Indonesia: Jakarta & Bogor
August 1: Jakarta
Since we arrived at the hostel at 2am, we slept until about 11. We grabbed brunch at Cheesecake Factory, which did not look anything like in The Big Bang Theory, and then walked to the closest mall so I could get my haircut.
Niken showed up! She was the Indonesian leader from last summer's Step Up in Ottawa, where I was staff. She took us to the Jakarta Cathedral, beside the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, and it just happened to be the Asian Youth Conference so it was full of Christian teens from all over Asia. Neat! This is especially interesting because Indonesia is a Muslim country.
We went to Jakartakota, the old Dutch downtown, for dinner and wandered through a market along the bus transitway for a bit. The Dutch left Indonesia in the 1950s, so there is a LOT of influence here.
August 2: Jakarta
I had an awful migraine so spent the entire day in bed. Pod beds are great for avoiding a lot of noise and having relative darkness even in the middle of the day. I liked our hostel; it was cute. The unfortunate part was that the washroom was a floor below, and there were times when it was very difficult for me to get down there. I ended up barfing in a bag in my bed, a common symptom of bad migraines for me, because I couldn't be bothered to get down from my bunk and get to the washroom.
August 3: Jakarta
We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then I slept until about 10:45. Andy went down to make sure we were booked for another night, but they were full, and check out was at 11. Yikes! We sat in the lobby looking for another place to stay. Citi Residence was difficult to find, but was really great. We had a kitchen and could make our own food, plus had a private room with a shower. Nice.
We spent the afternoon making plans for Indonesia with a Lonely Planet guide, and then wandered to the brand new mall beside us for an early dinner. It seemed all well and grand until, at the end of the meal, an inch worm appeared from the depths of the salad I had been enjoying. UM WHAT?! Oh, also, we got the Bitter Ballen, which is a great Dutch food, but they were not anything close to Dutch Bitter Ballen. It basically a spring roll in ball form. Sigh. Waste.
August 4: Jakarta
We slept in and went on an ATM hunt. There are no reasonable street-level pedestrian crossings around us. Jakarta traffic is absolutely terrifying, and I'm glad there were raised pedestrian bridges for us to use on occasion.
We grabbed brunch at a nearby restaurant/cafe, and have now realized that smoking indoors in Jakarta is totally normal and acceptable. We had not encountered this is any of the other countries. Also, non-smokers need to walk through the smoking section to get to a non-smoking area. I would think it would be the other way around, but it seems to not matter to those who live here.
We grabbed A&W rootbeer floats on the walk back to our hotel, finalized plans, and then went to the grocery store so that we could eat things of the non-rice and non-fried persuasion. The joys of Kraft Dinner, fresh peppers, small tomatoes, beef jerky, and Thai milk tea. It was glorious.
August 5: Jakarta & Bogor
After breakfast, we had two missions: mail a bunch of stuff and go to the nearby National Monument. We failed on both accounts, for very different reasons. Google Maps showed us two nearby post offices so we thought we'd give it a shot; the first one was closed and the second one wasn't where it was said to be. Then, as we were walking back, we saw a taxi hit a motorbike (everyone was okay, but it was still nerve wracking) and the traffic was so intense and we could not figure out how to cross the street to get over to the monument grounds, so we gave up.
We packed up our things, and tried to hail 2 Ubers (our hotel was hard to find) before grabbing a taxi to take us to the huge post office. Finally got the stuff mailed and then got to the train station. The train to Bogor was cheap, and part of the light rail system. When we got on, it was totally packed and we could not take off our bags. So, both of us were carrying 20kg on our shoulders for an hour. Eventually there was just enough space to take our bags off, and what sweet relief it was. Neither of us was excited to put our bags back on when we arrived in Bogor.
