Update!

Once again, I am going to apologize for the lack of posts in the last couple of weeks. There is a reason for that of course and that is I have been a busy bee! If I am not busy, I am spending my time exploring Jakarta's night life  Not to say that I am out every night partying up a storm but I have to blow off steam one way or the other, right? Anyhow, there have been some changes and I thought it would be a good idea to tell you about it:

• I have now been in Jakarta for over 10 weeks nearly 3 months! In TEFL terms, I am no longer a newbie and will soon be having new teachers observing my classes as I did in the beginning. This is something that fills me with dread as I don't feel especially confident in my teaching abilities.
• DOC HAS A JOB! After 8 years of further education, my other half has landed himself a job. He started at the beginning of the month. It has been a long wait since he finished his Phd in December, but people in Britain know just how difficult the job market is. This means I can see my cutie pie soon.
• Scottish J and Girl J have left the teacher's house *sad face* but not to worry because they've moved on up! I am yet to visit their new place but it has pool and a decent view of the city and is only 15 minutes walk from my place/their old place. Girl J is missed at my school especially by Irish C and myself of course. Oh and I also took Scottish J's old room which is the biggest room in the house. YASSSS!
• My other house mate English J has finished his contract too and will be leaving Jakarta in a couple of weeks. He is one of my favourite people and I will miss him and his quirks a lot. Did I mention L left a few weeks ago? She's a personality and a half and her presence is missed in the house. Another teacher from my school, Brighton A has seen out his contract and has returned to the UK. He was a beautifully strange man and his departure was quite dramatic to say the least. *smh*

• We have new house mates albeit temporarily. My travel buddy Manc C and Withnail have moved in. They are house mates of T, who I mentioned was having renovation works on his room. Turns out the whole place needs renovating. So they are staying here for a month while work is done on their house.
• Manc C and I are off to Lombok in May for eight days. Might seem like a long time but boy I have not seen a beach in a year and I am really excited to get out Jakarta for more than a day.
• I've been teaching 7 year olds for the past month. If I am being honest, it is really hard especially when   there are a couple of troublemakers in the group who test my patience. I made one cry a couple of weeks ago and he has not been back since *shrug shoulders* tough titty! 
• I have becomes fast friends with another teacher called Aussie R. She works with me at my school and is now pretty much a permanent member for well over a month now. Prior to Girl J's departure, the three of us would go for coffee and also socialize outside of work with the rest of the other teachers. Despite her name, Aussie R has spent most of her life here in Jakarta and is fluent in Indonesian and is a fountain of knowledge when it comes to teaching English - she's been doing it for six years - so all in all, a good person to know.
• We are getting four new female teachers. Two of them will be based at my school and most likely will be moving into my house. I can only hope that they are as sound as my current bunch and not as demented as Big P.

That is all the gossip I have about what is going with me personally and professionally and of course the people I work with. All is well with me because I am surrounded by some of the quirkiest, intelligent and sweetest people ever. I know that it won't last long with people's contracts finishing before mine but I will enjoy it while it lasts.

More photos from Bogor

Her are some more photos from my trip to Bogor. I was not able to add these as Blogger was acting foolish and not saving and adding stuff as it should. So enjoy!

The deerfields

An angcot - not my favourite.

Old colonial Protestant Church

L not liking her Durian and Coconut ice cream

The lake

S contemplating climbing the bamboo tree

My companions S, L and Manc R

Tamarind

Pandan

Cafe on the hill!

View from the cafe on the hill

Mount Salak in the background

A Day out to Bogor

First and foremost, HUGE apologies for not updating this blog in over two weeks. I have been extremely busy with work and settling into Jakarta. It is still no excuse though and I have a bit of slack to pick up. I will give you and update as to all the latest goings-on with me but for now let me tell you about Bogor.

Welcome to Bogor

When I decided to take my first trip out of Jakarta, I knew it was going to be sooner rather than later. In the same week I was due to go to Singapore (almost 3 weeks ago), there was a public holiday on Tuesday so the question was 'what to do?' The obvious thing was to take a day trip to the outskirts of Jakarta and our town of choice was Bogor.

Bogor is located an hour south outside of Jakarta. It is an colonial town with only some old buildings and is renowned for being the wettest place in Java. Anyhow, the main point of our trip was to visit the Bogor Botanical Gardens. So my house mate L and I took off from Juanda Station for the hour long journey. The train we got on was ghetto, there were no doors and people were just hanging out of them willy-nilly. Plus, it was packed! It was so packed that one of the commuters on board showed his 'admiration' for L in a very inappropriate manner!

So after all that, we finally made it to Bogor. It reminded me of a smaller Jakarta. The scenes out of the train station were chaotic and noisy. The main mode of transport in Bogor is the angcot , my least favourite mode of transport for reasons I will explain in another post, I was determined not to use one to take to the gardens so we went on foot.

