So, let's talk about Jakarta.

Missed us lately? Truly, it's been a hectic couple of days. Let's start with our harrowing drive back from Toraja. Harrowing, but we knew that. When we approached Makassar, as expected, it started to rain, but all and all, it could have been worse. We made it to the airport in ample time, and the owner of the vehicle was there, as promised, to pick up his car. Everything seemed fine.

Then, when we tried to check-in, we were notified that our flight had been canceled. That was definitely not fine. After a long discussion with Expedia, they said all they could do is refund our payment, as they could not find anything available to re-book us on. Yet, all it took was a visit to the ticket counter, and we were able to secure two Citylink tickets on a flight that would leave even earlier than our original. Everything was going to be ok.

Two and a half hours after takeoff the Citylink jet deposited onto the island of Java, and the capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta. We had secured a ride to take us to our hotel, but did not know how to notify the driver of the change. It took us about one and a half hours, and a ride in paddy wagon (I won't explain, but it was hysterically true), to finally meet up with the gentleman and be on our way to the hotel. When we arrived, as he opened the back door of the SUV, my carry-on slid and crashed on the floor, damaging the internal mouse on my laptop, which became unusable.

So, after our first night in the city, we woke up and the first priority was to find a place where we could purchase an external mouse, hoping it would do the trick. Success on both counts, so now I'm able to do this post, which would have otherwise been impossible.

We spent the day taking care of items we had neglected, then in the evening we were off to meet a fb friend I had never met personally, but had been communicating with, as we both shared our passion for Sampdoria. His name is Zaky, and he is the Voce President of the Sampdoria Indonesia Fan Club, which counts on 300 supporters as members. Zaky and the president, an affable man named Ferry, invited us to share a wonderful dinner with them and a couple of other members, at a renown Italian restaurant named Mamma Rosy. It was a heart-warming affair, where we learned of the deep roots Sampdoria has in Indonesia and we spoke about what it's like to love and follow a team from so far away. Because of the time difference, sometimes they have to watch games at 3 in the morning!! That's commitment. They honored me with a special gift of a statue that is both an Indonesian icon and the symbol of their club. Wonderful people, really.

At Mamma Rosy's

With Zaki and Ferry

So, what did we do today, you want to know. The easy answer would be, we spent about 5 hours riding around in Grab (Indonesian version of Uber) cars. Yes, let's talk about Jakarta.

We loved the neighborhood of Mamma Rosy; beautiful restaurants, hotels, and storefronts, and a happening vibe. Today's plans included a visit to a local landmark (Merdeka Square), then we intended to check out the Museum of Indonesia nearby. Yesterday's 6.5 km. ride to the restaurant took about 1 and a half hours (we were more than an hour late for our dinner). We had thought that it was because it was rush-hour, but no sirree, this morning's ride of a mere 3.5 km. took just as long. Traffic here is just that insane.

In Merdeka Square, there were hundreds of police and armored vehicles. Many of the access roads were blocked, and even barb-wired. We ended up going around and around and getting nowhere. To make matters worse, the Museum we intended to see, was closed for the day. You can say it was a big waste of time, but we had a decent meal at an outdoor eatery in the park, chatting it up with a couple from Austria, and feeding a sweet kitten under the table.

City view spot at the top, but the line is 2 hours long

I wish you could hear their elation when we said ok to taking their picture. So endearing.

Demonstration against the perceived oligarch political leaders

We had a second option in mind, Old Batavia, known locally as Old Town, where there are several buildings from the Dutch colonization period. Five km. in a Grab, another hour and a half. It was insane we thought, but once again, we made it there, and we enjoyed this locale a lot more.

At the historical Cafe Batavia

Another easy to please, happy bunch

Cafe Batavia

After spending a couple of hours there, we were ready to head back to the hotel. The Grab driver took over an hour to get to us. We got into the cab at 4 pm., and arrived at our hotel, 6 km. away, I kid you not, at 7:38 pm!!! No matter what street the driver turned into, it was bumper-to-bumper. Only the motorcycles were managing to zig zag their way between vehicles. Yes, today was exceptionally bad, but traffic here is horrendous every day, we are told. Presidential elections will take place next week, and today, demonstrations were going on across the city, hence the heavy police presence.

Our newly made friends, hopefully will not be too upset, but our opinion of this megalopolis is not a very positive one. While there are indeed beautiful areas, and a large financial district, places of real interest are few and far between, and not really worth the trouble to get there.

Night setting in. View from our hotel

Traffic is the worst ever experienced, and many places are dark, gritty, highly polluted, and unsightly.

Thought the last wire picture was crazy?

We think it's a city that has grown beyond its capacity, and should be a good study in overpopulation. The infrastructure clearly cannot support its 10-million-plus people. I can see why the government is intent in moving the capital to the island of Borneo.

That said, there is always something positive, no matter what. We have met some wonderful people, and even though, as expected, Jakartans are not as friendly as the folks we encountered in Sulawesi, they are a pleasant lot nonetheless.

Before closing, I'll share the last couple of photos taken on Sulawesi from our drive back to Makassar:

The second biggest statue of Christ anywhere

Lunch stop

Our visit here will end tomorrow morning. We'll be picking up a new rental car at the airport in the morning and look forward to venture out in the wilds of Java, an island chock-full of alluring and exciting sights. As always, we hope you'll stay tuned.