Day 27 - Jakarta
Jakarta .. A place like I had never experienced.
To get to Jakarta, we took a 9 hour train from Yogyakarta. Our train ride ended up being a real experience, and both Tola and I had never seen so many vendors. It was unbelievable how vendors just kept coming, and they sold everything from nail clippers to fresh fruit (there were even people shining shoes). We were happy when we arrived in Jakarta because it was nice to stretch our legs and get outside after 9 hours in a hot train. The train ride was definitely a great experience, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful countryside of Indonesia. The landscapes were breathtaking as we rode past thick forests and serene mountains. Taking the train was a perfect way to view more of Indonesia.
Then suddenly we were in Jakarta ... The entire island of Java is quite populated and more than 50% of Indonesians (around 120 million people) live on Java, so we definitely didn't feel alone during while on Java, but Jakarta was even more crowded. Now Tola and I have both lived in Seoul, and the population of Jakarta is smaller than Seoul, so the people weren't a surprise .. it was all of the cars! Jakarta has some of the worst traffic in the world. There are cars everywhere because Jakarta's public transportation system is not very good. Jakarta is also the 3rd most polluted city in the world, so we definitely noticed that the air was different.
We had a restful time in Jakarta because Tola ended up catching a cold, but it was the perfect place to relax because of the many comfortable malls with free internet access. Of course we did make the effort to explore Jakarta a bit, and we were able to visit a national museum that was a good way to learn more of Indonesia's history. We stayed very close to major sites in the city, so we visited the president's palace and the National Monument (Monas). Taking the elevator to the top of Monas ended up being a great way to get a view of the entire city. Jakarta is very large and from above, the city went on forever.
To escape Jakarta for one day, we also ventured to Bogor (a city about 1 1/2 hours from Jakarta). We were excited to take the commuter train, as the commuter trains drive along with the doors open, and they are very crowded. People also tended to ride on the roof. I think the roof would have been a cooler place to sit, but don't worry (Mom), I would have never attempted. :) During our time in Bogor we walked around the city a bit, and we had a wonderful lunch overlooking all of Bogor. Bogor really felt like more of a normal city because Jakarta is still a business city with quite a few foreigners. It was good to get a taste of another West Java city. In Bogor there are also famous botanical gardens, so spent most of our day walking through the beautiful gardens. They were by far the largest gardens Tola and I had been to, and we really enjoyed exploring the different parts of the gardens.
Our time in Jakarta felt like it went by very quickly, but we did spend six nights in the large city. On our last full day in Jakarta, we were able to get together with Dimas who had studied at Kettle Falls High School as an exchange student from 2002-2003, and it was a great way to end our month in Indonesia. Dimas and I had a couple of classes together, so it was fun looking at some pictures from Kettle Falls. He showed us some sites in the city before we went to his house for dinner. His mother was very kind and welcoming and she made us a wonderful dinner. We had a very special last day in Indonesia (and in Jakarta), and it seemed to be the perfect ending to our Indonesian journey.
To get to Jakarta, we took a 9 hour train from Yogyakarta. Our train ride ended up being a real experience, and both Tola and I had never seen so many vendors. It was unbelievable how vendors just kept coming, and they sold everything from nail clippers to fresh fruit (there were even people shining shoes). We were happy when we arrived in Jakarta because it was nice to stretch our legs and get outside after 9 hours in a hot train. The train ride was definitely a great experience, and we were able to enjoy the beautiful countryside of Indonesia. The landscapes were breathtaking as we rode past thick forests and serene mountains. Taking the train was a perfect way to view more of Indonesia.
Then suddenly we were in Jakarta ... The entire island of Java is quite populated and more than 50% of Indonesians (around 120 million people) live on Java, so we definitely didn't feel alone during while on Java, but Jakarta was even more crowded. Now Tola and I have both lived in Seoul, and the population of Jakarta is smaller than Seoul, so the people weren't a surprise .. it was all of the cars! Jakarta has some of the worst traffic in the world. There are cars everywhere because Jakarta's public transportation system is not very good. Jakarta is also the 3rd most polluted city in the world, so we definitely noticed that the air was different.
We had a restful time in Jakarta because Tola ended up catching a cold, but it was the perfect place to relax because of the many comfortable malls with free internet access. Of course we did make the effort to explore Jakarta a bit, and we were able to visit a national museum that was a good way to learn more of Indonesia's history. We stayed very close to major sites in the city, so we visited the president's palace and the National Monument (Monas). Taking the elevator to the top of Monas ended up being a great way to get a view of the entire city. Jakarta is very large and from above, the city went on forever.
To escape Jakarta for one day, we also ventured to Bogor (a city about 1 1/2 hours from Jakarta). We were excited to take the commuter train, as the commuter trains drive along with the doors open, and they are very crowded. People also tended to ride on the roof. I think the roof would have been a cooler place to sit, but don't worry (Mom), I would have never attempted. :) During our time in Bogor we walked around the city a bit, and we had a wonderful lunch overlooking all of Bogor. Bogor really felt like more of a normal city because Jakarta is still a business city with quite a few foreigners. It was good to get a taste of another West Java city. In Bogor there are also famous botanical gardens, so spent most of our day walking through the beautiful gardens. They were by far the largest gardens Tola and I had been to, and we really enjoyed exploring the different parts of the gardens.
Our time in Jakarta felt like it went by very quickly, but we did spend six nights in the large city. On our last full day in Jakarta, we were able to get together with Dimas who had studied at Kettle Falls High School as an exchange student from 2002-2003, and it was a great way to end our month in Indonesia. Dimas and I had a couple of classes together, so it was fun looking at some pictures from Kettle Falls. He showed us some sites in the city before we went to his house for dinner. His mother was very kind and welcoming and she made us a wonderful dinner. We had a very special last day in Indonesia (and in Jakarta), and it seemed to be the perfect ending to our Indonesian journey.
Sounds great! Hope that Tola feels better and that you will like Singapore too!
Good ending to Indonesia journey. Fine journal!
Hope also that Tola feels wel now.
KF connections as you leave Jakarta.. so gracious of people to have you in their home!