Hey there!
I've totally just realised that I've been doing this whole "número uno, número dos, número tres" title system for these travel blogs when I'm traveling to places that have nothing remotely to do with Spain or the Spanish language...rookie error there!
Day 11! Friday 18th July 2014
We woke up this morning with no idea how we were going to navigate the mega city that is Jakarta but decided to wing it, Lonely Planet guide book in hand (FYI, this one is actually pretty good!).
We wandered down to reception in search of a recommendation for somewhere to eat breakfast. The lady on reception looked at us blankly, as if to say "You want to leave the hotel? Are you sure?", which was marginally worrying. Especially if you also consider the fact that "transfers to the airport" is listed in Lonely Planet's top attractions for Jakarta. Kinda getting the hint that this place isn't quite cut out for tourists at this point in time!
Nonetheless, we headed to a floor in the same building as our hotel labelled "food court" - promising right? In we wandered to a huge floor filled with little food stalls and lots of Indonesian people wondering why there were some lost looking white people invading their space...
Jack was brave enough to try some sort of chicken and rice meal, a local dish.
It was too early for all of that for me so I continued my search for something more breakfasty, despite Jack protesting "Danii, you're not gonna find a flipping muffin, give up". Well, I did find a muffin actually. Several. So there! *stamps foot*.
In fact, I found a whole bakery stall and ended up with a sort of pastry bun filled with chocolate - can't go wrong there!! I have no idea what it was called but it was warm, fresh and tasty so I can't complain, especially as it cost the equivalent of around 25p!
Breakfast over and done with, we grabbed some Javanese coffee and headed for the historic part of Jakarta, which are Kota (formerly known as Batavia) and Sunda Kelapa!
We decided to walk, blissfully ignorant of the fact that crossing roads in Jakarta is a bit of a life or death mission. Jack led the way using the map from the guide book as we wandered past hundreds of Indonesians on motorcycles at the side of the street - I can't say it's the safest I've ever felt.
The traffic is completely gridlocked at all times of the day it seems, so the streets are not the easiest to navigate, with the side walks disappearing at multiple points along the road.
I've never felt more watched than when I was walking down the roads of Jakarta. All that the locals could do was stare so I'm guessing westerners are a bit of a novelty in these parts. They were all very friendly though, waving and saying hello to us as if we were celebrities. They did take it a bit far though when I started to feel like a piece of meat walking down the road with men staring at me from every direction and beeping their horns - not the best form of flattery.
Jack even commented at one point: "you're gonna cause a traffic accident in a minute, all of the drivers are looking at you instead of the road" - wonderful, just what I wanted on my first visit to an unfamiliar city!! I even had an old man come right up to my face and grin at me whilst Jack was checking the map...I can see the funny side now but at the time I was a bit creeped out!!
Anyway, culture shock aside, a lovely man helped us towards our destination (for a fee, naturally!) and we soon arrived at Taman Fatahillah, Kota's central cobblestone square. The square is far from the madness of the roads and is surrounded by colonial buildings, including the old town hall and various museums. And some bikes with colour coordinated hats...
We then continued our little tour suggested by the book, alongside the "crumbling historic buildings and stinky canals" - boy were they stinky. I can only compare the smell to that of the smell of the toilets in the campsites at Reading Festival. Not. Pleasant.
We eventually came across the Chicken Market Bridge, the last remaining Dutch drawbridge in Jakarta. It dates back to the 17th century so that was cool to see!
From the bridge we headed towards the old watch tower. We got to go inside it & climb the ladders to the top - UK health and safety officers would be having none of this!!
We then visited the Museum Bahari, a Dutch maritime museum based in some old warehouses. We learnt about Dutch colonial power and the growth of Jakarta in terms of the shipping trade.
It had some very interesting exhibits but this one left us both puzzled. A display cabinet containing a small plate with no information about it...anywhere. Okay then...it was quite fun to make up stories about it's historical significance though...this could have been the plate that Governor General Van Imhoff gifted to Prince Udunggadung...who knows?!
There were also huge expanses of the museum that remained empty...
But Jack enjoyed pretending to steer a boat on the next level down...
We left the museum in search of a street market and some boats but I think we may have taken a few wrong turns too many...we found a market but it was mainly full of tradesman selling things like water pumps, industrial hooks and heavy shipping anchors...I don't think we were their intended customers.
We decided to call it a day after passing one too many stray cats with half a tail and grabbed a Blue Bird cab back to the hotel to wash off the grime of the day!
Did I mention the entrance of the hotel is in a car park? It's so odd but it's a great hotel that I'd recommend to anyone visiting Jakarta!
We spent the evening sat on the balcony looking out over Jakarta whilst reading about all of the amazing stuff Bali has to offer, ready for the next leg of our trip tomorrow, accompanied by a particularly tasty Oreo coffee milkshake and some dinner!
I can't say Jakarta has been my favourite part of the trip so far but it has definitely been an authentic experience and what is life without experience?
Thanks Jakarta, now onwards to our journey around Bali, the Gili Islands and Lombok over the next 4 weeks!
Day 12! Saturday 19th July 2014
I'm typing this from the Starbucks at Jakarta airport, waiting to board our flight to Denpasar, Bali. I ordered my usual caramel macchiato (which was made perfectly by the way) only to find myself giggling at the barista's interpretation of the name Danielle...it's certainly interesting! From now on, in Indonesia I shall be known as Taniel, that's Ms. Taniel to you ;)
This morning we waved goodbye to Fave Hotel at LTC Glodok (again, I definitely recommend this hotel!), grabbed a pretty much identical breakfast from the food court and jumped in a Blue Bird Taxi to get started on our route to the airport.
They drive like mad men here, there are virtually no lane divisions and when there are lane divisions, the drivers pretend they don't exist...not the best driving technique really!!
Nonetheless, we made it to the airport, dropped off our bags and checked in at the "AirAsia" desk with no hassle! This was the cheapest flight we booked for our trip and it has been the best - on time take off and such a simple check in process and security system!
Bye bye Jakarta, hello Bali!
Catch you later!
P.S. Freckles have totally invaded my face ever since I've been in the sun...loving them! Byeeee!
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