Into Indinesia

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We grabbed an Uber to get us to the airport, whizzing through the Sunday traffic, a far cry from the gridlock we had experienced on the way in! The airport was a breeze and we were soon aboard our Air Asia flight to Jakarta, which passed without incident. Soon, we descended into Jakarta where we took a taxi to the hotel. So far, so good.

We did not have high hopes for Jakarta. In fact, we saw it as a place to be dreaded - a place we expected to be choked with fumes, full of speeding cars, dirty, unkempt and well, like Delhi! We had been rather irritated to find out that we would have to spend 2 nights there due to our tour giving us a full day tour of the city on day one. However, on arrival, we decided to head out for some food before our welcome meeting. Yes, the pavements were uneven, but so they are in many major cities in the world. Yes, the traffic was chaotic, but so too was it in Hanoi and we loved it there! Yes, the city was full of traffic fumes, but no worse than in Bangkok - each one of the negatives we had heard rumour of were put to bed as we explored the area around our hotel. We found some street food and enjoyed our first taste of nasi goreng (spicy friend rice with chicken and egg) and chicken satay since we were last in Indonesia 6 years ago and they were both very good!

We then returned to the hotel and met our group - a good mixture of ages and nationalities and only 11 of us in total. Then it was off to dinner - more nasi goreng and Bintang Beer - delicious! However, one thing we hadn't factored in such a huge city (after none at all in Bangkok) was the vast number of mosquitoes, and they are RELENTLESS!!! Stacey has already been bitten about fifteen times and I am the proud owner of one hellishly itchy arm! After swatting away the mossies, we then ventured out for drinks to get to know one another better. Here, in the (clever bunnies moment) outdoor garden surrounded by trees, we were assaulted once more - entire air forces of mosquitoes, in perfect formation, dive bombing the group and sucking us dry. It was an itchy affair, only made bearable by the great company. Eventually, after we had donated 6 pints of blood each, and after a long day's travelling, we headed to bed.

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