Fred went a wandering.

Safety is always first out here, as we see with this hand cart belonging to a gas delivery service.



Parking it outside a fire station could well prove handy.

This guy sells newspapers for a living - His English was surprisingly good, unusually so for a street seller.



These guys could speak no English at all, but they knew how to pose for a camera.



These guys couldn't speak English either, but they also knew how to pose.



They looked very happy, probably because the food tastes as nice as it smells

You get off the train at Tanah Abang, walk a hundred yards or so, and come to a road and a bridge.
Millions of people have driven over it, but few will ever realise people sleep under it.
These guys are rubbish collectors, amongst the poorest people in Jakarta, and  homeless save for the bridge.

The minions would love this guy.
He walks about with his hand cart all day, selling bananas and other fruits.
His profits are tiny, so he'll probably do it until he can no longer manage to wheel the cart.



As you see with this guy, using a mobile phone whilst riding a motorbike os seen as acceptable. He stopped at the junction, but rode off a few moments later, phone still stuck to his ear.

I can't remember uploading and posting this video but, if I have already done so, please forgive me and my bad memory.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYmBv6h … e=youtu.be

The UK has a lot of rules when it comes to roadworks.
There has to be a whole bunch of safety rubbish in place, traffic lights, and who knows what else.
Indonesia is exactly the same - but without any of the above.

Here, local guys after a bit of cash try their best to control the traffic flow, and hope motorists toss a little bit of cash into their boxes.

As prostitution is illegal here, no one throws cash into their boxers.





Motorbike riders don't hang around, preferring any way around the roadworks, even if it isn't even close to safe.



The guy selling food did his best to get past on the side of the road, but it was hard work for him.



Sadly, there was a massive traffic jam caused by the roadworks - you'll see that when I edit the Gopro video.

Great images with funny comments!

The traffic here undisciplined at best, total chaos at worst.
What rules there are get ignored by everyone, even the police.
The road works I showed earlier caused a traffic jam, but atrocious driving made it far worse.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfLDHAr … e=youtu.be

Sorry about the low video quality.
The Gopro does a really nice job of taking them, producing very high quality results, but I have to edit down and save at far lower quality in order to upload them in a reasonable time.

Preman (gangsters) are feared by many who assume they're out for blood, will rob you if they get half a chance, and only have teeth so they can bite you.
Stereotypes are commonly wrong as we see with them using their teeth to smile when I took this.

We went to the beach last week.
Indonesian beaches have lots of people who try to make a little money from the tourists.

Breakfast?



Water sports equipment hire



The lady looks shocked at the price



Yummy

More food



Clothes (Handy if you need and extra shirt)



and a nice collection of hawkers together



But, after lots of hard work, these dudes need a rest.

What an odd little building



Let's take a closer look



Is it over water?



It sure is. This type of toilet is still common in poor villages.
I thank Fujifilm for the long 42 times zoom they fitted to this camera.

Supermarkets are very much like UK places, save they sell live fish for food and some stuff you'd probably find really weird.
The fish, just as a note, are remove from the tank when you pick one, then smashed over the head until dead. They wrap it up and off you go.
They also like to sing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhyqTC_vo2U

I think the Land of smiles should be Indonesia and not Thailand after seeing your pictures Fred. They all smile even when they dont have much to smile about, its amazing and so are your pictures. Keep them coming.

HRGuru wrote:

I think the Land of smiles should be Indonesia and not Thailand after seeing your pictures Fred. They all smile even when they dont have much to smile about, its amazing and so are your pictures. Keep them coming.

That's much of the reason I love Indonesia - the people are fantastic.

My eyes are old .... but they still see what other eyes miss.
An example.

People look out of a shopping centre window and see a river.



I see a man fishing

Back to that toilet, and the village it serves.





You might well have noticed the sack, they're filled with these.



filled up by these, and others



then sent away to be sold to a middleman who then sells them on to a plastics factory.

