Jakarta, a day in the car

Wednesday afternoon a few days before the Chinese New Year, I landed safely in Jakarta. The city where I spent most of my life and a second home after Hong Kong. 

Timing was less than a month after the worst flood in the city in mid of January 2013. Big floods also happened once in almost five years in 2008, 2002, 1997, etc...

China town, Petak Sembilan, Jakarta

Jakarta and its traffic is a never ending story. Traffic gets worse anytime when it rains; vehicle moves slower and "genangan air" (a polite synonym of flood) is everywhere in the lower parts of the roads. 

So anyway, my friend, Gus (mirip dengan nama sebenarnya) was kind enough to voluntarily pick me up in the middle of the day at Soekarno Hatta airport in his new car! 

China town, Jakarta, many "toko obat" - traditional chinese medicine shops

 

It just happened that he had free time and for me, it was to maximise my "limited time" in Jakarta to meet as many friends as possible. I thought it is a good idea to chat with a friend than with taxi driver, even though I am sure Mr. Blue Bird will do an excellent job.

First comment that he made about traffic was; there's labor demonstration today. Oh, well...

First discussion we had was about the parking fee increment in the big shopping malls in Jakarta. It was from Rp2,000 to Rp4,000 per hour.

Parking fee in Hong Kong, somewhere in Causeway Bay

 

Leaving airport, we missed the turn to Grogol and instead we headed to Kemayoran. The goal to get out in Kemayoran and proceed to Kuningan seemed to be a good idea. But the rain started when we exited Kemayoran toll gate. Rain is identical to traffic plus flood! Indeed, in a second these two happened right away!! 

I landed in Soekarno Hatta (SoeTa) at 13.10 and let's say by 14.00 we were on the road and arrived in Kuningan at 16.30's. 

Distance from SoeTa to Kuningan is less than 40 km but 2-1/2 hour drive was too much! 

Building in China Town, Jakarta

 

Second and third topics of discussion were about the last huge flood in January and Jokowi's leadership. We also talked about how Basuki or Ahok handled the recent flood in Jakarta.

Genangan air di hampir sepanjang Matraman, Manggarai and ujung Kuningan before entering Rasuna Said. 

Fourth topic was probably about how Ahok fired the Head of Rumah Susun Marunda.

Fifth was about the accident in the toll road involving the son of one of the Ministers who is also the Head of a political party.

Journey has not completed, the next route was from Kuningan to FX Sudirman. My friend and acquintance from Womanbizlife had organized ladies dinner for us, as a friend from Sydney was also in town.

Street vendor, China Town, Jakarta - look at those pipes

 

We left Kuningan after 5 pm headed to Casablanca tunnel to go to Sudirman (non 3-in-1 route). Totally flooded. 10 motorbikes stuck and it was forcefully closed. We returned to Rasuna Said and definitely did not want to try Balai Kartini area.

We decided not to try Mega Kuningan as we would ended up nowhere. So, the only route that was maybe possible to be passed is Four Seasons and Landmark, even though it was probably as busy as anywhere else!  

Kue Rangi, traditional snack, Indonesian cuisine

 

Another topic for discussion was one of my favorite topics!  It is about a young talented musician, who released from the jail and restarts his life. He, together with his band, reborn in the Indonesian music industry.

We discussed it from many aspects;

-They have great producer who has waited for two years! She is not only a producer, she seems to be a good aunt for him and his band.

-They have "sahabat" as solid fans! Everyone has their own way to support their favorite team.

-If I could write his love life story, I would do it with a happy ending. It is not to satisfy the audience, but it is because he and she deserve happiness. 

They met, separated, were together again and happy, and God knows their status now. I don't know them personally, but if I wish they were and will be together ever after. Imagine the couple in the soap advertisement featuring them, their chemistry tells everything.

Tetapi, hidup, mati dan jodoh, hanya Tuhan yang tahu..... #Tak pernah kusadari aku sebodoh ini, aku hidup untukmu, aku mati tanpamu...#



Street vendor, China Town, Jakarta

It was from 5 pm, even though 3-in-1 was not applicable that afternoon... 3-in-1 aja macet apalagi ini tanpa 3-in-1 ditambah hujan dan banjir, triplet macetnya Sudirman!

Finally we arrived in FX after 9pm! Only four out of maybe eight ladies finally reached the venue. Still, it was a must to take pics in our red outfit for the Gong Xi Fa Chai.

Sudirman was still busy at 10 pm...



China Town, Jakarta - Furniture from Guangdong China is available!

Gus picked me up again at FX and we meant to pick up Vince. Ok guys, you would probably take me to Indomie or Roti Bakar and coffee nearby the street. "Let's go to Pisa Cafe", Vince said instead...

Blessing in disguise... Semua kejadian ada hikmahnya. Traffic brings closeness among friends. Hehehe... Ini nge-les dot com apa gimana?