Jakarta

Java - Jakarta

01 View from the filthy balcony of our filthy room

Happy Christmas!

Several months ago, we booked a rather nice hotel in Jakarta, in preparation for our Christmas in the largest Muslim populated country in the world. Needless to say, Muslim folk don't celebrate Christmas, and we both expected the least Christmaseee Christmas we were ever likely to experience in our lives. Happily we were wrong. Shops had father Christmas pics and even Christmas tunes playing while we browsed the supermarket for Christmas fare, in the form of crackers and cheese, fruit, but rather sadly no mince pies. Tweeks had even emailed Marks and Spencers to see if a store in Jakarta would provide them. No.

We were enormously excited about our hotel and were like small children opening a very big present prior to arriving and once we had come through the plush front door and atrium. It was most definitely Christmas here! They had done a fab job at getting the atmosphere right for the tourists.

02 Hair cut anyone???

Our room was amazing. We had been living very cheaply through the last 7 months, so a carpet and bath were off the scale. I was so excited i was quite literally skipping about our huge room for the first 15 mins with a big dippy grin. It wasnt long before i had the first of 5 baths in 3 days. It was superb!

All in all we had a truly wonderful time in Hotel Borobudur and Jakarta. It went past our very measly expectations and provided and very happy Christmas. We even got to see some family by Skype.

We found the Javanese to be the most warm hearted and welcoming nation you could possibly hope to visit. We were curious of them and they were equally so of us. As it turned out my nose was quite the topic of debate not that we could often tell, but occassionaly someone would translate.

03 Or perhaps you'd prefer a Cuci, Gunting & Blow?

What a shame Java is so very far away from Europe, 'cos it's a wonderful destination with a wonderful population to cap it off.

04 Christmas day in the wonderful Borobudur hotel

05 Yay!

06 making ourselves at home.........