Being an Expat in Ind*ones*ia..!!

Well, it’s been more than 100 hrs I returned from Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. Now I am trying to recall all the things that are happened during the whole trip of 7500 KM away from my home land. Recalling things doesn’t mean my job is done, articulating them in a proper way is big deal. Yeah, I love writing for those who love to read. This is post is just for you, enjoy your journey..!!!

Yeah it’s almost 7500 KM away from Hyderabad.

Hyd à Singapore almost 6500KM (4:30 hrs)

My stay in Singapore is small and sweet. The weather was really mild. City was amazingly built, everywhere sky scrapers. Since this is official trip I am going to write only about the country and my encounters there.

Singapore à Jakarta another 1200 odd KM (1:40hrs)

Arriving there:

Reached Jakarta on a sunny day around 2 PM (1:30 hrs ahead of India). It was a sunny day, really hot and humid. I thought I’m in Mumbai during summer, almost same weather. We can easily find a cab in every nook and corner of the city, so it’s damn easy to get one in airport. Fortunately I got my counterpart to pick me up from airport. People generally use sedan class & SUVs like Toyota Innova, Oh yeah almost similar ones but model names would be different. Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International airport is almost 25 KM away from the Central Jakarta. It’s moderate but reflects fine ancient architecture of Indonesian culture serving almost 10 million population of one of the world’s heavy traffic cities.  The place I stayed is almost 40KM away from airport, southern Jakarta named gatot sorbroto. Named after their first military General.

Currency:

Indonesian rupiah is the currency having an exchange rate of 1 INR = 200 IDR, 1 USD = 13000 IDR.  (Source: http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=1&From=INR&To=IDR ). You can find lot of currency conversion points near every shopping mall or big hotel. They charge 200 IDR per dollar conversion. But carry big value notes like 100 USD so that we get good value rather than smaller denominations like 20, 50 USD.

Note: Most of the conversion people will be closed on Sunday and holidays so if you are arriving on these days please convert some from Airport. We get almost similar rates from airport as well.

Language:

The official language of Indonesia is Bahasa, Bhasa, Basa, or Phasa is the word for "language" in many Asian languages, which derives from the Sanskrit word भाषा bhāṣā "spoken language". In many modern languages in South Asia and Southeast Asia which have been influenced by Sanskrit or Pali, bahasa and cognate words are now used to mean "language" in general.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bahasa)

Food:

Rice eaters, mostly we get non-vegetarian food here. They eat Nasi (Rice in Bahasa) mixed with other substances like Ayam (Chicken), Bebek (Duck), Beef etc. Being vegetarian it’s somewhat difficult to manage. We had some Indian restaurants in southern Jakarta where most of the offices are located. Luckily I found one, called The Royal Kitchen (http://www.theroyalkitchenjakarta.com/). They provide Indian Thali and other indian cuisine. Expensive book authentic food. They have thali parcel service, costs around Rs. 400 (~80,000 IDR) including home delivery charges.

Breakfast: People eat mostly noodles, rice, salads and the same continues in lunch. I had normal complimentary breakfast provided in Hotel.

Lunch : Rice mixed with vegetarian salad, sometime omelet was my regular lunch.

Dinner: Mostly I had food from royal kitchen or some pizza. We get all sort of pizza giants in Jakarta with nice menu options.

There you can find different fruits Salak (Snake Fruit), Durains (similar to Jack fruit), Pitaya (Dragon Fruit). And they are really good, except salak gives different smell.

Places to visit in Jakarta:

There are many places to visit like Central Monument, Istiqlal Masjid, National Museum, Mini Indonesia etc. And Jakarta means malls, there are plenty of malls in Jakarta. Some of them are really amazing and huge.

Grand Indonesia: This is the largest shopping mall in Indonesia and is one of the largest in Asia. It comprises of 2 parts, the East mall and the West. Trust me, the mall may not look that big from the outside but you can easily get lost in it as it is huge. Despite that, it is a high-end mall made for expats and Jakarta’s elites. It is also located in the heart of Central Jakarta, across the Bunderan HI and next to Plaza Indonesia. For you car lovers, this is the place where the ultra rich go out with their Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Tenants range from British fashion giants to High-end traditional Indonesian outlets. If that is not enough you can visit Plaza Indonesia mall or the EX lifestyle mall which are right next to Grand Indonesia.

Pros: Uber-luxurious, a lot to explore, very large

Cons: confusing to navigate for first time visitors

People and Culture:

Indonesians are really cool people, mostly Muslims, who go for prayer on a regular basis. They work and party hard. Mostly non-vegetarians and smoke. Women are found smoking at malls and office areas. We have separate zones for non-smokers even in hotels. They help a lot like my friend Erwin, who helped me to top up my mobile, helped on local routes and as a guide. Yes, we have string Indian culture effect on Indonesia. One can find characters of epic “The Ramayana” as the apartment names, street names and many more. The following is one of such examples, famous Grand Indonesia mall having one of their lobbies name as “Ayodhya (the birth place of lord Rama from the Ramayana) Lobby”.

The following is the scene from the epic The Mahabharatha during kurukshetra war, found near Central Monument circle. Sri Krishna (the almighty who was took the side of the truth) and Arjuna (The great archer from the Mahabharatha). No wonder they have one of their airline name as “Garuda (the great carrier of sri maha vishnu) Airlines”.

Bali: One of the beautiful islands from Asia is also part of Indonesia. We can find many Hindu god idols in central museum, one of the must see places to study Indonesian culture and to know about Indian impact on it.

Working in Jakarta:

For an expat its really nice place to visit and settle down. But bit expensive for schooling, commutation. As per my communication, fresher may get around 5 Million IDR package, where as one can survive under a lakh per day.

Final Bid adieu: Its amazing place to visit and nice set of people to meet. I love Jakarta, not just because I have been there for the first time, but also it always connected me with old Hindu traditions and past glory of the bharath. Yes, most of the Indonesians are Muslims but their ancestors are predominantly Hindus and many Hindu riles made this country a best place to live.

 “ॐ सर्वे भवन्तु सुखिनःसर्वे सन्तु निरामयाः ।

सर्वे भद्राणि पश्यन्तु मा कश्चिद्दुःखभाग्भवेत् ।

ॐ शान्तिः शान्तिः शान्तिः ॥“

Om Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah
Sarve Santu Nir-Aamayaah |
Sarve Bhadraanni Pashyantu
Maa Kashcid-Duhkha-Bhaag-Bhavet |
Om Shaantih Shaantih Shaantih ||

Meaning:
1: Om, May All become Happy,
2: May All be Free from Illness.
3: May All See what is Auspicious,
4: May no one Suffer.
5: Om Peace, Peace, Peace.