mrbrown: L'infantile terrible of Singapore

Road Trip 2: the taxis and assorted traffic beasts of Jakarta

Almost every local I have met tells me to take only Gamya and Blue Bird cabs. Yes I know, Blue Bird in Hokkien is, tee hee. Blue Birds cost more but are recommended.

Apparently, many of the other taxi companies are less than clean and very often smell bad. So avoid the smelly cabs.

The only other halfway decent cab competitor to Blue Bird are the white Express cabs. Express cab drivers keep their cabs clean because they get to own it after 5 years, it seems. But many say they will still swear by Blue Bird only.

Do make sure you see that the Blue Bird logo is on the cab door, because there are many pseudo-blue cabs around too.

There have been cases of cab drivers from less than reputable companies driving passengers into dark places to be robbed by accomplices dashing into the cab, so be careful.

Jakarta really needs a subway or some form of mass rapid transit, man. The Bus Rapid Transit they have seems to be bursting at the seams and unable to cope. I hear locals avoid taking the buses too, if they can afford to. Pickpockets and fighting gangs of boys are common, it seems.

We were driving around Jakarta and I learned that Metro buses are the kings of the road and drive any way they like. If you get into any car accident, just tell the insurance company a Metro Mini bus caused it. Even if you had crashed into a wall, just say it was a Metro Mini bus. The insurance company will not ask any questions.

Motorbikes and mopeds in Jakarta are psychic. They will move off at the traffic light a good 10 to 15 seconds before it turns green in their favour. Either that or they are riding in a different timezone.

The most exciting vehicles though, are bajaj (pronounced Bah-Jai). These 3-wheeled scooters are only for the brave and adventurous. Only the bajaj driver and God knows when a bajaj is going to suddenly turn or swerve.

There is supposedly a three-person rule during peak hours to deal with the traffic jams in Jakarta. You must have at least 3 people in the car during morning and evening peak hours in the city. You can avoid this by engaging the help of "jockeys". These people will sit in your car for a small fee, so that you can fulfill the requirement. As long as you do not mind a stranger in your car.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 12, staying at the Borobudur Hotel

I just moved into my Club Suite in Borobudur Hotel, Jakarta, which I booked using hotel booking site, Wotif.com. Wotif, an Australian company, has been a kind sponsor for this trip and the last US trip.

Borobudur Hotel is modeled after the famous Borobudur temple at Jogja. I found it funny that I am staying in a hotel named after a famous Buddhist temple, and from my room, I can see the biggest Mosque in Southeast Asia (the Istiqlal) and the gorgeous Roman Catholic Cathedral, St Mary’s Cathedral.

Wotif also arranged the villas in Bali for the wife and me.

I really enjoyed using their website to look for hotels. Used it last month for the US trip too but they are particularly good for Asia. Here are some of the Asian cities they provide hotel booking for:

1. Hong Kong
2. Singapore
3. Bangkok
4. Beijing
5. Phuket
6. KL
7. Bali

One of the nice features is the Maps function (not all locations have that yet though). At one glance, you can see where the hotels are relative to the city. Booking via their site has been painless. I also liked the ability to add search terms like "free wifi", which as you know, is like oxygen to internet junkies like me.

And in case you think I will only say nice things about sponsored hotels, I plan to be totally honest about the places I stay in. If it is nice, I will say so, and if it has flaws, I will let you know too.

For example, Borobudur Hotel, love your the full cable tv selection but find some way of getting internet into ALL your rooms, ok?

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 10, mrbrown's day at Pesta Blogger 2008

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 10, Pesta Blogger 2008! from mrbrown on Vimeo.

What great fun was Pesta Blogger 2008! Here are some highlights from my day at Indonesia's big blogging party cum conference!

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 11, Anthony tries foot reflexology

It is the day after Pesta Blogger 2008 and most of the international bloggers flew back in morning flights. Anthony Bianco and I met up with Herni, my friend from my East-West Center USA seminar, and we had a nice morning walking at Bogor Botanic Gardens, an hour and a half's drive from Jakarta.

It was a nice wind-down from the last few hectic days of sightseeing. The Bogor park is huge and very pleasant. I will have a video up soon.

After lunch, Herni brought us to her fave massage place at Puri Imperium, where Anthony tried foot reflexology for the first time. The masseuses were laughing amongst themselves at how good this "bule", or westerner, could take the pummelling on the soles of his feet. They were impressed.

Normally, they told us, it is the Americans who squeal like little girls when they try foot reflexology. "Strong Australian," they laughed.

Anthony totally enjoyed himself and felt way more relaxed. A nice end to his trip, as this was the last thing he had time to do before his evening flight.

Sigh. He is the last bloke to fly off. I'm feeling a little sad and I'm going to miss all my Pesta Blogger friends.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, old Dutch drawbridge

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, old Dutch drawbridge from mrbrown on Vimeo.

This red bridge is the only authentic Dutch drawbridge left in Jakarta. Located in Old Batavia.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 10, Mayla Fayza at Pestablogger

A lovely violin performance by the gorgeous and talented Mayla Fayza from Indonesia's great blog party. I qiked this live from the event.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 10, Pestablogger!!

What a day! And what an enthusiastic crowd. This is media and/or bloggers (which are the same, really) taking our photographs when we were introduced on stage.

We had a panel in the morning with the 1500-strong crowd, then Jeff Ooi and I were in a break-out session on social political blogging.

In between the sessions, I came across a totally rocking band raising money for the blind. They had a roaring crowd of bloggers in the canteen when I walked into the mini concert.

I bought some CDs to support their cause and when lead singer Endah asked me, "Would like to sing with me?", I said sure, and sang My Girl with her and the band.

This is not your regular blogging conference, that's for sure. It's living up to its name, Blogger Party.

We were also treated to a performance by Mayla Fayza who played her violin to an adoring crowd of bloggers.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, Museum Fatahillah

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, Museum Fatahillah from mrbrown on Vimeo.

After that romp through the phinisi (phinisises? phinisii?) of Sunda Kelapa Harbour, we visited the Jakarta History Museum, called Museum Fatahillah.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, Monumen Nasional

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, Monumen Nasional from mrbrown on Vimeo.

I pay a little visit to what Jakartans' jokingly refer to as Sukarno's Last er, never mind.

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, Hall of Contemplation, Monas

Road Trip 2: Jakarta Day 9, Hall of Contemplation, Monas from mrbrown on Vimeo.

This is the display at the Monumen Nasional, which displays the original Declaration of Independence document and a recording of the speech.