We were told that the best way to get to our hostel was to take a local green car, #08. It took us a couple of minutes to figure out precisely what this meant, and also to learn that we had to walk all the way up to the palace grounds to find the 8. We kept seeing 2, 3, 7, and 10 ... but no 8. We eventually got in and asked to be dropped off at the stop name. There were 4 other people with us, and they all had to maneuver around our bags to get out. We were charged double for taking up so much space, but were warned ahead of time so it was okay. It also became clear to us that there really are no stops, you simply flag down one of the cars wherever you are and then ask them to stop wherever you want. They technically have routes that they follow, but stops are not really a thing.
Maps Me finally got itself figured out, just in time. We got out of the car and walked into a neighbourhood full of kids playing. Many of them waved or said hello, and one tried using his English a bit; it was cute. Eventually, with the help of neighbours, we found where we were going. The woman who owns Bogor Hostel is hilarious and incredibly helpful. She saw the two of us walk up, and asked if I wanted to see the room before Andy took off his things. She opened up the room and then said 'I have another room with one big bed and more space at my other hostel. I think it will be better because you have so much stuff. I'll give it to you for the same price and take you there, no problem.' So we had a lovely car ride not too far, and the room really was bigger.
We needed to hit up an ATM so tried to get to what we thought would be a plaza. On the way, there was a little alley lined with shops so we went through there, and wound up in an electronics department store. We wandered through it a bit, noticed there were a couple of chain restaurants, and eventually figured out that we were at the originally intended plaza. It was 6 stories, mostly full of electronics.
In the basement was a food court, with a bunch of people working at each stall. We were bombarded with menus and were looking about trying to decide what to eat. We left the food court to see what our other options might be, but they were all chains and we decided we wanted to support local. Eventually, we settled on a place that seemed to have a lot of traffic and they were super helpful. We asked questions about the food and they would pull up pictures so that we would know. Andy opted for nasi goreng aka chicken fried rice, and the first bite was so spicy he couldn't continue so they brought him a new plate. I had chicken satay and quite enjoyed it.
August 6: Bogor
330am, I am awoken: "Julia. Julia. I need your help." What? "Blood." And then he walks away. I find Andy sitting on the bathroom floor, his face and parts of the floor covered in blood. Andy has a nasty habit of passing out due to pain. This is the second time it's happened on our trip, but the first time it's actually been an issue.
I high kick into first aid crisis mode and immediately assess: I grab iodine, wet wipes, antibacterial wipes, and juice. I make him eat a banana and drink the juice as I'm cleaning him up. The poor staff at the hostel are so worried, and all they can do is make tea, which is lovely. He definitely had a bump on his forehead, and a cut that wanted to bleed for a while, and some scratches. I woke him up every 2 hours until we got up for the dayand wouldn't let him look at screens for 24h.
Breakfast at our hostel is really tasty nasi goreng, and toast with jam. Plus unlimited tea and instant coffee. We played a lot of cards and listened to podcasts, he coloured for a while, and we read actual books. We went out for an early dinner and I took this picture:
Lemongrass was a nice restaurant with a cool vibe and I recommend it. I woke Andy up every 4 hours this night, just to be safe. Aside from his forehead being quite sore, he was totally fine but I was still nervous about him.
August 7: Bogor
We had a super chill day, cause I was still concerned about Andy's wellbeing. We got really tasty ice cream and went to a gallery/cafe with subpar food. Again, many podcasts and cards. The view from our room was very nice:
Cedana Mulia Hostel is awesome. The staff are all fantastic and helpful, there's a free cooking class on Sundays, and it's really easy to get around. I finally managed to have a video chat date with my dear friend, Erin, and it was super lovely to be sitting outside, laughing my face off. Thanks, Erin!
August 8: Bogor
The last couple of days were stressful, and I hadn't been sleeping very well, so I decided to sleep in while Andy went to the Botanical Gardens. He loved it.
We hopped a train from Bogor to Jakarta, walked from the local train stop to the regional train station, grabbed McDonalds and boarded our train to Yogyakarta. It was a nice train, and I like getting to see the city and countryside from a comfy train. We were also given a blanket and pillow. Nice!
