Jakarta

I was not born here and I would not call this home. However I always seem to end up here, with a tinge of unease, on transit at junctures of my life. It almost always became a place for transition before I moved onto somewhere else.

How best to describe Jakarta? I feel so mixed about this place. There is almost always absolute chaos. Traffic jams, people everywhere - sitting, standing, squatting. So many tall steel structures and yet still so many slums within sight. The way money goes round here will put New York to shame. Alas, Jakarta - anything is possible - so long as you have money.

When people are late or things don't get done as it should (which most often is the case) - most people put up their hands in resignation and say - "This Is Indonesia". That has not changed in ten years. I don't think this place ever will.

First things first, chilli fix. Nasi Campur at a Balinese restaurant

Bajajs on side roads

View from outside my parents' apartment, slums and all