Medan - Sumatra
The problem with reading spy thrillers late at night is the make you have funny dreams. I had a dream that a man was coming through a back door with a gun going to kill me and I was holding the door shut and was trying to scream but could only "HMMMMM". I woke up realizing it was very likely I had indeed been "hmmmmm-ing" in real life and in a cheap hotel with thin walls my neighbors must have been wondering what i was up to. (Why didn't he just shoot through the door??)
Slept pretty roughly the rest of the night. Through heat more than anything else.
Woke up and jumped in a taxi to the Airport. I was going to fly to the northern Sumatra city of Medan. (The original plan had been to go over ground but I balked at the idea of 50+ hours on a bus and decided flying was a better option!)
Flying Air asia as I had to Bali (without incident) I assumed the flight from Jakarta to Medan would be equally normal, and to most extents it was except the passenger.
I can't decide if it's an Indonesian phenomenon, or just something a bout flying but it appeared I was flying in a plane jammed fly of school children. Not literally. They weren't all under the age of 15 (in fact most seemed to be pushing 50 for the record) but they were the most immature bunch of grown adults I've ever been in the presence of. They wouldn't sit in their allocated seats, wouldn't fasten their seat belts, wouldn't put their chair upright, squabbled over who would sit in the window seat (hilarious). Once the insanely patient air stewards/stewardesses had finally sat them down and stuck a dummy in their corporate mouths we took off. So, what would landing be like? Well, exactly the same. The moment the pilot told us we were on final approach - to sit down fasten seat belts etc 70% of passengers were up and about straight away getting their hand luggage out of the lockers. I've never seen anything like it.
They got their comeuppance, oh yes they did. As the pilot made another slightly stronger appeal for calm, this time citing turbulence as the cause to place bums on seats. maybe 40% remained defiantly standing, when, as the pilot had predicted the plane went through the worst turbulence I have ever experienced. The plane jumped up and down, as the standing were treated to a good shaking up they'll never forget as they raced for their seats. I had to smile. I nearly laughed. I just smirked to myself. Silly people.
As we got off the plane realised the reason for the turbulence, we had landed in a great big thunderstorm which had sent the (small) airport into chaos.
The children were equally ill-behaved when it came to baggage reclaim, and this was compounded by the baggage conveyor being 15 meters long, straight, and at the end of which baggage simply drops in a big pile on the floor. Being polite, I got pushed around my an assortment of gentlemen, and oversized ladies, i got annoyed (and nasty) and clobbered some of them back with my 17kg big back pack and marched out of the airport feeling as gloomy as the weather.
Outside the airport was no better where the torrential rain, and I do mean torrential, had started to leak the the airport roof in numerous places. Likewise their was a scrum for taxis, umbrellas everywhere, and silliness as far as the eye could see. I know from Bangkok what to do in situations like this: find a restaurant and sit the storm out.
45 minutes later a relative calm was descending hoped in a taxi and went to a hotel.
Dinner and internet checked: treated myself to an Air con room for the first time in two weeks. Got in the room. Hardly a whiff of cool air. money well wasted I thought. however as I slept that night I found the cumulative effect of a weak but cold A/C unit can result in a room reaching sub zero temperatures, and with a thin thin sheet keeping me "warm" I had an uncomfortable night, in which incidentaly a mosquito decided to bite me once on my left ear, and for good measure, once on the right one too. Woken up at 4.50 by nearby Mosque and couldn't get back to sleep.
Jakarta - Plus 1 day
Tmrw Jakarta.
That's basically how the last post ended but actually it didn't quite work out like that.
One of the keys to successful travel is having a watch that tells the correct time. I'm pretty good at making sure this is the case even when changing time zones etc (Usually because the nice pilot man always reminds me). The other important factor with a watch is that it tells the correct date. This I'm less inclined to check.
I have a cheap little watch I wear when I'm traveling and somehow since I last put it on and now It has changed the date so when it was telling me it was the 30th, in fact it was the 29th. Get the Idea? My ticket was for the 30th...... Luckily this was all figured out BEFORE I headed to the train station and looked like a fool. It would have been particularly awkward as the train leaves at 11.30 at night. So, Another day to spend (waste) in JogJa.
So we went to the ZOO! Jogja has a zoo. It's pretty good. It has komodo dragons, snakes, monkeys, orangutans and is big. Unfortunately a procession of taxi drivers, and a large percentage of the general population didn't know what "zoo" meant, or maybe couldn't imagine why 3 farangs would be heading there. Well head there we did. It was good.
