Driving in Jakarta

Driving in Jakarta can be quite stressful for those not new to it. Often appearing to have a lack of road rules, it is not for the unwary.

YouTube - Jakarta driving - roundabouts and bikes.3gp

YouTube - Jakarta driving - red & white flags line the streets.3gp

YouTube - Jakarta driving - pedestrians walk all over the road.3gp

YouTube - Jakarta driving - off the main road- motorbikes and vendors.

These driving definitions may be of some help, originally published on 4/11/1988 in the San Francisco Chronicle, written by Jon Carroll.

THE ROAD. Includes not only the paved portion of the highway, but also what we might call “the verge”, “the curb”, “the sidewalk”, “the front yard”, “the roadside restaurant”, and “the monastery”. The paved portion of the roadway is generally one lane wide. Not one lane in each direction: one lane.

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RESPECT. All animals are granted the greatest respect in Asia. It is presumed that being highly evolved creatures, chickens and dogs and the like know how to sidestep a Mitsubishi going 78 mph on a for-shrouded road during a national religious holiday.

This same position of honor is granted to small children, cripples, men with 30 pounds of hay on their heads, unattended oxcarts and elderly women in mystic trances. Slowing or swerving to avoid these beings would cause them dishonor.

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DISHONOR. Getting from morning to evening while remaining in the same incarnation.

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LANES. These colorful white and yellow markings wish a hearty “Selamat datang” (Welcome) or “Hi!” to every traveler. They have no other function.

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PASSING. The national sport of Asian drivers. Observant motorists may encounter the vertical triple (passing three vehicles in one acceleratory movement,) the horizontal triple ( passing a vehicle that itself is in the process of passing a vehicle,) or even the rare double-double (passing a vehicle at precisely the same time that another vehicle, coming in the other direction, is also engaged in the act of passing.)

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TAILGATING. What to do when not passing.

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BEING PASSED. An insult not to be endured. The greater the differential between your vehicle (say, a broken tricycle) and the passing vehicle (say, a Boeing 747,) the greater the potential loss of prestige. The owner of the less powerful vehicle must always do everything in his/her power to thwart the attempt to overtake.

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SEATBELTS. Absolutely unnecessary. Not only are they not worn, they are not even provided. Passengers are fully protected by the horn (see below)

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LIGHTS. Rapidly blinking the headlights can mean many things, including “OK to pass now,” “dangerous to pass now,” or “may you find the thread of gold in the linen of existence.” It takes years, sometimes entire lifetimes, to learn this subtle and intriguing intuitive nonverbal communication skill. Generally, however, you have about three seconds.

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THE HORN. When sounded loudly and frequently, the horn sets up an invisible energy barrier protecting the vehicle and its inhabitants from all harm. The faster the vehicle is going, the better the horn works. This is the central concept of Asian motoring.

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ACCIDENTS. Rare. Usually the result of a malfunctioning horn.

An Indonesian Wedding

We went off to an Indonesian wedding this evening, luckily I asked my partner first about the availability of alcohol....

None. Water and icetea only!

right, dug out the hip flask filled it with whiskey.

When we arrived we were greeted with half a dozen sign boards (I've seen this at funerals too, never just one) And they all had sponsor signs on them, upon inquiring this is from companies that wish to publicly congratulate the couple. (and get some free advertising I would think)



The entrance way was then lined with an elaborate arch, and then all their pre-wedding photos.



Sign in books. and a box for envelope with money.

The guy is not looking too happy.



the back of the room had the wedding couple and family on a stage with an MC yelling into the microphone. while everyone else walked around and chatted and ate.





Here was one food cart, plenty around the room, (no pork though)



After the wedding toast, the wedding dance, the wedding cutting cake, we had the wedding photo with friends etc.

Our turn on stage....



and looking back at the (by now much depleted crowd)

Diary tales of some minor house repairs.... or so I thought!

May 16th
The false ceiling on the carport had some mold growing, (sorry no pics) so I asked the landlord to send someone around to sort it out.


A couple of hours later, I unsuspectingly arrived home to a construction site, front and back, both floors of the house, they've decided to replace all.

Scaffolding in the front yard and back yard also, not sure how long this is gonna take, they've been at it half a week already.

