Jakarta

Drinking with local ladies
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After spending a few relaxed days in Bogor it was time to head back to Jakarta - this time we took the train which proved rather interesting. We decided to travel economy class for the one hour journey and it was worth it just to see what went on. The train itself was ancient with a few seats along the sides - two of which we managed to secure beside our luggage.

Vendors were getting on and off at every stop, again selling everything from books to fruit to cold drinks to hair clips to underwear - it was so bizarre. Groups of kids were also getting on and busking - of course we had to hand out a few cents to different groups of people. They would make a beeline for us anyway being the only westerners in economy class! What was heart breaking to see though was young girls and boys crawling along with no shoes and sweeping up the mounds of rubbish all over the train floor. They would then come over and hold their hands out for money - it was heart breaking to see them.

Drinking with local ladies
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Once in Jakarta we got a hotel for our last two nights in Indonesia and grabbed a bite to eat. We didn't have much on our agenda for our time in Indonesia. We were both wrecked after all the travelling of the past few weeks - Java sure had been tough going the whole way through.

In fact all we wanted to do on our first night was watch a movie so we headed of the cinema to see Hitman - it was all we could 'agree' on. Turned out not to be too bad after all and I didn't have to ask that many questions throughout!

Hanging with local security
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We ended up having a few drinks with some locals on our second night - turned out to be a right laugh. A lot of hookers were hanging out in this particular bar but the group we got chatting to were all either married to western men or just working and living in the city. It was a fun night and good to hang out with some local people.

The next day we headed down to the harbour as we had heard it was a nice thing to do but were we in for a shock once we eventually got there. The harbour itself was filthy - words couldn't begin to describe the poverty in the shanty town across the way. The river itself was just black oil full of rubbish and a crane was in the middle of it moving all the dirt to one side while locals were fishing about in it - taking out plastic bottles to sell for a few cent. It really was heart breaking to watch. Some boatmen were trying to sell us a boat trip along the water to get a closer look at the shanty town but we declined - there was so way we wanted to get any nearer to that water than we already were. The flies and mosquitoes all around was something else - I suddenly felt very grateful for everything I have and what little they seemed to have. We didnt hang around too long as with a big camera hanging out of my neck we clearly stood out and decided it was safer to get back to the more touristy area of the city.

Eew dirty water
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We enjoyed a lovely meal in the famed Cafe Batavia on our last night - it was pricey in Indonesian terms but was well worth it to live it up for our last night together in Indonesia. The next day we headed to the airport at the crack of dawn as I was catching my flight to Singapore where I had a few hours to kill before going on to Perth, Australia. Niall was flying an hour after me to kota Kinabalu. So I am going solo again :( Never fear though - Niall is joining me in Perth in two weeks time :)