Yesterday, thanks to my drinking the night before-I got up on the late side, roughly around 8:00 am. After working on the computer, I didn't leave the hostel until 10:00 am. My destination was the Old Town Jakarta-which is from when the Dutch ruled Indonesia. Once again, it was another cloudy, rainy day.
I walked the few blocks. Some folks wanted to take a picture with me. Then I got to the train station and took the elevated train about 20 minutes to the old town (after about 1/2 an hour walk). The old town was a large square with museums and a cafe on one side of it, called the Cafe Batavia on one end. The Cafe is set in a 200 year old building on the square.
Before getting to the cafe, however, I was stopped by a group of around 6 school age girls in hijabs. Apparently they we're learning English, and they we're assigned to find a tourist and ask him (or her) about Indonesia. There we're few tourists around (I saw few other caucasions), so I was stopped.
I answered questions: When did I get here? How did I like Indonesia. How did I like Jarkata? How did I like the people? The interview was a few minutes and being filmed. The girls also gave me some food to try: some type of meat (I think-at home I rarely eat meat-but travelling I like to try indigenous foods so I overlook that), and some type of cake. Then they took a pic with me and went on their way.
I walked a little bit. And another group of girls, this time more casually dressed, stopped me for the same interview. I told them I just spoke with their friends, but they we're ok, so I talked to them and answered the same questions: When did I get here? How did I like Indonesia. How did I like arkata? How did I like the people? Except these girls didn't have any more food.
Although I wasn't THAT hungry, after the interviews I proceeded to the cafe, and went inside to the beautiful building, made of polished wood. I got a table on the second floor, and offered to take a photo of a couple at a window table. They saw I was alone, and asked me to join them.
This couple we're doctors-he was from Indonesia and she was from Japan, and they had met travelling-and both lived far from each other-I could relate to that.
I sat with them, and enjoyed my platter of Indonesian vegetables for a few hours I think. They gave me all sorts of tips for visiting Indonesia, and the various regions and parts of town to visit. They also told me about a meditation camp they visited, and I thought I would like to check it out. I also showed the couple a pic I took with my girl on a see saw in Montreal. It turned out the Japanese's woman's friend was a doctor in Montreal, and she had the same pic sent a day earlier!
After parting ways, I walked outside of the cafe, and a group of boys approached me. You guessed it-they we're interviewing tourists for class on Indonesia-so once again, they asked the same questions:
When did I get here? How did I like Indonesia. How did I like Jarkata? How did I like the people? (once again-they didn't have food).
Some other folks stopped me to take a picture with them.
I wanted to go to a history museum on the square, but it was 2:55 pm, and the museum closed at 3:00, so I couldn't visit-so I took the train back to the hostel and caught up on some sleep.
I like to check out shopping malls overseas for some reason, so after dark, I walked about 1/2 an hour to a giant shopping mall, with high-end stores such as Christian Dior. Across the street was a more moderate priced mall, with stores like Gap, H&M, which seemed to be about 10 stories high and have hundreds of stores. I bought a guide book on Indonesia at a book store, and walked back to the hostel. I went to bed before midnight.