We arrived in Yogyakarta at about 12:40am, and had a short walk to our hostel. We were surprised by the number of people who were still out and about; it was nice. Our hostel was excellent and we got settled in very quickly and passed out. Glorious!
Since we arrived at the hostel at 2am, we slept until about 11. We grabbed brunch at Cheesecake Factory, which did not look anything like in The Big Bang Theory, and then walked to the closest mall so I could get my haircut.
Niken showed up! She was the Indonesian leader from last summer's Step Up in Ottawa, where I was staff. She took us to the Jakarta Cathedral, beside the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, and it just happened to be the Asian Youth Conference so it was full of Christian teens from all over Asia. Neat! This is especially interesting because Indonesia is a Muslim country.
We went to Jakartakota, the old Dutch downtown, for dinner and wandered through a market along the bus transitway for a bit. The Dutch left Indonesia in the 1950s, so there is a LOT of influence here.
August 2: Jakarta
I had an awful migraine so spent the entire day in bed. Pod beds are great for avoiding a lot of noise and having relative darkness even in the middle of the day. I liked our hostel; it was cute. The unfortunate part was that the washroom was a floor below, and there were times when it was very difficult for me to get down there. I ended up barfing in a bag in my bed, a common symptom of bad migraines for me, because I couldn't be bothered to get down from my bunk and get to the washroom.
August 3: Jakarta
We grabbed breakfast at the hotel and then I slept until about 10:45. Andy went down to make sure we were booked for another night, but they were full, and check out was at 11. Yikes! We sat in the lobby looking for another place to stay. Citi Residence was difficult to find, but was really great. We had a kitchen and could make our own food, plus had a private room with a shower. Nice.
We spent the afternoon making plans for Indonesia with a Lonely Planet guide, and then wandered to the brand new mall beside us for an early dinner. It seemed all well and grand until, at the end of the meal, an inch worm appeared from the depths of the salad I had been enjoying. UM WHAT?! Oh, also, we got the Bitter Ballen, which is a great Dutch food, but they were not anything close to Dutch Bitter Ballen. It basically a spring roll in ball form. Sigh. Waste.
August 4: Jakarta
We slept in and went on an ATM hunt. There are no reasonable street-level pedestrian crossings around us. Jakarta traffic is absolutely terrifying, and I'm glad there were raised pedestrian bridges for us to use on occasion.
 |
| Four lanes each direction, plus a bus lane on each side. BANANAS. |
We grabbed A&W rootbeer floats on the walk back to our hotel, finalized plans, and then went to the grocery store so that we could eat things of the non-rice and non-fried persuasion. The joys of Kraft Dinner, fresh peppers, small tomatoes, beef jerky, and Thai milk tea. It was glorious.
August 5: Jakarta & Bogor
After breakfast, we had two missions: mail a bunch of stuff and go to the nearby National Monument. We failed on both accounts, for very different reasons. Google Maps showed us two nearby post offices so we thought we'd give it a shot; the first one was closed and the second one wasn't where it was said to be. Then, as we were walking back, we saw a taxi hit a motorbike (everyone was okay, but it was still nerve wracking) and the traffic was so intense and we could not figure out how to cross the street to get over to the monument grounds, so we gave up.
We packed up our things, and tried to hail 2 Ubers (our hotel was hard to find) before grabbing a taxi to take us to the huge post office. Finally got the stuff mailed and then got to the train station. The train to Bogor was cheap, and part of the light rail system. When we got on, it was totally packed and we could not take off our bags. So, both of us were carrying 20kg on our shoulders for an hour. Eventually there was just enough space to take our bags off, and what sweet relief it was. Neither of us was excited to put our bags back on when we arrived in Bogor.
We were told that the best way to get to our hostel was to take a local green car, #08. It took us a couple of minutes to figure out precisely what this meant, and also to learn that we had to walk all the way up to the palace grounds to find the 8. We kept seeing 2, 3, 7, and 10 ... but no 8. We eventually got in and asked to be dropped off at the stop name. There were 4 other people with us, and they all had to maneuver around our bags to get out. We were charged double for taking up so much space, but were warned ahead of time so it was okay. It also became clear to us that there really are no stops, you simply flag down one of the cars wherever you are and then ask them to stop wherever you want. They technically have routes that they follow, but stops are not really a thing.
