Somerset Grand Citra Jakarta

... all in an hour and I got to sleep at 2am after getting a bit of hastle from some of the male guests who liked me a bit too much. I then proceded to have the best day once I got up at 10am. I walked about 25km all in all, saw some cool things, booked up my train ticket out of here to Yogyakarta, bought some medication for my cough, more toilet roll, had some great food which was insanely cheap (Indonesian food ...

... one that is not being tackled successfully. Indonesian cities in general, the waterways and the streets are strewn with litter and chocking in plastic. With an endless supply of cheap labour we wonder why the government doesn't do something about it. It is also distressing that people here themselves don't have the pride in their environment to clean up after themselves. We were keen then to find the puppet workshop - written up in guide books, it's difficult to find. We ...

... a couple of museums and one famous restaurant (closed due to Ramadan). After my brief excursion, I thought I'd go to the train station to book an early morning ticket. I hailed a tuk-tuk and after agreeing a price set about weaving a rapid route through the city's congested streets. Coming to an abrupt stop outside the station, I handed the driver the money, at which point he flipped. To cut a long storey short, I thought I was ...

... if there's their hotel there) for just an extra of Rp 2.000.000,- (220 US$). Here's the catch: The membership fee is Rp 250.000.000,- (27.500 US$), and you have to pay a maintenance fee of 350 US$ EVERY YEAR! And they only cover the hotel fee, that means you still pay for the air tickets, everything! She showed me their hotels. The first one, their 'five star' has exactly the same facility as my hotel does, with one major loss: The location is in the middle of nowhere. Compared ...

... posted on every bathroom etc arrow didn't help, I could hear that three note Psycho violin playing every time a "More Shops! :-D" sign appeared. Enough with the malls, what else was there to do here that didn't require a $40 zoo admission ticket... Little India! "Disorganized and pungent, could be another country unto itself." (LP) To get here, I had to transfer MRT lines... there was a full scale mall built into the junction-station, with the entrance to each line ...

... of how they actually work, so i too have the big metal contraption maid Marion wears in Robin Hood Men-In-Tights in mind... An article denoucing the pants as anti-feminist and disgraceful led to many an article about how happy many women were that they were now safe from sexual predators in the workplace and that the lockable pants are a great idea! I get a good ...

... it there. Lunch was Javanese cuisine. Eastern area I think - they had satay with nice creamy peanut butter type of sauce. Siesta then we went to Plaza Ratu - cheap computer stuff, DVDs and CDs. Hau found out that he had been conned in Sim Lim Square in Singapore. He bought some speakers for USD35 but it turn out to be USD15 here. I ended up with 4 games (Stronghold 2, Deluxe, Ratatouille, Monopoly), 2 4GB thumbdrives (for 225000Rp each) and Sleeper Cell 2. Gamaliel went crazy ...

... rickshaws / those funny Indian tricycle things / busses. Turns out the annual country wide festival was happening for the next 3 days just a few blocks down from the hotel! Hell Yeah - I was gonna see freaky things and wild animals. I went back in to grab the camera - sniff - no power. Oh Well. I was wearing shorts and sandals, walking past hungry stray animals at my ankles next to traffic. The fair consisted of a wide street ...

... of any wild cat on earth, but thankfully they also remained elusive. When we returned to camp, we newly christened jungle girls donned our sarongs like the local girls and mandied in our favourite swimming spot in the turquoise river, where a large log had dammed it and created a tranquil pool shaded by massive leafy fans. Out came the soap and we bathed off the day's mud as curious fishes swam about our feet, four Eves in our very own Eden.