Haviva's Day Out

Well, it took a while, but it finally happened - I had a day off!! After a lot of running from city to city, I was pooped and decided to take the day off on Monday to sleep in and actually see Jakarta. It was fabulous not to set the alarm and after a yummy frozen lasagna lunch we hit the city. With Howie as my tour guide, we headed as north as we could go to Jakarta harbor. Like most harbor areas, it was a bit stinky and was a far cry from the shopping malls and endless traffic of the city that we know. The boats were not what we expected in that they did not look hefty or sturdy enough to be carrying what they were. I think we were expecting more fishing boats and the like, but these boats were hauling lumber and concrete, weighing them low into the water. I suppose we should have been happy not to see fishing boats - the water was filthy.

After a walk down the main docking area we headed into the local village, winding through the nooks and crannies filled with local food stalls and vendors selling everything from underwear to prayer mats. With every step we got the typical "Hello Mister!" (for the record, someone taught the nation of Indonesia "hello mister" and forgot to mention that it only applies to men. not a "hello miss" to be heard) and the occasional "How are you? I am fine!" We made a quick stop for a fried delish snack - I have become addicted to these little fried bites of cabbage...sort of like deep fried sourkraut, which may sound gross, but it really is good.

The strange part about this area of Jakarta is that it still has the Dutch colonial architecture. For some reason, to me it felt more like South American than SE Asia. You can tell at one time the area was beautiful, but now it looks a bit forgotten. We hung out in the square and had a TeBotol (iced tea in a glass bottle that can be found anywhere) hoping to reduce the sweat level, but as is life in Indonesia, that just did not happen. Maybe that is why the Dutch eventually left....