Jakarta, Indonesia

We're back in Jakarta at the end of our little trip. We've been watching BBC News in the hotel rooms, with all the stuff going on in Mumbai and Bangkok. Fortunately we're not flying through those countries on our way home. (Although I read that the Indian Presdient is currently in Bali and flies to Jakarta on Sunday, but we'll have departed for Hong Kong by then).

The fish market in Jimbaran was very romantic. There's rows of restaurants along the beach, all with candle-lit tables set up on the sand, stretching hundreds of metres. We pointed out the fishies we wanted (in our case, crab and squid), which is then cooked as requested and served on the beach. The food was good, but it's more the ambience that's the draw. We were lucky that it was a rain-free evening, one of the few we've had.

The next day we had a day-trip to Kuta, about a 25 minute taxi ride to the west side of the peninsula. Kuta is the party town which was bombed in 2002. It's much more touristy than Sanur. We walked along the wide beach, and then stopped in at a restaurant for some Bintangs. We were feeling a bit grubby to stay for dinner so headed back to our hotel.

We had a morning flight back to Jakarta which went very smoothly. We were fortunate to see Gunung Bromo on the flight -- we were both napping on the almost two hour flight, and I happened to wake up and look out the window just as we flew over. I took a few pictures. (I don't want to risk another USB card so I'll just upload the rest of my pics when I'm back in Toronto).

We checked into the same hotel in Jakarta that we stayed on at the start of our trip. Last night we ate at a fancy restaurant (Lara Djonggrang) near the hotel. We had made reservations earlier in the afternoon, and when we came for dinner, a cute little "Erick - Mr." sign written on a leaf held our table for us. I didn't have my camera with me so we took the leaf back to take a pic. We ordered something different -- I tried the eel, and Heather soft-shell crab. They were both heavily breaded and not so much to our liking. But the food was really well presented in large sea shells and the restaurant was like an art gallery or museum, with large art pieces all around.

Today we walked to the main square. Jakarta (and most of Java and Bali for that matter) is not really pedestrian-focused. We were the only pedestrians on the sidewalks (where they existed). Dropped into the National Museum. Heather's back was feeling a bit sore so we just took a taxi back (what with the long flights tomorrow).

We bought a large suitcase in Bali to help fit all the souvenirs we've purchased. The bulkiest (and heaviest) is a life-sized stone Buddha head. It's about 20kg. Our two pieces of luggage total 51kg, and we have some large oil-on-canvas paintings rolled up. We were okay on the domestic flight (both with the weight, and taking the paintings as carry-on). I'm not sure we'll be as lucky on the international flights, but we'll see.

See you all soon!