(no subject)
Well, tomorrow, I return to the States.
At one point I might have even quipped "civilization." But it's all here now. Wendys, KFC, A&W, Starbucks (with prices in Rupieh that make you feel like what you pay in dollars (x8,900))... everything but a Walmart.
Jakarta reminds me of a dry Hong Kong, just spread out more. The traffic is the same, the tall buildings about, the 10-story malls have people milling in continuous crowds and the road traffic, although a bit less... intense (deadly?) then HK, is still pretty raucous in Jkt.
...
I've determined that the white lines on Indonesian roads are some sort of art decoration. People ride 4 abreast on 2-lane roads, and collapse back into line when oncoming traffic pushes in. People use their horns incessantly, but nobody minds. No one collides and the snags all even out, despite the cars snapping at each other for position like hungry fish.
It's like New York would be if they started the aerial spraying of Prozac.
At one point I might have even quipped "civilization." But it's all here now. Wendys, KFC, A&W, Starbucks (with prices in Rupieh that make you feel like what you pay in dollars (x8,900))... everything but a Walmart.
Jakarta reminds me of a dry Hong Kong, just spread out more. The traffic is the same, the tall buildings about, the 10-story malls have people milling in continuous crowds and the road traffic, although a bit less... intense (deadly?) then HK, is still pretty raucous in Jkt.
...
I've determined that the white lines on Indonesian roads are some sort of art decoration. People ride 4 abreast on 2-lane roads, and collapse back into line when oncoming traffic pushes in. People use their horns incessantly, but nobody minds. No one collides and the snags all even out, despite the cars snapping at each other for position like hungry fish.
It's like New York would be if they started the aerial spraying of Prozac.