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.
