Sue in Jakarta: My day to day adventures!

Satu, Dua, Tiga, Here we go!

Traffic in Jakarta

Traffic seems to be the bane of everyones’ existence here. Apparently there have been attempts to build a rapid transit system, but stakeholders backed out after corruption problems. To relieve some of the congestion, there is a 3 in 1 rule during peak hours on the busiest roads. It’s like our HOV lanes on the freeways. If a driver is caught without 3 people in the car, he/she is heavily fined. However, it has created an underground economy. Every morning as I walk to school, I see people lining the streets holding their fingers up, indicating if they are 1 or 2 (eg. a mother and baby). The driver pulls over, the person or people hop in and they charge the driver 10,000 Rupiah ($1.00). They stay in the car until they are out of the restricted area, then get out and do the same thing coming back in the other direction. Sometimes it is young children doing this.

Normally I walk to school, but last Sunday, a few of us were going to in to get some extra work done. Annie and I decided to catch a Tuk Tuk because we had a lot to carry. The Tuk Tuk is about the size of a golf cart. The main road beside the school was blocked off, so the driver attempted to drive through the narrow, twisty lanes of the Kampon which is a very poor area, just off the main road, full of little wooden shacks with tin roofs that serve as homes and small businesses. The trouble was that we seemed to be going in the wrong direction on a one way lane and there was no room for us, even though our vehicle was so small. We were stuck, no room to turn around and would still be there, if it weren’t for some entrepreneurial young boys who make money directing traffic in the Kampon. They actually hold up a rope and hold out a bucket for money from the driver, before they put the rope down. Anyway they had a good laugh at us and stopped traffic so we could eventually sneak through.

Money in Jakarta

I’m getting used to the money now, but my heart has raced a few times when I’ve gone for groceries and the bill has come to say 300,000 Rph. I have to keep reminding myself that it is only about $30. I’m paid partly in Rupiah and partly in American dollars. When a person goes to change US to Rupiah, the money changers are very particular. They will not take old bills and in fact, the bills have to be perfectly flat, no folds or turned corners or they will not give you the best exchange rate. People have been known to iron their money before exchanging it.

It takes me a lot of time to get things done here, because of it being so unfamiliar and of course because of the language. Luckily many people know some English. I’m happy to say that I now have internet (although it doesn’t always work) and TV, know where to get the big jugs of water delivered from (no one drinks from the taps) and have found the laundry service in the building. My apartment is compact but comfortable and the pool area is beautiful. It’s like an oasis from the busyness and noise of the city. I think I will be using it a lot!

Miss you all and think of you often, but baik-baik saja (doing fine)!