Jakarta, Indonesia

I know many people reading this would not be in line to join the Obama Fan Club, but he is naturally a very popular figure here in Indonesia where he spent time as a boy and also a country he has visited since being elected. In my travels over the years I have never experienced such an affirmative opinion of our country like I have since we elected our present leader. Even those who do not like him must appreciate what he has done for the image of the USA as a land of opportunity.

I was sightseeing one day and said, "Hello!", to a group of school kids. Suddenly I was surrounded and everyone wanted to know my name, where I was from, how old I was, etc. They were so cute that I had to take a picture, well actually many pictures as the group kept swelling. As I said goodbye, my hand was tired from so much high five-ing.

When I was in elementary school we used to get "Weekly Readers" each week (DUH!) and I remember reading about President Sukarno from Indonesia. I had to do a bit of research to refresh my memory about him but he was a communist leaning leader in the 50's and 60's. What is most impressive is that he was a figure of such importance that I knew the leader of another country. Who knows who the president of Indonesia is today? Not I!!! Anyway he was something of a "New Dealer" here and created many government projects to improve the economy. This is the National Monument, also known as Sukarno's Great Erection.
(In case you haven't figured it out, this should caption the second picture.)

I went into a restaurant for lunch one day and after I sat down they put a plate of rice in front of me and then all these dishes were set down. I wasn't terrible hungry and I asked how much all this was going to cost. They explained that I only paid for what I ate. The bill was around $6 and the food was only so-so.

There is not too much I can think of to tell about Jakarta. I was expecting a sleepy, third world capitol but there was actually quite a bit of impressive modern architecture. Still the city was crowded, hot, polluted and very lacking in charm. I spent a two days there to plan my strategy for exploring Indonesia and I left with few regrets.

Something that strikes me odd, and it has since I was in Thailand, is that in all these countries -Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia - you drive on the left. Of course we drive on the right and we also walk on the right when in a crowd. Here there seems to be no such convention and pedestrian traffic, like motorized, is very haphazard. I am getting accustomed to looking left, then right before crossing streets, but each time I cross, I still say a little prayer.