A pole ... with notices.



This is telling everyone about a missing 10 year old child

This lady works her stall in a market, probably earning enough to live, but not a lot more.
She seems to be trying to sell anything that's easy to carry to the market.



I went up there by train.  Note the platform isn't the right height, so they made steps.

Several petrol stations have closed down in the area for a variety of reasons.



Indonesians are known for their ability to see and exploit an opportunity to make a little money, but some go as far as their small investment capital allows.



You just have to respect these people.

The wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round ... or you could jump on a truck.

Come on, give the electricians a bit of credit.
They got the duff street light working without having to dig up the grass.

Remember this?



I wonder
A lot of yellow paint in this scratches.

Savile Row is known for its bespoke tailors, as are many small back roads in Indonesia.
I can Image James Bond in duds from these dudes.
I have to be fair, many of these guys produce pretty good stuff, and I've used them more than once for tailored shirts.

Coconuts - a lot of coconuts



a very lot of coconuts



What can you do with so many of the things?

They seem to be burning them...



Ah, coconut charcoal for cooking - It gives the food a very nice flavour.

They sieve it down to get rid of the dust, then scoop it into sacks for sale to street food vendors.

Next up - A Javanese wedding - Watch this space

I don't much bother with the big malls unless I'm taking my wife shopping, but I'm glad I popped in this place for a kebab.
They've taken Star wars advertising to a whole new level as epic as the film is likely to be.

BSD city is putting up its Christmas decorations.
Most malls and better off areas have a notable Christmas display, including Christmas music playing just as much as in western malls

Big crime is something we don't see all that much of out here, but it does happen.
I understand the police have solved this one and arrested the thieves.



The machine stands in local minimart; they broke in at night and smashed their way into the ATM.

When you settle down in bed this evening, think what it would be like to sleep in this bedroom, that's also their kitchen and living room.

Great fun as always reading the latest installments to your epic thread on Jakarta. 

Selamat!   

But…still waiting for those wedding photos!

Next up - That wedding

Especially for Roy.

I mentioned a Javanese (Muslim) wedding.
It all starts with a party, get together of family and friends, and praying session at the house.
There's always a fat pile of food, and lots of people to eat it.



After a day or two of that, it's off to the local mosque, presents and traditional offerings in hand.







The mosque is filled, so the job can start.

The wedding is split into religious bits and official bits.



Better off families tend to video and photograph the whole thing. This is the daughter of a higher ranking local policeman, so things were done well.



Gifts are quite what they are in most western weddings, more like a dowry but presented in a very nice way.



You don't get a marriage certificate as such, you get marriage books.





Respect for parents is especially important in Javanese culture, so the last part of the wedding is to show that and acceptance of the new family.

GREAT photos Fred!  Thanks for posting them!

Ubudian wrote:

GREAT photos Fred!  Thanks for posting them!

You're very welcome ... By the way,  the family haven't seen them yet as I haven't been back.
They'll get them soon.

These tailors seem similar to the ones in India and in Bahrain. They can stitch good clothing and made to measure

Fred, I'm always intrigued by that very unique hair style used by Javanese Muslim brides.  I don't know of any other culture which uses that style, and with any luck, maybe some of the Javanese ladies on this forum will explain its significance.

I attended a Bugis (Makassar) wedding quite a number of years ago and there were a couple of lady boys attending at the wedding.  I was told that they are essential at weddings in that culture, but I don't recall remembering the reason.

Attending weddings in Indonesia is a lot of fun…and I seldom turn down an invitation to one.  One could write a very interesting and colorful book on wedding ceremonies in Indonesia because the variety of ceremonies, costumes, foods, etc. is endless.

On VT I even suggested attending a Balinese wedding within the topic, Things to Do.

http://members.virtualtourist.com/m/p/m/1960a5/

Keep up your excellent work Fred!  As I've frequently said in the past, this thread is by far the best on this forum!