After walking around for what seemed an eternity, EUREKA we found it, sort of! In fact, we found only one of the many closed entrances to the gardens. This part of the gardens was a Deer Conservation, where you could feed the deer carrots and pet them through the gates. We did not lose sight of the fact that we still have not found the main gate. So onward we trekked until FINALLY WE MADE IT! I paid the bule admission fee of 30,000rp (£2), while L paid 15,000rp. Rip-off or what? But I did not care after, I waltzed in and started to fall in love with what I saw.

I had to take in the greenery and lushness of the place, this place is too beautiful! The gardens had a variety of places to visit including a zoology museum, the Presidential palace and a lake. There was also a river that flows through the gardens. We were also joined by a couple of other teacher friends, girl S and Manc R were in the train behind us. We trekked all over the gardens and still missed out on loads including the lunch at the posh café that overlooks the park, meh! We were having too much fun. Would I go again? Most definitely, the gardens were beautiful and well maintained and I gotta try the lunch in the café for just the view alone.

My companions and I left the gardens in search of food and the train home. We got on an angcot and made our way to a warung near the train station, where I tried Ayam Bakar for the first time. It was hella tasty to say the least. 

After that we got on a train back to Jakarta, this time the train had doors. So here ends my recollection of my trip to Bogor. It will certainly not be my last trip out of Jakarta, in fact, I am going to Lombok with Manc C (from the Singapore trip). I will be taking in some sand and surf. HAPPY DAYS!

A day out in Singapore

Orchard Road - the main shopping street

So two Thursdays ago, I spent the day in Singapore. A modern, clean city island nation with a population of over 5 million and blends both Malay, Chinese, Indian and European cultures. It is safe to say that Singapore is an anomaly amongst all the other Asian countries. To be honest, it was also an opportunity to get out of Jakarta and get some fresh air in my lungs and not worry about what filth I am going to find under my shoes. People I know who have been to Singapore have all said variations of the same thing. Basically, that it is nice and modern but it is not Asia as we know it. Either way, I was intrigued and having a few hours in a country has to count for something right?!

So why spend only a day there you ask? Well! My friend Manc C and I, were only there to get our 'paperwork' in order. We got up at before the crack of dawn to make our way to Jakarta International for our 6:30 flight. We arrived at Singapore Changi Airport at 9 in the morning. We both were hungry and tired but we had to find the agent to do our paperwork first before anything else. So we hopped on the Skytrain that linked us to the MRT, Singapore's efficient and reliable rail network that became our main mode of transport for the day.

After running around like headless chickens, we found our man and a Subway (Yes the sandwich joint, don't judge me!) We dropped our stuff and headed over for some grub. Totally missed having sandwiches with pork in it! After satisfying ourselves with some delicious subs and soft drinks. We decided to head to Chinatown to find some bargains. 

Chinatown as the name suggests is a district where the majority of the Chinese population work and live. Lots of tea shops, reflexology people trying to get some custom, beauticians wanting to thread away whatever available body hair you have and of course clothes shops LOTS of clothes shops. Sadly, I did not find anything that was flattering or particularly cheap in terms of clothes and neither did C *le sigh*. But, Chinatown had cool and funky architecture which is always cool to see in a new country.

Sri Marriaman Temple

After our wee wonder around Chinatown, we moved onto Little India to find some dinner and booze most importantly. There was one thing we did not count on, the rain! By the time we left Little India station; the heavens opened and soaked us (bless C, she did not have an umbrella so she got the brunt of it.) After taking shelter in the nearby market, we walked along the streets noticing the curry houses, butchers selling goat, florists arranging garlands of marigold for presumably a wedding. But time was of the essence and we needed somewhere to eat and drink.

We decided on the Banana Leaf Apollo Restaurant which specialised in North and South Indian Cuisine. We indulged in a bottle of Red Wine (my old friend!) and our food was to die for! I had the Mutton Ghost Bhuna with Butter Naan and C had Vegetable Biryani and Prawn Rogan Josh. We were very pleased with our spread:

Dinner 

Time was of the essence as our time in Singapore wound down. We had to go and get our documents and get the plane back to Jakarta.

So what did I think of Singapore? Well, I liked it! It's clean, modern and multicultural; three things that I love about a city or a nation in this case. It was a refreshing change from the grittiness and chaos of Jakarta. The architecture is certainly a lot more interesting in Singapore than in Jakarta. I would like to go back and do a proper tour as I missed out on the Harbour and do some proper shopping.

Have you ever been to Singapore? What was your impression of it?

Quick Update

It has been awhile since I have given a run down of what has been happening in the last couple of weeks. Not to worry, I am still in Jakarta and still teaching but I have been up to a couple of things.

