whoever said money cant buy you everything obviously hasnt been to indonesia: part 1, jakarta
chasing the sunrise to jakarta.
yes, there apparently is a rush hour at changi airport too. 7 planes behind us and 11 planes in front.
it alternated between flooded and boiling in jakarta, and it was smoggy, crowded, and chaotic. ahh, heaven. the street food, the bribery, the indonesians' amazing hospitality (i paid for absolutely nothing over there), the chaotic traffic... just a damn refreshing change from neat, clean, tight-assed singapore.
the kind of place i ate at all the time. and the food was great! check out all the chili. mildly surprised i didnt catch anything till the second last day, since they basically have only the most rudimentary concept of hygiene. one drinks seller i bought chin chow from used his thumb to press the chin chow onto the spoon so it wouldn't fall off.. but it tasted damn good anyway.
check out all the chilli. the food is just so damn tasty in indo. you have to wonder whether their extra-special ingredient is all the dirt and sweat and... ugh. i don't think about it and just eat. it's better that way.
thats coke and condensed milk.. surprisingly good.
soda gembirah, which i had in solo city. its some strange syrup, and condensed milk. you add ice cream soda (not in picture) and drink! and yes, it really does make you happy. this was the night of my last salmonella-free day-- the next morning i had the most alarming case of the shits i have ever had. woah.
didn't take a lot of pictures of the street food sellers, cos i was too busy eating. (bakso! gudeg! and oh my god, soto ayam. and one bowl is less than 1sgd... indon food is so damn good.) they sell almost everything from tiny carts in jakarta-- tiny quail-egg omelettes, noodles, rice, soup, everything. so you'll have to make do with this picture i took from the car on a rainy shitty day.
the only thing that upset me about jakarta (besides the freaking terrible heat-- 33 degrees celsius on hot days, and 24 degrees on rainy ones, and always muggy and windles) was the immense amount of poverty. at every traffic light there'd be people playing the guitar and singing, hawking crappy plastic party favours, selling magazines, fruits, tissues.. anything to earn the equivalent of 0.50 sgd.
yeah, its amazing what grown men will do for money. blow, man, blow!
kids playing in the floodwaters.
best hat ever.
a statue of hermes/mercury at the back of the former dutch east india company (no, its not the doctor thing he's holding, the aescapulus has one snake not two, and no wings). my fave greek god-- he's the god of thieves/traders (hahaha, ok theyre not the same, but try telling that to anyone who deals with businessmen), messengers, and travellers. what an awesome combination. anyway the EIC hq is now a really run-down shitty museum (we bribed the guard with 2000 rp to get in-- actual fee is 4000rp, about 0.60 sgd. we used the 2000rp to buy chin chow afterward)
schoolkids playing on the cannon at the back of the museum.
rooster and cannon, pre-schoolkids.
ok. solo/jogja pics next. and i promise they will be awesome. borobodur, prambanan, and more excellent food pics.
+ fictions&fires 6:04 PM
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