Got back to central Jogja and I slept, basically for most of the afternoon along with packing my bag for a second time and sending a few emails.
In the evening had a second goodbye meal with my friends, (who, as it happens are also teachers in BKK) and marched off to the train station.
I'd bought an "Executive" train ticket (The best ticket you can get I'll have you know) which basically gives you air con, a big reclining seat and plenty of space. The train lived up to all of these promises. The only annoyance was the man next to me had taken MY window seat and apparently wanted half of the aisle seat I was now meant to be sitting in too. Oh, and he'd stole my blanket and pillow AND filled my magazine holder thingy with rubbish!!! The cheek!! So I shook him awake violently and threw a glass of water in his fac...... I didn't. I politely asked the train guard for a new pillow and blanket, and pushed the cheeky little man back into his (MY) window seat and put the separating arm rest firmly down to stop him coming back at me.
Other than that it was an event less journey. as per normal for night travel I couldn't sleep, but at least I was comfortable.
Rolled into Jakarta an hour late at 8.30 am but as a man in no hurry that didn't bother me at all. Ignored the usual taxi/moto/becak/minivan scuffle that follows me (and any tourist) around at the train station as had memorised the map and knew the way to the area where there are cheap hotels here. Turns out my memory isn't what it once was, so the 15 minute walk took 50 and arrived at hotel, erm, rather sweaty.
Lay on bed fell asleep. woke up for lunch (which was a small, horrible curry), booked onward travel ticket, went to hotel fell asleep. Woke up with a nice line of 8 mosquito bites from my wrist to shoulder. Applied magic potion. Ate dinner (which was a TINY portion of horrible beef) had a beer. went to hotel fell asleep. Not the most exciting day in a new city.
Day 2. I was determined to do something on this my 2nd, and last day in Jakarta. Woke up hungry, decided get breakfast at the old dutch quarter of the city which was where I was heading. Got to dutch quarter, saw the old fort, took a photo. Saw the old cannon that apparently helps with fertility if you sit on/straddle it. There was about 15 kids doing just that..... A teenage pregnancy BOOM is on the way Jakarta.... be warned. Decided to go for a walk and explore the area. There was a problem. I just couldn't cross the roads. Now, I live in Bangkok, I'd like to think I'm quite good at Asian road crossings but there was no way I could do it here. I wandered around the block where the fort was, looking for somewhere I could sneak across. There wasn't. Likewise there wasn't anywhere to eat. Finding the imprisonment somewhat humorous I realised the only way to escape was to jump in a taxi. This I did. I was so hungry in the taxi I considered eating my own arm, but was sure there'd be somewhere to eat at the monument I was going to.
Actually the only thing near the monument was a large political demonstration by a rather fierce looking bunch. Fierce enough that the police had brought the dogs, water cannons and trucks and trucks full of razor wire to control them. Head down, camera firmly in pocket I walked past them staying no more than a few centimetres from each policeman jumping from one to the next. 100 metres away felt brave, took a sly little photo, continued policeman hopping.
Got to the monument which is a big pillar with a flame on (called the Monas) took some photos, decided to go to the top where you get apparently great views across the city. Saw the queue. Felt the temperature and my heavy, sodden wet t-shirt. Decided to give it a miss. SO HUNGRY. MUST EAT and drink!! Went to the train station which was near by, hoping, praying for a McDonald's, nope. But there was a fast food Japanese Bento shop which would just about do. I sat there for 20 - 30 minutes to let myself dry out before going to the next photo op, the largest mosque in south east Asia. Again, my attempts to get there were hampered by heavy traffic and road crossing so I jumped in a ..... I don't know, Motorised Tri shaw? Got there took a photo. thought I'd wander around the area. I couldn't. there was just no pavement, or too much traffic, and no where to cross. Found myself again walking around the block ending up, after another dry out session in dunkin doughnuts, back where I started. At the Mosque.
So I'm afraid to say I've given up. It's just too hot/humid, too difficult to explore on foot here. Bangkok doesn't feel as hot as it is here, and there plenty of exploring opportunities.
So, I'm sorry Jakarta. I'm sure I haven't done you justice today, but there's only so much a boy can take especially sweating till his t-shirt starts dripping. Maybe I'll come back and try again sometime. (Maybe I won't......)
Planning to spend the rest of today relaxing. Got an early start tomorrow and a good few miles to travel.
C.
