Side streets

The traffic is a nightmare here. I just could not live in Jakarta because of the chaos. Coming out of the office, especially at peak time, there is no other choice that going through the maze of the tiny side streets. It is surely impossible to capture the atmosphere of these small arteries but most of them are not wider than a single vehicle. The asphalt not only has to be shared with the numerous ojeks (motorcycle taxis), food vendors and pedestrians but also with the incoming traffic! Some narrow passages are not even one-way!

Makam Perang Jakarta

Hello from Jakarta. I am here for 24 hours and I am staying at my usual hotel. As you might know there is no much to see in this city. Just to give you an example, this is the view from my bedroom's window and it is one of the local attractions (!). The Jakarta War Cemetery contains the graves of many who died in defence of Java and Sumatra during the swift Japanese advance in 1942 and many others who perished afterwards as prisoners of war. Among the dead were sailors who fought in the Battle of the Java Sea, soldiers and airmen who died in flying battle and airfield defence.

Jakarta

Nothing much to report today as it is a post-wedding afternoon and I am quite tired as you can imagine. Here's the view from my hotel room. It nearly makes Jakarta look leafy and attractive. Actually, the view is much better than from the Park Lane hotel I used to regularly stay at over the past two years. Jakarta skyline was also quite clear this week-end (after the storm that hit Thousand Islands quite hard, that is!) which is a rare event as the atmosphere is usually so polluted.

Chocolate

Let's stay on a food tip... Today I travelled to Jakarta as I am to attend a wedding. I booked a room at the Four Seasons for the convenience and I was positively surprised with the room. It is a big clean and elegant space and I particularly enjoyed the chocolate touch! It was very nice to find this lovely plate arrangement on my desk offered as a welcome attention.

Peeping Tom

I am currently staying in a furnished apartment in Jakarta. Big tower blocks. Every evening, if I happen to look out of the window, I can't help but noticing this guy, obviously living alone, naked apart from a G-string on and most importantly always having funny and suggestive poses. That is so hilarious. What really is pushing people to display themselves like this when they know you have more than 80 windows (thus potential viewers) in front of your flat? Exhibitionism?

First Post

Hello,

Just because everyday brings its own share of surprises I thought I could start to record my daily visual memories... I usually enjoy surfing through similar blogs and finally decided to give it a go myself. It will be a tough discipline - posting a picture a day - but I am ready for the challenge. I will start tonight with Jakarta as it is my current location. A city I try not to spend too much time in as I do not particularly enjoy its traffic, pollution and 'nothing of interest to do, really' moto... As Durdou mentioned, it sometimes even bears an 'end of the world' feel, especially at sunset. That's the actual view from my balcony.