One of the many reasons that I enjoy traveling with OAT is they know how long we should allocate to a particular area, and they know how to appropriately fill that time.
Jakarta is a very large, crowded city, with lots of traffic. During our stay, thanks to OAT, we got a real sense of the history and culture of the area.
Although most of the OAT hotels include breakfast, we were pleasantly surprised to learn that Hotel Santika also offers a free buffet every evening, which was most welcome when we arrived from Borneo, tired and hungry.
Our first full day began with a visit to Santi, who created an organic food business which operates out of her home.
Santi taught us to make delicious vegetarian spring rolls, which we devoured.
Her home was a mix of modern and ancient. The beautiful, hand carved wooden screen in the central courtyard is hundreds of years old.
Santi had an export business until US tariffs made it impossible to continue operating, so we can no longer buy her organic products from the Internet.
While Santi readied the room for our lunch, Era, our local guide, took us for a walk through the park across the street, where rainbow eucalyptus trees are growing. I MIGHT appear in an Indonesian TikTok video, because when I joined the local women dancing in the park, several of them filmed us.
Although our itinerary had described the afternoon as “free time”, Widi gave us a choice. We could return to the hotel, or we could join him and Era for a visit to the Jakarta museum, transported by our bus. Because it was not part of the tour, we would have to buy our own ticket for 150,000 rupiahs ( or about $8.50). I’m bringing back Indonesian money for sweet Adam (my friend Levia’s son), so I jumped at the chance to get a bill smaller than 100,000 rupiahs.
Is it just me, or does this ancient batik look like Picasso’s inspiration for his paintings?
On dat two, we visited the Muslim area of Jakarta. I wish more Americans would travel outside of North America. If they did, they would see how beautiful and welcoming the children are and perhaps be less inclined to support wars against other nations.
All of the children wanted to high five us!
We were given the opportunity to ask questions during our meeting with the female village chief and a male teacher, which deepen our understanding of the Indonesian Muslims’ beliefs and way of life. When we left our meeting, we joined in a musical celebration with the villagers.
Sadly, my hands were occupied with my tambourine, so I was unable to video our stirring rendition of “ you are my sunshine”, but we ALL sang it with gusto in ENGLISH! Unfortunately, none of the Americans could join in for the Indonesian version of the song.
Our tuk tuk ride from the Muslim neighborhood to the historic square was, shall we say, “thrilling”.
The square wasn’t all that interesting till I spotted this beautiful Indonesian girl dressing up as a Dutch woman. Widi explained that Indonesians had to find creative ways to earn money, so although I would never pose with Grover or Spider-Man in Times Square, I was highly motivated to support the local economy.
Next stop was a visit to Era’s friend, a puppet maker, who explained about his craft and entertained us with a brief show about the legend of Shinto, Rama and the monkey king ( Hamman?). It reminded me of US movies, but instead of car chases, there was a lot of fighting and punching. Our show lasted about 10 minutes, instead of the NINE HOURS that the local version lasts !
After lunch we were given the choice of how to spend our “free” afternoon: return to the hotel, visit the mosque, then visit Chinatown. I chose to visit the mosque, then return to the hotel to take advantage of the pool.
Widi and Era accompanied us to the mosque, which was great, because we traveled by public transportation (the train) and our bus picked us up after the visit. Indonesians are so polite, friendly and helpful, that I probably could have gotten there on my own (relying on the kindness of strangers), but I’m so very glad I didn’t have to.
The mosque was built across the street from the cathedral, to symbolize the tolerance and acceptance of Indonesians toward those who think differently. If only we could imitate them, the world would be a better place— and happier— place.
It was definitely not the most beautiful mosque I’ve ever visited, but I’m glad I went.
The pollution in Jakarta is severe. I took this photo shortly before 6 PM while waiting for the elevator, from the 15th floor.
It seems every city must have its phallic symbol, and Jakarta is no exception, but they added a twist. Some see a flame, others see the shape of a woman. Era, our guide said the latter is appropriate for Soekarno, Indonesia’s first president and a notorious womanizer. Widi, our guide, pointed out Soekarno’s persuasive powers not only enabled him to unite all the various islands to form the nation of Indonesia, but also enabled him to convince NINE women to marry him!
The evening ended just like the previous one, on the 22nd floor in the skybar.
We are at the airport now, awaiting our flight to Yogyakarta, where we will spend the next four nights. I hope you’ll come along.
Forgive any typos. We are boarding now so I’m pressing publish without proofreading.
Destination NOW 