But first let me start with a bit of gossip concerning my teacher house as seven became six. Two weeks ago, Big P flew the coop within four months of his year's contract. It is not surprising but it was the manner in which he left that I was miffed by. He basically did a runner! He despised everything about Jakarta and teaching. I will miss his banter - he had a lot of travel stories and a sarcastic tongue - but I will not miss his negativity - he hated Jakarta, the people, the job, the fact he was living with really young people (dude's 44, so old enough to be a dad to a couple of the house mates!). So moving on from that, we have acquired a new house mate albeit temporarily. My colleague T is staying for a month while his room is being renovated  due to serious leaking problems.

I have found two bars that I REALLY like in Jakarta. One that is within walking distance and is pricey and the other is a Rp30,000 taxi ride away and is pricey (I'm a girl expensive taste, LOL!) I will do a post about these classy joints shortly.

I had my first trip out of Jakarta on Tuesday. It was a public holiday and my house mate L and I thought a trip to Bogor would be a nice way to spend the day. We went with two other teacher friends and had a great time despite the inclement weather. Blog post coming up shortly for that too.

Lastly, I am rested up after spending a day in Singapore yesterday. I went with my friend Manc C for the primary purpose *ahem* getting work permits.  I think I like Singapore! I will do a blog post about that trip soon.

Stay tuned for other blog posts!

The Day I took an Ojek

Ojeks or motorcycle taxis are the easiest way of getting around Jakarta. They weave in and around traffic like no one's business, get where you need to go in quick time and can drop you right at your door. Seriously ojeks risk their life and limbs for a fare!

You also have to haggle the price with the drivers as they always suggest overinflated prices. For 20,000rph that covers a single trip from home to work and vice versa so a total of 40,000rph for a day's journey! On the other hand, the local bus costs a total of 4000rph for a day's journey, yes a whole tenth of the price! So why would I want to take an ojek when it is SO dear and the chances of injuring myself in an accident are high?! My house mates take ojeks wherever they go and have encouraged me to do so. But I resisted with vigour because I'm a coward like that but what to do when you have no choice?

I decided to take the plunge and take one. That day was Wednesday night about two weeks ago. I was tired and hungry and wanted to get home quickly from work. However, my usual bus was nowhere to be seen. I walked along the road checking every few seconds to make sure that my bus was not going to drive past but to no avail. But then salvation came.

I was walking along my road when I heard 'Ojek Miss?'. I looked up and saw this small dude pointing to his bike. I thought about for all of thirty seconds and thought 'why the hell not?'

I walked over and I asked in my best Indonesian 'How much to Plaza Indonesia?' He quoted a price of 50,000. I stood my ground and said (in English) 'I am not going anywhere for more than 20,000!' He then said 'OK, 25,000?' I started walking away before he relented and agreed that he will drop me off for 20,000.

He gave me the passenger helmet and hopped on behind him. I was faced with the dilemma of what to do with my hands. I see local women on ojeks with their hands on their thighs or gripping onto the driver's waist (come to think of it they are probably not ojek drivers). I decided to hold onto the back of the seat and took of onto the road. I gripped the seat for dear life and silently praying that I do not fall off. My fears were subsided as I took in the night air and the cool breeze blowing on my face. It was so blissful that I had my hands outstretched and let out a loud yelp exclaiming my exhilaration which my driver thought was funny. He dropped me off and I handed over my 20000 rph and thanked my driver. I walked away becoming a fan of the ojek and learnt lesson in not being a chickenshit and just do it.

I have now taken ojeks 10 times since but only when the situation is really necessary (traffic, protests, late coming home from work and the like). But I can honestly say, I enjoy taking ojeks as they are best way to get around the city.  

Bloody Traffic

As the title suggests, this is my absolute pet hate about Jakarta. The traffic here is RIDICULOUS on an epic scale!

  So why is the traffic so bad?! Well, basically here in Jakarta there are more cars and bikes than people and the infrastructure is SOO poor.

My first experience of Jakarta traffic was during my first week of work. I had a driver taking me to and from work; of course, traffic was at its worst in the evenings at rush hour. On the Wednesday of that week, myself and Girl J had to get out of our ride and walked some of the way home because we were stuck in traffic for over an HOUR oh yeah it was also raining cats and dogs . Bear in mind, the trip home or to work is normally a 25 minute journey so you bet your ass I was pissed off to be stuck there and then had to walk home in the rain! I had to take a photo to remind myself of this moment.

But now that I have lived here for a month. I have now accepted this is one of the many quirks that Jakarta throws at you. As a Westerner, yes it will annoy you on no end but it is one those things you have to deal with. I am slowly accepting this as a part of my living experience.

Have you ever lived somewhere where things irk you but you had to deal with it?