Quiet Jakarta

Last week was the end of Ramadan, and Indonesia is a predominantly muslim country so it’s a widely celebrated occasion here. I’m not too familiar with what the tradition is but it seems that everyone left the city to go back to their home town and spend time with family. I guess it’s kinda like thanksgiving in america… minus the turkey of course.

So, as a result of this a good portion of Jakarta basically up and left the city for a full week. Yes, a week! works put on hold, malls closed, streets empty… and for the first time in my eight months stay here in Jakarta, I can honestly say I enjoyed the city very much.

I reconnected with two of my friends from middle school year. I’m so very blessed with great people in life who doesn’t change even after 10 years have passed. We explored the city (and whatever was still open) for two days in a row, from afternoon to midnight. It’s amazing how much easier things are without the heavy traffic and crowd that usually plagues this city… I felt at peace.

Unfortunately it didn’t last very long. Everyone came back from their respective home towns on Thursday, and along with it… comes everything that I hated about Jakarta – traffic jam, crowds, smog and all. all good things comes to end, i guess.

oh yea, I finally ditched my stupid Nokia phone (don’t ever get Nokia 5310. It’s cute but reception is pretty much non-existent). So after much contemplation, I upgraded to a Blackberry! Blackberry Bold, to be exact, and I love love love LOVE it. the design is so sleek and keyboard is very easy to use. I can actually type a full-on email without misspelling words. oh, and having internet in the palm of your hands isn’t so bad either… i don’t have to wait until i get home to check emails or google stuff.

so in short, smartphones rock. you should consider getting one if you haven’t :)

 

1 Comment

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  09.26.09 @ 6:28 pm

  Sounds like Jakarta is a memorable city, only during Ramadan. *laughs.

  I always wanted a Blackberry, even before the whole iPhone thing. But I really want a Palm Pre. Maybe any Smartphone will do?

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