Jakarta

Jakarta (I'm late as still figuring this thing out so am posting from Bali... ooops...)

Daniel the driver was waiting to take me to Hana’s house where I was kindly housed for my 5 days there. I’d been there when I was 17 yrs old when I’d spent my first New Year’s away from my parents (was quite a debauchery, Hana and I reminisced)...

Hana is one of the sweetest people I know (another UWC but a border and one of my close friends there) who has kept in touch and at least has managed to visit me in France and London regularly throughout the years. She is getting married to a great French-man, Antoine soon! She is so kindly putting me up and lending me her driver for my various needs around Jakarta. So cool!

First night out, a great Indonesian restaurant Lara Djonggrang and then a fierce Wii-Band playing competition in one of their friend Mat’s bachelor pad: Wii, wide flat screen, pool table... Very fun! For those who don’t know, with the Wii you can pretend you are part of a cool-ass band and you have the guitar, drums and mic and follow on screen instructions to play either instrument or be the sexy lead singer! Takes coordination and some GnTs to get over the humiliation of trying to have any rhythm while playing percussion and then getting a measly score – as you even get judged by the computer on your performance!!! All this on the 16^th floor of a 30 floor tower block which swung so violently last year during the big earthquake that Mat was literally thrown out of bed!

Jakarta – in my eyes – is a Megatropolis of extreme luxury areas next to poorer derelict areas. The 5 star hotels are breath-taking in their high standards and architecture. The 10 storey shopping malls are freezing with air-con and all complete glass elevators and Gucci, Dior, Guess, and even high end Indonesian brands. There is even a Harvey Nichols but also Zarra... Women stride past in their high heels manipulating their Blackberrys and enjoying chain coffee shops like Starbucks and Coffee Bean. The toilets in these malls have the air blade system to dry your hands and have a little spout thing to wash your private parts – which I first mistook for the flush and got squirted on my already pulled up trousers making me look like I just peed myself... Hence the “use while sitting down sign...” So this place can be like Europe, only a huge step up on the customer services (in the high end places), quality and cleanliness and mostly much cheaper.

So lunch and gym at the 4 seasons, cappuccino and Wi-Fi at the Pacific Place, and a visit up JP Morgan’s tower (building called energy tower as a part of its energy generated from solar!) to pick up Hana.

Visited an older area of Jakarta called Kota which had remains of old Dutch colonial buildings that were abandoned but had so much charm with their overgrown vegetation and looking out onto what was once probably a clean canal (now the bubbles and the smell whiffing out if it participates to the country’s methane emissions...). It got us all dreaming up plans of rejuvenating the area. Went inside Cafe Batavia which had a whole wall covered in old pictures of Hollywood stars, had a bar layered with black and white cow hide, pictures of Queen Elizabeth and of one of the Dutch princesses, rattan furniture and a 2 man band playing early 90s songs. We walked to the old train station where I finally understood I may be too old to “rough it” again like an 18 yr old backpacker when I saw the state the business class was in...

We also met up with Harumi and Mario, two more Indonesian friends who were in school with me in UWC. So great to see people you haven’t seen for over 10 years and still get along! With Harumi and her husband Sinartus, we dined at Crystal Jade Palace for some great Dim Sum, and with Mario to the best Japanese (non-Sushi) I’ve ever had!

Yes, South East Asia is all about eating with friends!

(next blog Bali... Promise)

(Hana, me, Harumi!)