Glenda

Early last Wednesday morning, when my wife opened the large front living room window of our 25th-story apartment to have a look outside, I was afraid it was going to be ripped off its hinges and go sailing across Roxas Boulevard into Manila Bay. Luckily we managed to pull it shut, and the only damage was a cracked plastic shade on an overturned lamp that had been sitting near the window. Glenda, the first typhoon of the Philippine's "brutal rainy season," left 20 dead. In addition, flights at Manila Airport were grounded for 4 hours, all city trains stopped running, and 90% of Manila was without power.

Final stop: Jakarta

While out taking a walk one evening in central Jakarta, I saw these boys catch a free ride by running and jumping into the back of a pickup truck stopped at a red light. Located in the northwest on the island of Java, Jakarta (Indonesia's capital) is a megalopolis of over 10 million people. Soon after arriving, I emailed my wife that it is such a big, crowded, polluted city that it's just like coming home to Manila. Despite the crowds, noise, and pollution, as with Manila I found Jakarta to be a vibrant, fascinating, and often exotic place.

Kota, once known as Batavia, is Jakarta's Old Town district. Here at Kota's main square, aside from the colorful rental bikes with matching hats, there are various shops, stalls, restaurants, cafes, street musicians, and even a few snake charmers.

I happened to be in Jakarta during Ramadan, so many people were fasting from sunrise to sunset. Just before sunset at Jakarta's Old Town area, tables with soup and dates were set up for those wanting free food for breaking the day's fast.

Interesting that pay phones are quickly becoming a thing of the past. Several times during my travels over the past few years I've seen tourists take photos of them as if they're some sort of exotic antiquated oddity.


As of now both candidates in the recent Indonesian presidential election, Djoko Widodo (photo above) and Prabowo Subianto, are claiming victory in what turned out to be a very tight race.

See: http://transitions.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2014/07/16/the_good_news_from_indonesia_s_election_stalemate



Jakarta was the final stop for my travels in Indonesia. I flew from Jakarta back home to Manila the day before my 1-month tourist visa was to expire.

Buddhism XXL

Borobudur Temple, located on central Java in Indonesia, is the largest Buddhist monument in the world. It was built around 750 AD, and is estimated to have required some 60,000 cubic meters of stone to build it. Starting in 1973, a ten-year UNESCO restoration project began -- this involved taking apart much of the monument stone by stone, redoing the foundation and drainage systems, then putting the whole thing back together again.

During my June travels in Indonesia, the country's schools were closed for summer holidays. Thus many Indonesian students were out traveling, visiting tourist hotspots like Borobudur Temple. Because students from some of the more remote Indonesian islands rarely see Westerners, many of them were more interested in being photographed with them than seeing the sights.

Yogyakarta: Java's cultural capital

This photo shows the ferry approaching Java from Bali. While Bali is predominantly Hindu, the majority of people on Java are Muslim. Also, while world-famous Bali is the #1 tourist island in Indonesia, Java is the seat of government.

Yogykarta, in the south-central region, is the culture capital on the island of Java.



The pointy Javanese ear ornaments sort of remind me of Star Trek Vulcan ears like Spock's.

I took this photo during a visit to a factory in Solo, Java, that produces batik. Very hot and stuffy in there, and my guide told me the average worker earns about $100 per month.

Working conditions are a lot more pleasant at the factory's outside area.

The Bizarre Muslim Twist

The presidential election is taking place in Indonesia today. While traveling around the country in June, I often saw T-shirts, billboards, etc. with presidential candidate Jokowi's photo. It seemed to me Joko "Jokowi" Widodo resembles a youthful Barack Obama, and after reading a little about him it appears that the similarities are more than just physical (see: http://www.forbes.com/sites/yunitaong/2014/07/08/as-indonesian-election-day-approaches-jokowi-draws-obama-comparisons/)

Jokowi is the grassroots reformer candidate (the other main presidential contender, Prabowo Subianto, is accused of having been involved in the kidnapping and torture of Indonesian human rights activists), and while governor of Indonesia's capital, Jakarta, implemented universal health care. But the similarities go further -- in a bizarre twist on Obama having been accused of being an un-American Muslim, a smear campaign against Jokowi claims that he is a Christian, of Chinese origin. As the world's largest Muslim country, being considered a non-Muslim would surely kill any chance of Jokowi becoming Indonesia's next president.

Ubud, Bali

Tucked away in the south-central region of Bali, Ubud is one of the most touristed towns on that island, and with good reason. There are numerous museums, art galleries, cafes, hotels, along with Balinese dance performances, shadow-puppet theater, yoga workshops, and some great places to eat (including lots of vegan options). As stated in my guidebook, "Being named the top city in Asia by Conde Nast Traveler only added to the hoopla from bestselling Eat, Pray, Love." Not to mention the fact that in 2014 Ubud was named Tripadvisor's #1 Travelers' Choice for Indonesia.