in jakarta

i was meaning to write about my trip to jakarta ever since i arrived here the other day. unfortunately, it hasn't worked that way. today is my third day away from the internet and it feels like it's forever. as of this writing, i have spent 50.000 IDR just to catch up with my emails and report. as i said to the man guarding the front desk, one hour is not enough.

logging in in the wifi here isn't as easy as it should look, too. i've spent almost thirty minutes (okay, i'm exaggerating, but it felt like that) trying to figure out why the wireless network would not connect. i've been clicking and clicking away with no result and when i just clicked without thinking, the login window appeared. so here i am now, finished with my mails, my report to the girl bosing, and at last, writing this blog and at the same time, downloading the yahoo messenger.

so what have i been up to the last few days, ever since i left the philippines?

for one, when i arrived in jakarta, the only thing i can think of is this one thing that i've read somewhere: you can see the culture of a people in the way they build their buildings. true enough, jakarta may be a modern city just like manila but in many of its buildings, one could see remnants of their malay architecture, especially the roofing. i will try to take some pictures soon so i could show you all what i'm talking about.

second is, not much common people speak english here. it's a struggle to ride on a taxi with a driver who doesn't have even a little english background.

third, the public transport is surprisingly good. the blue bird taxi is very efficient (unfortunately, not all of their drivers know how to speak english). yesterday, my officemate and i, having an afternoon break, decided to go to this national monument. we asked for directions using public transportation instead of a taxi. we took a mini-bus #640 (cost: 2.000 IDR) across the street from the hotel, went down to this place called Benhil and went up an overpass to go to what they call a busway station. this bus, transjakarta (either blue or red), has a special lane all of its own. cost for one trip, including transit is only 3.500 IDR compared to 6.000 flagdown of a bluebird taxi. cheap, isn't it? and not so hassle (exclude the mini-bus please because the buses are small and run-down) at all.

fourth, i have been mistaken for being indonesian many times than i can count now. yes, it seems that we, brown asians, almost look the same but i was hoping that i'd be recognized more of a latina LOL... anyways, people start to talk to me in bahasa and all i can say is, "sorry, english only." :D

more stories about indonesia soon. i must save my internet hours now. bye.