May 31st
it is still going, 6 days a bladdy week! there's about 10 workers here today banging and crashing and fck knows wot! Grrrrrrrrrrr

June 10th
it is still on going. I recently found out that these workers get paid for the job plus a daily allowance.....
It is not rocket science is it? Surely the landlord thought to give them a maximum time frame to complete the job in.
now they are painting the entire house also

June 17th
Honestly, I could not make this up. They have even dug up all the pebbles in the garden and are washing them.
now they have begun entirely re-landscaping the front and back gardens, and a team has started on the inside upstairs, i think they are rebuilding the attic or something (I haven't gone upstairs to look yet.)

Perhaps my landlord misunderstood me, when i asked her to fix the single damp patch in the carport, she must have thought i said could she rebuild the entire house or something....

June 18th
The maid just told me this morning that they found a snake when cutting the garden.

Hardliner Islamic Violence in Indonesia condemned

A group of about 200 FPI goons (Front Pembela Islam which translates as Defenders of Islam Front, or something) violently broke up a peaceful protest/gathering at National Monument because they were the 'wrong' brand of Islam.

YouTube - FPI Ngamuk di Monas

However, the general feeling across Indonesia is one of condemnation and outrage, last week the government arrested 74 of these idiots, including their leader Habib Rizieq Shihab.

FPI are the same goons that smashed up the Indonesian Playboy office a few years ago and also smash pubs, restaurants and nightclubs for being open during Ramadan each year.

No arrests previously caused arguments to range from them enjoying governement protection to the government being afraid of them.

Recent talk is suggesting that the timing helps deflect backlash on the government for the recent oil/food inflation crisis.

here's an article where they are assigning blame for the whole mess, even the CIA and Mossad get a mention

Explanations for the FPI violence at Monas, blaming the victims, the government, and foreign plots.

Ahmadiyah

Head of the Muslim Lawyers’ Team (Tim Pengacara Muslim,TPM), Mahendradatta, says the Monas incident was caused by the AKKBB side making deliberately provocative speeches, saying such as things as

the FPI are Laskar Kafir (Infidels’ Front) and Laskar Setan (Satan’s Front).

Other provocations included the ‘fact’ that the AKKBB gathering was illegal, without police permission, and that one AKKBB person was carrying a weapon. [1] Tgk Faisal M Ali of the Himpunan Ulama Dayah Aceh (HUDA) in Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam (NAD) says the government needs to see the incident in a fully formed way, that the root cause is the weakness in the upholding of law in Indonesia, that it still had not banned the Ahmadiyah sect.

Presidential spokesman Andi Mallarangeng was having none of it however, and said the delay in the publication of the SKB edict concerning Ahmadiyah could not be used as an excuse for assaulting people. [2]

Conspiracies
Faisal Ali, who was also once the leader of the student group Rabithah Thaliban in Aceh, says he condemned the FPI violence but banning the FPI was not the solution, banning Ahmadiyah was, and if the FPI were banned this would mean the government was allowing the foreign conspiracies in Indonesia to ruin Islam to succeed. [3]

Parliamentarian Soeripto, the Vice Chairman of Commission III in the House of Representatives (DPR) from the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS/Partai Keadilan Sejahtera), says he suspects the FPI violence was part of an anti-Islam American plot.

Soeripto

Soeripto, who has a long history of work in the intelligence field, said Mossad and CIA had already taken over most militant organisations in the world, so they had probably taken over the FPI, and added that Al Qaeda in Afghanistan remained the only “pure” movement left. [4]

1. ↑1 beritasore
2. ↑2 okezone
3. ↑3 beritasore
4. ↑4 okezone

http://www.indonesiamatters.com/1805/blaming-victim-others/

Science Musuems in Jakarta

This news article Schools can't spare time or dimes for field trips got me thinking (and surfing) about what outside resources we use in our science teaching at our school….. I recall a science meeting earlier in the year my staff and I were going to put this together, and I’m not sure what happened. (marking and teaching and report writing, no doubt).

I also found this website click here on museums in the world and they have 162 listed museums in Indonesia! Actually I added a couple of pics for the Zoological museum in Bogor.

Anyway, we are going to get it sorted again, I'll post the results here.

Name	Address	Opening times & cost	comments	Last visited
BOGOR ZOOLOGICAL MUSEUM	Jalan Juanda 9 MUSEUM KEBUN RAYA BOGOR, www.museum.com		Quite old, poorly maintained. Several rooms of old stuffed animals and displays. Has complete blue whale skeleton.	visited term 3 2008