Maps Me finally got itself figured out, just in time. We got out of the car and walked into a neighbourhood full of kids playing. Many of them waved or said hello, and one tried using his English a bit; it was cute. Eventually, with the help of neighbours, we found where we were going. The woman who owns Bogor Hostel is hilarious and incredibly helpful. She saw the two of us walk up, and asked if I wanted to see the room before Andy took off his things. She opened up the room and then said 'I have another room with one big bed and more space at my other hostel. I think it will be better because you have so much stuff. I'll give it to you for the same price and take you there, no problem.' So we had a lovely car ride not too far, and the room really was bigger.
We needed to hit up an ATM so tried to get to what we thought would be a plaza. On the way, there was a little alley lined with shops so we went through there, and wound up in an electronics department store. We wandered through it a bit, noticed there were a couple of chain restaurants, and eventually figured out that we were at the originally intended plaza. It was 6 stories, mostly full of electronics.
In the basement was a food court, with a bunch of people working at each stall. We were bombarded with menus and were looking about trying to decide what to eat. We left the food court to see what our other options might be, but they were all chains and we decided we wanted to support local. Eventually, we settled on a place that seemed to have a lot of traffic and they were super helpful. We asked questions about the food and they would pull up pictures so that we would know. Andy opted for nasi goreng aka chicken fried rice, and the first bite was so spicy he couldn't continue so they brought him a new plate. I had chicken satay and quite enjoyed it.
August 6: Bogor
330am, I am awoken: "Julia. Julia. I need your help." What? "Blood." And then he walks away. I find Andy sitting on the bathroom floor, his face and parts of the floor covered in blood. Andy has a nasty habit of passing out due to pain. This is the second time it's happened on our trip, but the first time it's actually been an issue.
I high kick into first aid crisis mode and immediately assess: I grab iodine, wet wipes, antibacterial wipes, and juice. I make him eat a banana and drink the juice as I'm cleaning him up. The poor staff at the hostel are so worried, and all they can do is make tea, which is lovely. He definitely had a bump on his forehead, and a cut that wanted to bleed for a while, and some scratches. I woke him up every 2 hours until we got up for the dayand wouldn't let him look at screens for 24h.
Breakfast at our hostel is really tasty nasi goreng, and toast with jam. Plus unlimited tea and instant coffee. We played a lot of cards and listened to podcasts, he coloured for a while, and we read actual books. We went out for an early dinner and I took this picture:
Lemongrass was a nice restaurant with a cool vibe and I recommend it. I woke Andy up every 4 hours this night, just to be safe. Aside from his forehead being quite sore, he was totally fine but I was still nervous about him.
August 7: Bogor
We had a super chill day, cause I was still concerned about Andy's wellbeing. We got really tasty ice cream and went to a gallery/cafe with subpar food. Again, many podcasts and cards. The view from our room was very nice:
Cedana Mulia Hostel is awesome. The staff are all fantastic and helpful, there's a free cooking class on Sundays, and it's really easy to get around. I finally managed to have a video chat date with my dear friend, Erin, and it was super lovely to be sitting outside, laughing my face off. Thanks, Erin!
August 8: Bogor
The last couple of days were stressful, and I hadn't been sleeping very well, so I decided to sleep in while Andy went to the Botanical Gardens. He loved it.
We hopped a train from Bogor to Jakarta, walked from the local train stop to the regional train station, grabbed McDonalds and boarded our train to Yogyakarta. It was a nice train, and I like getting to see the city and countryside from a comfy train. We were also given a blanket and pillow. Nice!
We arrived in Yogyakarta at about 12:40am, and had a short walk to our hostel. We were surprised by the number of people who were still out and about; it was nice. Our hostel was excellent and we got settled in very quickly and passed out. Glorious!
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