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.
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