First Impressions of Jakarta
We often form impressions of a place based on our experiences in traveling to other destinations. Indonesia is no exception. Though we are only spending a short amount of time in Jakarta, we are making the most of it and have walked the city talking to people and observing all that we can. Here are a few impressions:
- the people are very friendly and welcoming;
- the language is fun to learn, straightforward to pronounce, and terima kasih puts a smile on everyone's face;
- Nick is very good at speaking the language though that should come as no surprise to anyone who knows him;
- people do not walk much in the city and the non-existent and uneven sidewalks support that impression;
- there are a lot of big cars here compared to other Asian countries we have visited;
- you have to be fearless in crossing the roads;
- the colonial Dutch influences are limited given the history of occupation;
- like many SE Asian countries, the food has a good amount of spice and heat (and rendang is delicious);
- the security guard business is big business in Jakarta;
- the Hermitage Hotel (at which we are staying) is beautiful and ranks right up there with many of the hotels at which we have stayed;
- going through customs in Indonesia... super easy;
- Jakarta is enormous and the traffic is awful;
- it's hot here. No surprise; and
- a very large number of people wanted to take pictures with us (and one of them, when asking to take a picture of Nick, said "I want to take you home"). He came home with me. Whew!
We have another 12 hours in Jakarta so much can happen. These are our first impressions. Enjoy.
The Hermitage Hotel.
Nick and Tim at the Hermitage Hotel
Our padang meal featuring rendang.
Woman and cat in the fishing kampung (village)
TimNick
