Oh sure, there are always hotels and hostels to fall back on in big cities like this. Jakarta being the capital city, however, makes booking a room unnecessarily expensive. Add to that the long three day Easter weekend and we're now talking limited availability and inflated prices.
But I always have a plan. I was to meet with a host and spend the weekend with him in Jakarta West. To make a long story short, he flaked and I bailed after realizing this contact is an asshole. So like I said, I arrived in Jakarta with no real place to stay.
What's your next move? Well, I came to Jakarta specifically on this day for one major reason: Critical Mass. If you don't know, Mass is an organized community of cyclists who once a month overtake the main roads of a city in one large group. Politically, Critical Mass has its supporters and it's protestors. The main political thrust of the ride is to heighten and harvest bicycle awareness and bring a real green energy presence to the face of those petrol pushers. More bike lanes and clean, smooth roads for all are also always on the agenda. However, a few hundred cyclists do tend to stop a lot of traffic, which is why the Mass is typically protested. That, and because some cyclists can be crazy drivers too. You've seen them.
Politics aside, I've participated in countless Mass' back in San Francisco and now nothing would stop me from joining the school of Jakartian cyclists as we took back the streets. Nothing; not even the uncertainty of finding a place to sleep.
I show up early at the designated meeting spot, eager to ride. I wait around and slowly begin to see bikes accumulating along the park's handrails and tree lines. More and more people show up. Soon there are so many bikes on the ground that its hard to walk around and see them all.
At about 9 pm, a small announcement was made (that I didn't understand a word of) and the mass group began finding and mounting their bikes. It was nothing short of a mixed confluence of cyclists, a hybridized mingling of human leg power and chromoly steel.
I of course stuck out like a sore thumb, like a lion at a vegetarian restaurant, like a Cal fan at a Stanford game. (Btw, nice job lady bears for making the NCAA basketball finals!). And my fully loaded bike got plenty of stares with crooked faces. Doesn't matter, I was leading the peloton with no idea in which direction I was going.
When it was all over, when the group had returned to the park where it all started, I felt that if my trip ended tonight that I would now not regret leaving. Not that I did to begin with. Riding half way around the world with complete confidence along side friendly strangers in and out of the megacity's concrete arteries is among my top life moments. Check out these pics and tell me I'm wrong.
UPDATE - my Indonesian brother has posted FB images here. thanks Rio: http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.488510681203749.1073741827.168895706498583&type=1
Ah! And by participating in Mass, I found a guy named Rio who has opened his home, his big city knowledge, and his refrigerator to me =) We got to hang out a lot and the next day I was riding with the homies, getting a tour through Jakarta. And wouldn't you know it, his mom is an anthropology major. Of course! Things are working out for me just fine here.
Finally, a side note. They call New York the "Big Apple" in a little known reference to the prolific and high stakes horse racing culture getting attention at the turn of the 19th century. "Apple" being referred to as the winning horse prize. New York, the pinnacle of racing for its day, was termed thus the Big Appel.
Now, Jakarta has a nick name too: the Big Durian, a play on New York's name. If you don't know, the durian fruit is not a favorite to all. Described sometimes as smelly, or of an ill texture, or just flat out gross, there are some people who eat it up with a large wooden spoon. Accordingly, this city's nick name is supposed to reflect the large metropolis, the crowded people, the traffic filled streets, and hot heated weather of Jakarta. After some time here now, I feel the name is unfairly put. Jakarta, like the durian, is not for everyone. But for those of us who enjoy its bitter offerings, well, we wouldn't ask for any thing else.
-A
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