Busy Busy Busy

I kept thinking that I would write about my second day in Singapore before I wrote about anything else, but clearly that isn't happening. There was a "Day Two." I went for a walk by the river and then I went to the zoo and the night safari, which were both pretty cool. The end.

It's been almost three weeks since I went to Singapore and almost seven weeks since I arrived in Indonesia. My classes are in twelve week cycles so next week marks the half way point. The time is flying by and I'm feeling a little wistful about that already because I'm not sure yet whether I'll stay another year and I don't think a year is long enough to see everything I want to see.

Last weekend was Cap Gomeh, the end of Chinese New Year. There was a parade in Chinatown, so one of my roommates and I decided to go. What's even more fun is that we decided to explore Jakarta's bus system to get there. Up to now, I've taken taxis everywhere outside of my own neighborhood. The angkots run all over the city but they run short routes and there is no general map to figure out how to transfer from one to the other. I'd been told that the city buses were too crowded but the price difference to where we were going was about 65,000 for a taxi and 3,500 for the bus plus 4,500 for the two angkots we had to take to get to the closest bus stop. I realize $6.50 isn't a lot of money for almost an hour in a taxi, but why pay that much when I can spend $0.80?

Turns out, the bus system is awesome! They have a special lane for buses called the "busway" and other cars aren't supposed to use it. They do, of course, because this is Jakarta. But the lane is still relatively clear compared to the other lanes of traffic, so the bus just sails on through. Yes, it was crowded, but everyone was going to Chinatown to see the parade. It wasn't any more crowded than buses or trains I've been on in other major cities. Plus, it was clean, it was air conditioned, and it was fast. Unfortunately, the buses stop running at 10 pm, so for nights out, a taxi is still necessary. But for all future sightseeing, I'll be happy to use public transportation!

We didn't exactly know what to expect when we got to Chinatown. There were already people lining some of the streets but we weren't sure when the parade started, so we walked around a little bit. It was hot. So hot that we had to get our umbrellas out to protect us from the sun. Eventually, we noticed people lining up on the main street, so we joined them. And luckily, just as the parade started, the clouds rolled in.

I'm not a big fan of parades in general but this one was really neat. There were different groups from Buddist temples carrying shrines and spectators would sometimes join the parade and follow the shrines to pray. Some of the shrines had men on top who had long needs sticking in and out of various parts of their faces. They didn't look particularly comfortable, but they weren't bleeding either. Then, there were the lions and the dragons. Everything was so colorful and fun. It was a great day!

This weekend, I'm planning to get out of Jakarta and see some of the surrounding area. We're going to Bogor, which is famous for its botanical gardens, and then we're going to hike an area between two volcanoes where there are also tea and coffee plantations. Should be fun and I'll finally get a chance to use my hiking boots!