Eat This: Chicken Feet

Translating this sign into English was unnecessary.
Know your target market.

Today's Excitement: Elevator Outage

Have I ever mentioned that my office is on the 45th floor?  It is.  The views are impressive.  And so, actually, are the elevators.

You swipe your badge to get into a secure set of elevators, and then instead of pressing an "up" or "down" button, you type in the floor you want to go to.  Then the electronic display tells you which elevator door to stand in front of.   When the door opens and you get on, you do nothing; the elevator is already programmed to take you where you need to go.  There are only door open and close buttons inside, no floor buttons. Each elevator ride only serves a max of about 5 floors, all closely related.  So I'll never stop at floor 3, 16, or 37 on my express ride to the 40's.  It's great.

Today, however, the power went out right about the time I was packing up to leave.  A few minutes later some back-up lighting came on, so I wasn't overly concerned.
I summoned the elevator.
Instead of assigning me a door, it said "not available".   I have never lived or worked in towers as high as I do here, so it never occurred to me what might happen when the power goes out and the elevators stop working.
You walk.

And so I did.  Down all 40-some flights to the bottom.  Where I was greeted by a locked door.
Awesome.
Luckily, however, a guard opened the door from the other side the second I started pounding on it.
Crisis averted.  Calf workout complete.

This was the standout moment of my day.
How awesome is that.

Durian: Smells like hell, Tastes like hell too

Anyone who's spent even just a brief amount of time in Southeast Asia has probably heard of durian.  There are frequently signs banning it in hotels and other well-maintained public places.

It is a fruit known for its ungodly stench.  It supposedly, however, tastes delightful.  It even has its own well known slogan. "Durian: Smells like hell, Tastes like heaven."

I beg to differ.

Obviously I knew at some point I had to try it.  You can't just let these potential new experiences slip by.  I have new years resolutions to maintain!

(Un)Happily, the Chinese New Year celebration brought a temporary tent city of food vendors just outside my building.  And one of them sold durian.  My moment had arrived.

Don't let anyone fool you, people.
Durian is one of the most disgusting things I have ever eaten.
It's like pudding with a skim on it, slightly sweet, slightly onion-y or garlic-y, and the smell makes you want to vomit.

I forced myself to eat five bites so the experience fully counted.  And now that's it.
I'm done with durian.

The aroma beckons....

Is it possibly true?
Could this wretchedly pungent fruit actually taste good?

Nope.
100% Disgusting.

Results of Operation Friend An Indonesian

Oddly enough, in the office right next to ours, there was an Indonesian guy who had spent 6 years living in the exact suburb my company is located in back home in the States.  How random is that?  He was always very friendly and suggested we go out to lunch sometime but I always had stuff going on.  Over the holiday he moved his business out of our building into another location, but still stopped back from time to time.  This was fortunate for me, since I had made it one of my New Year's Resolutions to make some Indonesian friends.

CT and my boss told me they didn't think this guy should actually count toward my resolution, which I'd shared with them, since he wasn't exactly a typical Indonesian.  At 28, he'd spent well over half his adult life in the States, and then a year in China where he started up his own IT company.  He'd just moved back to Jakarta less than a year ago for the first time since he was in high school.  Baby steps, I say.  I can't exactly bff someone who grew up in a remote village and doesn't speak a word of English.  My job never provided or allowed time for language lessons, for cripes sakes.

Finally we were able to coordinate lunch one day he was back in our building.  Even though I deeply fear and loathe it, I insisted on Indonesian food to make the experience more authentic.  He was a great sport and ordered all kinds of things he thought I should try, so our table was literally overflowing with Indonesian delights.  None of which I found terribly delightful, but it was still appreciated.  I was hoping he'd be able to enlighten me as to all the amazing hidden things Jakarta has to offer to keep one stimulated during the evenings and weekends, but he admitted he was still trying to figure that out himself.  So we mostly ended up talking about where he lived in the States and his year in China.  I wouldn't share that detail with CT or my boss.

When pressed about what to do here, he made a variety of recommendations of clubs, shopping malls and VIP movie theaters. Unfortunately, I happen to think these are some of the worst possible ways one can spend a weekend.   I can't really blame him, however, since as far as I can tell those do seem to be among the most popular and desirable of Jakarta's offerings.  But it does dampen my motivation to do anything other than trudge between my apartment, office, gym, and - on the weekend- the airport.

All the same, it did feel good to make an effort to expand my social network here.  It wasn't exactly like finding a new biking, kayaking, climbing, etc buddy, but it never hurts to have another person to grab lunch with occasionally.  Just hopefully next time it won't be an Indonesian lunch.

