingly said yes! The relay track events ... read more