Please spend some time read the part I and II first, thank you. =)
Well, in the first two parts I talked mostly about facts. They were almost like my online daily journal. In this part, I'll be reflecting my visit to the land symbolised by Garuda, Indonesia.
POPULATION
Jakarta, being one of the most populated cities in the world was totally different compared to Malaysia. Jakarta itself has 22mil population while the whole Malaysia has only 27mil. I can't really find the exact ranking of Jakarta in the list of densely populated cities (bcos different sources gave diff ranks) but it is still densely populated. There were huge number of motors in the city. At a traffic light, within one minute, the front line will be full of motorbikes, and I really mean FULL.
TRANSPORTATION
As told by my cousin, statistics showed that each family in Jakarta has an average of 3 motorbikes, and motors are the main form of transportation over there. And really, i take my hat off to the bikers in Jakarta. They can ride the bike in a straight line. The houses there have narrow roads in between them, and cars could not go in. Even to walk two person side-by-side is considerably difficult. But the bikers there can easily ride on the narrow lanes without putting their feet on the ground, not even when there was a pedestrian they have to share the lane with.
And there were really lots of taxis and vans as public transport. I couldn't remember having to wait for a long time for public transport, unlike waiting for bus in Malaysia where you could stand for 30mins waiting for bus. Even though the condition of the public transports in Malaysia is better (most of the seats in the bus there have holes in them) but there were a lot more transports there). But I'm not comparing with the LRT system we have here, I know those are very fast and far better.
And there really weren't many sedans over there. Most of the vehicles were either motorcycles or MPVs. Grand Livina, Avanza and Innova are popular there. I've never spotted any Kancil or Kelisa. Not even Proton Saga. But I saw one Proton Waja made as taxi.
TRAFFIC
My my, the traffic in Jakarta is very very heavy.
There wasn't one place that I visit without undergoing a traffic jam. Though I might once in a while complaint about the heavy jam in KL, I'm glad that it's not as bad as in Jakarta.
And people say the traffic in the morning and evening, at the commencement and ending of working hours were horrible. Cars may get stucked in the jam for hours. And I somehow managed to avoid that. Mainly because I wasn't on the road at peak hours.
FOOD
In my housing area in Malaysia, one will have to start the car engine and drive out to find food. But in my cousins' houses, food stalls are everywhere. One just need to walk out of the house. They have lots of little food stalls selling variety of food.
And there were lots warkop (Warung kopi) @ coffee shop, warteg (warung tegar) @ simple eating place and some other roadside stalls. In Malaysia, there are not many eating places by the roadside, unless you go to Chow Kit or Kg Baru or anywhere that area. I'm not saying which is better, this is just a difference.
LANGUAGE
I was the only Malaysian in the society I mixed with over there. Thus, all of us needed to put on our "understanding" mode and try to understand each other. It's funny whenever Verni said something in Indonesian and I don't understand that, she'll have to find all other synonyms and if I still do not understand, she'll find the English word for it or if she couldn't find one, she'll just act it out. And I need to do the same. When I told my aunt that my mum and brother had flu (selsema), she couldn't understand the word "selsema". So I sneezed a few times to act it out then, she understood. Though it's difficult, it's actually fun and enjoyable!
And when we do our shopping, I didn't say much. Because I know once I open my mouth, people will know that I'm not local. And I might not get the best price. And this beloved cousin of mine, Verni is a killer in slashing price. So she did all the talking. And she managed to get very very cheap things for me. She can pretend to walk off the shop then the salesgirl will desperately call us back and say she'll give us that price Verni asked for. Hahahaha... How nice!
There are a lot more language differences but I don't think I can write them all here. It's best to experience it yourself. =)
FRIENDS
I tried to find time to visit my INTEC friends studying in Jakarta Barat but due to the lack of time, I couldn't get to visit them. But nevermind, I can still meet them when they come home to Malaysia insyaAllah =)
And Verni brought me out for an outing with her friends to Puncak. I get to know Idam, Adit, Anti, Dedi and May. Well, I'm not sure if I spelled their names correctly but I'm glad I get to know them. Though mostly I don't really understand them and they don't understand me. Hahah...
There was once, while in traffic jam someone came to our car window and tried to sell his cookies (yes, there are people walking around selling food in the middle of traffic jam over there) and I sincerely thought that person was selling nuggets! They all laughed at me. Apparently that man was selling "Gemblong", a type of traditional food that looked exactly like nuggets, colour and shape alike.
FAMILY
Now, this is the best part.
This 12 days trip of mine allowed me to re-connect with all my families which I have only be contacting via internet all these while.
I've been only seeing their faces in facebook, chatting with them on YM, or maybe sometime video calls.
But seeing them in reality was a totally different issue, and feelings.
I can't deny that I was feeling really really nervous even few days before flying to Jakarta. I was worried if I can't communicate well due to the language barrier. I was worried that my attitude might not suit them. I was worried I might not have anything to talk about.
I was also worried I might turn into a shy, quiet girl over there. And my mum cracked into laughter at that worry of mine. She said I'll NEVER turn shy and quiet. Ugh, mean!
When I landed in Soekarno-Hatta Airport, I was worried I might not recognise Verni because the last time I saw her was almost 10 yrs ago and I've only been seeing her through monitors ever since. Luckily she recognised me and waved and I walked to her.
I went to my second aunt's hse on the first night and I didn't recognise my aunt! I felt so bad and made the excuse of it being dark thus I couldn't see her properly.
Meeting my other cousin brothers was another thing. I've never met some of them and it was awkward. In Malaysia I'm the eldest grandchild. I have lots of little cousins under me, who during Raya will call me "Kakak". And I have no elder brother or sister, I've never had the feeling of having someone older than me. But over there, I am the second youngest. I have 4 elder cousin brothers, Verni's slightly older than me and Zora is 4 yrs younger than me. So it was a whole new thing for me. And when we went out together, I felt so proud that I wanted to tell everyone "This is my elder cousin brother!".
Ugh, what a freak.
And not only that, even my grandfathers brought me out.
I get to know families I've never known I have.
I get to know Teta, Tante Rany and their children, whom I've never dreamt of meeting.
CONCLUSION
The 12 days I spent in Indonesia had gave me uncountable valuable experiences.
And there is no way I can put it all down here in my blog.
I'll keep most of them in heart, to be thought over and over again, as I go through my journey of life.
And I can honestly say I enjoyed my time over there, though I did miss Malaysia and family over here once in a while. =)
And if there is chance, I'd like to visit them again.
THE END.
-AkMaR-
http://nur-akmar.blogspot.com
July 23rd 2010
11.09am
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