"Treasures of Cruising the World" with Bill & Mary Ann: Report # 57 Jakarta, Java, Indonesia February 26, 2016 Friday Chance of rain & 90 degrees Part # 1 of 3 63 Pictures

Sent: Friday, February 26, 2016 2:28:26 PM
Subject: Report # 57 Jakarta, Java, Indonesia February 26, 2016 Friday Chance of rain & 90 degrees Part # 1 of 3 63 Pictures

Report # 57 Jakarta, Java, Indonesia February 26, 2016 Friday Chance of rain & 90 degrees Part # 1 of 3 63 Pictures

The ship arrived to the port of Tanjung Priok (Jakarta) very early in the morning. We were greeted with heavy rain, unfortunately. But then, that's what we can expect this time of year. One good thing was that the rain cleaned the air and actually cooled everything off somewhat. Doubt we ever reach the predicted 90 degrees today.

Jakarta, the capital of all of Indonesia, has a total of 12 million residents that live in a 255 square mile area. That does not count the suburbs, or the commuters that work and go to school in this huge city. Head waiter Oscar, who happens to live here, said that the city can swell to 20 million people at any given time. The problem is that just about everybody drives a car or something, contributing to the gridlock that can occur here at times. But more about that later.

Once a Hindu kingdom in the 5^th century, Jakarta developed as a vibrant city, thanks to its sea trade. The Portuguese, Dutch, and British maritime nations realized the potential of that trade, and became part of it. Much of the influence of the Dutch colonists is visible even today. A melting pot of cultures and people, Indonesia is an independent republic today.

Jakarta is famous for their world's last wind-powered sea trading fleet. These vessels are called phinisi schooners, and are made with Sulawesi ironwood, built by Bugis boat builders. These boats are still in use today, and are used for inter-island trading. We saw them up close when we took a tour in Makassar, Sulawesi, a few years ago. These boats were being loaded with goods and produce to be delivered to the nearby islands.

Tours available in Jakarta included a 5 ½ hour excursion to drive through the city and boat harbor, and visit President Obama's elementary school, where he spent 4 years of his schooltime. Martha happened to take this tour, and said she sat in Obama's desk. Although she said the kids in the school were probably teasing her, she liked the idea.

The longest tour took the folks to the Taman Safari Zoo. It is tucked away many miles out of Jakarta, and is located higher in the interior mountains. It is also the breeding center for endangered species in the world. We took this tour last year, and really did like it. We would have liked it even better if everyone could have stayed in their seats, while driving through the middle of the animal park. One of the passengers ignored the rules of standing up in the bus, and blocked the view for all of us in the rear of the coach. She happened to be the girlfriend of the acupuncturist onboard. The rest of us sat, like the good kids we are. But we did not get the photo shots we would have liked.

The next stop was at a tea plantation, where it rained so hard, all we could do is hover in the snack area. We witnessed the tea leaf pickers as they stood out in the low-growing bushes getting drowned. They never flinched, but continued to pick. The best thing to come out of this visit, was being able to purchase the neatest hand-made cards. They had bamboo incorporated into their designs, and were well made. Yes, they did get a bit wet, but held up quite well. Cutting the visit short, we headed to the final stop at Bogor Botanic Gardens. It is one of the oldest parks in the country, and is located 38 miles south of Jakarta. There were 17000 species of plants, and is now an important center for scientific research in botany, agronomy, and forestry. There is a Presidential Palace in the middle, along with a manmade lake. Lunch that day was a bag of sandwiches, fruit, cookies, and a drink, which we ate in the bus after we toured the animal park.

There were the usual private vehicles available for rent. A private car for two could set you back $899. for 8 hours. A private minivan for 20 for 8 hours ran $1999. All of the fees were extra.

Since we have seen these sights, we opted to take the free shuttle to a nearby shopping mall. We were warned that the shuttle could take about one hour each way to the Mall Athra Gading (MAG). Guess we were lucky, since the bus we took was on time with a 25 minute ride.

Walking the multi-level mall took hours, and that is without buying anything. We did, however, check out the prices for cameras, TV's, and photo equipment. They seemed to be quite reasonable. The exchange rate for the rupiah is 13000 to one US dollar. A bit scary seeing the price tag on high end stuff, but doing the math brought those prices way down.

We covered the entire mall within three hours, starting with the bottom level, and working our way up the escalators. Downstairs were the boutiques and stores, along with cafes and restaurants, and beauty shops. The further up you traveled, you ran into a hardware store, furniture stores, and more restaurants. At one end, there was a theater, with the parking lot nearby on the covered roof of the complex. We found the furniture to be quite unique, using heavy dense woods. Not sure if it was mahogany or teak.

There were a few places that may have been good for lunch, but it was too early, and we had eaten a good breakfast. Not hungry, we decided to go back to the ship by 12:30pm, and eat lunch later in the afternoon. The bus ride back took only 25 minutes. These free shuttles are indeed provided by HAL, but they make it clear that they are a non- HAL service. So therefore, scheduling and timing of the buses cannot be guaranteed. Translated, that means that if you get stuck in traffic, the ship may not wait for you. That can be intimidating enough to stop folks from attempting to take advantage of these transfers. And, the bottom line, is that they really prefer that you spend money and buy the tours instead. We suspect there may have been complaints about the scare tactics, so Barbara H, our port lecturer, had to back-pedal on the bus warning. In her final talk before we got to the last two ports in Indonesia, she promised that all of us would get back to the ship on time. Even though we had no problem with the transfer, other folks did get stuck in the port traffic later in the afternoon. The last shuttle was due to leave the mall at 4pm, so one of the last buses did not get to the mall until 3:30pm, leaving little time to explore it. Most of these passengers simply stayed on the bus and took the ride straight back to the pier. No shopping for them.

There was a complimentary sail away from Jakarta at 5:30pm. It would last until 7pm, and offer the folks delicious appetizers, complimentary wines, beer, or soft drinks (house selection only). Instead of setting up the tables and food tents at the aft pool area, they moved it to the Lido pool due to the rain showers we had earlier in the day.

We enjoy the sail away from the aft deck, no matter what. The fresh air and the fact that all of the best photos can be taken from there, kept us out of the Lido Pool party. Several of our buddies joined us such as Bill, Leta, Konnie, Barb, and dozens of others. The heat and humidity in the Lido Pool was unbearable, but that was where the food and drinks were. We asked for our drinks at the Seaview Bar, and the bar tenders were kind enough to oblige us all. One thing we did pay attention to were the dates on the bottles and cans. Most of them were still good, but one of us got a beer dated today. Good way to move drinks near their expiration dates, as most folks would not think to check that. We are still waiting for the replacement of 2- 12 packs of Coke Zero that were delivered complimentary to our room last week. Three of the four were dated January 11, 2016. That was well past the due dates. There is a difference with the taste and the amount of fizz in the cans.

Dinnertime found us short one person. Bob, Martha's husband has left the ship today and headed home to Boston. His late evening flight would take him to Sydney, then on to Los Angeles, and finally Boston, where he will be home in two days. Don't envy that flight. Anyway, he will be missed a lot.

The entertainment tonight involved a flautist by the name of Clare Langan. Doubt we go, since we had a really long day, and cannot stay up that late. We do have four days at sea now, as we eventually head north for Hong Kong. Can't wait, as we love that city.

Bill & Mary Ann

The port of Tanjung (Jakarta)