I'm really trying here, people.

Umbrella Ojeks

I wrote this first on Facebook, and received many thoughtful responses:

Interested in your thoughts. Indonesia has a long rainy season, and we are now in the peak off it. During downpours, out come flocks of "umbrella ojeks" (umbrella taxis) - poor children, often shockingly young, who hold their umbrella over your head as you walk to your destination, in return for some money. This occurs even well after dark, and they're usually soaked to the bone, and with no guardians in sight. Yesterday I forgot my umbrella and for the first time welcomed the flock of kids that ran toward me, choosing the lone young girl of the group to accompany me the 2 drenched blocks to my apartment building. I've heard people commonly pay 2-3,000 rp for this service, but I gave her 60,000 rp (~7USD), since that's what I had handy, and since I hoped she'd then go home to a safer, dryer place. What do you think about this? Exploitation or contribution? Worsening a problem or preventing bigger problems? Would you hire an umbrella ojek or avoid them?

Umbrella for Hire

Escape to Boracay

I needed a vacation after being back in Jakarta only 2 weeks since my previous vacation.

Thanks goodness for the Chinese New Year!
Nothing makes me happy like a 4 day weekend.

CT and I decided to head to the Philippines since neither of us had ever been there, flights were a reasonable price and distance, and it wasn't the full on rainy season there.  Our usual deciding factors.

According to my Lonely Planet, the Philippines has everything that could make a stellar vacation.  Stunning trekking through mountains and rice terraces in the north (which have gained fame as an unofficial "8th world wonder"),  gorgeous world-class white sand beaches, surfing, white water, mountain biking, interesting little towns, remote islands, kite boarding,  and on and on and on.  Unfortunately it is all incredibly spread out and you'd be much better served by 4 weeks rather than 4 days.

We took a red-eye into Manila, and were hoping to head straight to Mt. Pinatubo to do that as a day trip before heading back to the Manila airport that night for the quick jaunt to Boracay.  Unfortunately we learned the day before that the gates to Mt Pinatubo close at 8AM and we would not have time to arrive by then.  Dumb rule if you ask me.  So, we killed a day in Manila.  It has a horrible reputation, but compared to Jakarta it seemed downright lovely.

In the morning we went to the Salcedo Community Market in Makati, which aside from animals on spits, was excellent.  Eating is apparently quite the pastime in the Philippines, so we figured it appropriate to start off our trip with a focus on food. As far as I can tell, food in the Philippines is known for two main things - being very heavy with meat, and being loaded with sugar.  Even things that really should not be sweet.  There is apparently a good reason you don't find many philippine restaurants elsewhere in the world.  (No offense to my friends from the Philippines! : )

I could not eat meat that looks like it has been tortured.
I do not understand the appeal of this.

In the afternoon we explored historic Intramuros by horse and buggy.

We were feeling pretty lazy after forgoing sleep in favor
of an inexpensive red-eye flight.

A trademark jeepney.  Not as colorful as apparently once was the norm.

The rest of the time was spent in Boracay.

To be honest, I was expecting to be a bit disappointed in Boracay, fearing it might be overhyped like Phuket.  It was nothing like Phuket.  This place is fantastic!

The island is only about 1 km in width, but considerably more in length.  So you can easily walk back and forth between the famous White Beach on one side and the kiteboarder haven of Bulabog Beach on the other. White Beach is stunningly beautiful, and is lined with a pedestrian path of shops and beachfront bars and restaurants. Bulabog is not as beautiful since there is a lot of vegetation, however it is a kiteboarding and windsurfing mecca, so nobody cares. The entire beach is filled with kites.  I took 2 days of lessons and absolutely loved it! Can't wait to try it again.

If you can get a few weeks off, go to the Philippines.  Definitely one of my favorites so far.

Of all the various 3-wheeled modes of transit you find in
Southeast Asia, my favorite so far is the Philippines tricycle.
These come in both motor- and pedal-powered versions.

Bulabog Beach on the first cloudy evening. The rest of the time it was gorgeous,
but I was too busy learning how to kiteboard to take any pics.

These are the largest shrimp I have ever seen.

As part of my "try as many new things as possible each week" campaign,
I sampled cheese and avocado ice cream. Not a fan.

Ah, paradise.

Chicken intestines, anyone?

Beachfront evening

Life is rough

This might be the bluest, clearest water yet!

I watched these two people cover every exposed inch of skin in sand and
then roll around and play dead for about an hour.
There were a million beach chairs about five feet away.
Sometimes I don't get people.

