My First Day in Jakarta

Monday, July 16, 2018

Today, we were given a chance to rest in the morning. We are staying at the Shangri-La Hotel which is hands down the nicest hotel I have ever stayed in. The view from my room is amazing. Also, the breakfast & lunch buffet offer stations with every kind of food you can imagine in 5-star quality. I experienced this is my travels before, the way the dollar stretches as it translates abroad. A massage, for example, that would cost $150 - $300 dollars in America will cost me the equivalent of 20-30 dollars here.

The people are extraordinarily nice. Very friendly. I really walked away with a warm feeling about this country already.

Here is a link to the hotel website: http://www.shangri-la.com/jakarta/shangrila/

Today, we visited the National Monument & Istiqlal Mosque Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta. Below you will find photos with some of my initial observations.

Notice the front page article from The New York Times, representing our country. I am told that when I enter the classroom next week, students will want to know about the Trump Administration. I felt sad and angered as I read this paper after breakfast.

Being a vegan is no problem in Jakarta. Here is the best Indian food I ever tasted. I will be gaining weight on this trip.

That's me and Grover in front of Masjid Istiqlal, one of the oldest and largest mosques in Jakarta.

When we entered the mosque, we took off our shoes. People come here throughout the day to pray. In the photo above, you can see people up front on their knees in prayer. At this moment, the hall is filled with the sound of prayer. The sign below, shows you the different times groups of Muslims pray throughout the day.

Once the prayer ended, you could see everyone simultaneously disperse, many pulling our their phones and resuming life as usual. It showed my how much prayer is a basic routine for many people in Jakarta. See the image below compared to the one above.

Next we explored the courtyard, and a drum made from a 300 year old tree. Our tour guide played us call to prayer.

That's me in the courtyard. See two more angles below. I found it peaceful and felt so calm during the tour.

View from the front of the mosque.

Next, we visited the National Monument in Merdeka Square, Central Jakarta. Along the way, one could not help but notice the traffic. There are Honda Scooters everywhere. It makes it easier to get around on these scooters. Further, there are lines of these drivers in Green Jackets who can give you a ride or deliver things to you quickly. We were told you can download an app for the service, much like calling for an Uber driver.

Below is a picture of the National Monument. It is surrounded by a beautiful garden, much like a smaller version of Central Park.

We did not get to see it up close, as it was closed due to cleaning and renovations in preparation for the Asian Games coming to Jakarata in August of 2018. We are told that there has been much improvement to the city in the past five years. There are new buildings in progress, and construction going on all around us. It is a beautiful city.

Street venders are everywhere. Some are in areas like this one, while others are selling water and other beverages. Near the mosque, I noticed people selling home cooked food on tables.

While Greece has a surplus of stray dogs, Jakarta has stray cats. People feed them. Children play with them. This little guy started rubbing himself on my leg. He was kind enough to allow me a picture. Speaking of children. Our group appears to attract attention. Many times, people waved to us like we were interesting celebrities or anomalies. Three girls came up to our group and asked a few of us to pose for a picture with them. A man and his son asked our tour leader, Wyatt from IREX, for a photo.