The sky as seen from my lounge chair.

Even the airport has a nice view.  Bye-bye for now Boracay. 

Happy Chinese New Year!

Unfortunately I am a slacker and failed to take pics of any of the beautiful Chinese New Year decorations that were posted everywhere.  So you are stuck with the one below, from the window of Gap Kids, that someone else took.

Chinese New Year is a wonderful thing because it gives you a fresh chance to start doing the resolutions you set back on Jan 1 but haven't gotten to yet.

In order to help hold myself accountable, I'm going to share just a few of my resolutions for the year here.  Most of which haven't actually yet gotten off the ground:

• Exercise 6 days a week
• Learn basic bahasa indonesia
• Go on a major bike tour
• Do at least one significant trip a month
• Cook more (I'll spare you the detailed metrics)
• Trek in Nepal
• Try at least one new thing each week
• Learn to swim laps in a pool
• Visit at least 8 new places in Indonesia before I leave
• Be a conduit of positive energy 

New Year, take two.

Eat This: Fortune Apples

Chinese New Year is pretty big here.  Themed decorations abound.

Even in the grocery store.
Even on apples.

How'd they do that?

I'm not sure this will keep the doctor away.

I have no idea what's going on here

Last night I came home from work and found some odd characters erected outside my apartment building entrance.  Since I'm now a seasoned traveler and expat, I followed standard procedure for stumbling upon an unusual site of unknown or under- understood significance.

I posed for a photo in front of it.

Me and...  a character that just happened
to appear one day in front of  my apartment

By the next morning, the characters had accumulated many, many friends.  Some of whom were (pretend) fighting with real knives and swords.

Needless to say, I was a little late to work.
Sometimes you just have to pause and try to take it all in.

This never happens outside my house in the States.

Ceiling Tile Invasion

They other day I had the awesome pleasure of listening to a guy talk about the requirements for a secure data server center. I was mostly tuning it all out,  but I do distinctly remember him pointing to the ceiling, a standard office dropped tile ceiling, and noting that people could easily move the tiles and crawl in from another unit. That thought had never really occurred to me.

Nor had it occurred to me until two days later, that, unlike all the other rooms, the bathroom in my apartment has this very same type of dropped tile ceiling.

Until I came home and found a footprint on my toilet.  A footprint that was not mine.

Home invader beware:
Your footprint has now been published on the internet.

Luckily, there was no other disruption and nothing was missing.  I discerned from the unbearable noise that awoke me the next morning that major renovation was underway in the neighboring apartment. I'm assuming someone crawled into and/or out from my bathroom to mess with pipes or ducts or something of the sort.
When I walked in the bathroom to take a shower after returning from the gym I looked up and noticed several tiles were slightly ajar and I could hear every word of conversation that seemed to be taking place only a few inches away.  Of course I couldn't understand it since it was in bahasa. However when a screw or nail was dropped, I could hear it roll.

I pondered various options.
I could drag in one of my dining chairs so I could stand on it and position the tiles fully back in place.
Nope, the chair wouldn't fit in the sliding shower door.

I could try to text my boss this entire story so I had an excuse to just go back to bed.
Nope, have an important meeting.

I could go to work without showering.
Nope, 30 intense minutes on the treadmill means I don't smell very pretty.

I could just not give a shit and take my shower like usual.
Ding, ding, ding. That's the winner.

If you ever come across my pic on a voyeur website, please do let me know.
The tiles are still ajar.

What are the odds someone's looking down?
I decided I don't particularly care.

Feral Cat Goes Shopping

There's not much else to say here. The standout part of my day was watching a cat walk off the street into a shopping mall.  I was the only one in the immediate vicinity who seemed to find this noteworthy in any way.

Meow.

Fire in the Sky

People always look more glamorous in dim lighting.  Apparently cities do too. Even really sprawly, filthy, congested cities. 

Evening and nighttime views of Jakarta can be absolutely stunning.  I am regularly blown away by the flaming orange sky view from my balcony in the evenings.  

This is what it looked like today:

Now if only that giant skyscraper were a mountain.

Return to Jakarta

Happy New Year Everyone!

I'm back in Jakarta.

No better way to end a great holiday than 36 hours of transit.  Followed by the immediate need to break out the mop and bucket because your apartment flooded while you were gone.

No damage, but a huge mess to clean up.  Somehow, even though I live on the 21st floor, gallons on water and filth managed to make its way from the outside to the inside via my balcony.  Along with ten billion ants of varying shapes and sizes.
Yay! I love this place.

This phone pic fails to do the mess justice.
Plus, you can't see all the ants.