Jakarta Tales Vol 2 (contd)

ALL WORK AND NO PLAY? NO WAY!

Now, for the highlights...

Jakarta truly is a city of surprises. There are 75 malls here and 38 golf courses (23 courses and 15 driving ranges)! In fact, they have distinctions.. super premium malls where you have the likes of Cartier, Cesare Paciotti, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace stores, hep malls that are designed specifically for the 18-30 age group and down market malls a la Fancy Market in Kolkata.

Last Saturday, I went to the Universitas Indonesia to attend the LCP Elections for the LC from that University. The fact that they have bus stops, taxi services, etc inside the University campus should tell you something about its size. And it's beautiful. Oh, there's some architectural information you should know. Indonesians use a lot of sloping red roofs, the kind we rarely do because they are used for slums. But out here, it's the most common sight across all kinds of houses, including the fashionable mansions.

Anyways, the elections went off really well. Their process is quite different from what we have in India. It's not so formal (people come in casuals, can come in anytime) but it was fun. They played "Tunak tunak tun" during the break and I had to do some "bhangra" as a traditional Indian dance.

With me at the elections was Thomas, an AIESEcer from Bayerheuth, Germany. He's training at Allianz here and is a really nice chap. In fact, we've become good friends. He left on Saturday to complete his graduation but before he did, we had a lot of fun at his farewell and the night before he left.

About the food, I love it! I love Bakso (meatball curry), Nasi Goreng (fried rice), Sate Ayam (bar-b-cued chicken), Tong Seng (sweet mutton curry with rice), Soto Ayam (Chicken soup), Bubur Manado (Fish and vegetables porridge), Bubur Ayam (Chicken porridge), Crepes (dosa-like pancakes with the option of sweet or spicy fillings inside) and everything!! I just don't like Lontong Sayur (Vegetable soup with boiled rice in Kasafa leaves) because the boiled rice is tasteless and IndoMie (that's Maggi out here and there's so much noodles anyways so who wants Maggi).

The only problem with all the food is that unlike back home, food out here is not ready-to-eat when it is served. There's a whole lot of sauces and peppers that need to be added. So, at times, I add too much and it becomes overtly spicy or at times its just too bland. Btw, they have dishes named Internet out here!

I also tried sushi (I had it once in India) and loved it! And people, those of you who think Indian food is spicy, try wasabi! Wasabi is actually supposed to be added to the sauce for the sushi and I tried to act smart, did not heed the advice of my friends who warned me and tasted one small dollop. Oh my god!!! It's the spiciest thing I've ever had! Initially, for a few seconds, I didn't feel anything and then, all of a sudden, there was a burning sensation in my mouth that ran up my nose and into my head. I felt like pulling my hair apart and water started coming out of my eyes! Phew! Thank god, I had ordered a glass of Japanese tea which is tasteless and is the best tranquilizer for raw wasabi.

And where did all this happen? We had gone to this sushi bar (it serves the sushi on regular tables as well as on a bar counter that revolves. You take your seat on a stool as you would for a drink in a bar, all the sushi dishes are placed in plates of different colours and they keep moving with the counter. You like something, pick it up and eat. Eventually, the bill is calculated depending on the plates you've taken and their colour).

For more surprises, listen to this... I can make delicious Aloo sabzi and mutton curry! Yes, its true. I made mutton curry last week and yesterday, and it turned out to be delicious! I made aloo sabzi today and it was yummy!!! I loved both. My neighbours hogged and hogged coz they all love Indian food. In fact, this Austro-Indonesian girl who lives on my floor ate more than I thought she would so I ended up going a lil hungry!

But the only thing that didn't work out was the rotis...Actually, the dough I made had a lot of water so it became too soft. And eventually when it did become right, I couldn't make the perfect circle and burnt all four! Don't laugh, they don't have rolling pins (belan) out here so was making rotis with a spoon. Yesterday, was too hungry so didn't take the risk again and just made some good 'ol rice with the curry.

Which reminds me about Indonesian food habits. 90% of all Indonesian meals are rice or noodles. Imagine, they have McD burgers with rice, A&W chicken with rice, pizzas with rice. The remaining 10% is food that should have had rice but possibly they thought of not making it so monotonous... haha...

And yes, the Indonesians love Indian food but it's their kinda Indian food... Roti only means bread and they have it sweet!!! Roti Bakar is grilled bread sandwiches with either chocolate, bananas or anything sweet! And Naan is baked like pizza and had dry with cheese or bananas or chocolate!! They couldn't figure out why naan/roti is staple diet in India and is not a sweet accessory but a spicy one :))

Oh yes, the Indonesians love India, Hindi films and Indians and respect them a lot. This might sound strange but Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, DDLJ, Lagaan and Kal Ho Na Ho are the most popular films out here! Shah Rukh Khan is next only to God. The women love him, the men admire him and the children adore him. If possible, they'd make him President. A stall owner at the INACRAFT exhibition actually replied to me by simply saying "Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, I see 43 times" when I told him I was from India!

As an Indian, when you come to Indonesia, be prepared to answer 3 questions at every nook and corner. Firstly, why do all Indian films including action films look like musicals with song and dance sequences in the rain and around trees? Secondly, why don't we stop making bajaj (pronounced bajai) which is our very own auto - India's biggest export to Indonesia - and the most polluting vehicle out here. In fact, that's the only thing they blame India for. And thirdly, have we met Shah Rukh Khan?

Friday night was real party night! After Sushi Tei, we went to this really sophisticated jazz cafe called "Upstairs" where this local pianist/vocalist was in full swing with Louis Armstrong classics. In fact, that's another thing I love about this place. A live band at a restaurant, cafe, bar or club goes without saying. It's always there, except in a few cases. Even all the malls have a stage in the central atrium for live performances every day or every weekend.

And when you're at one of the local roadside food areas like Blok S, Menteng or Roti Bakar Edi, young boys with a guitar in hand or harmonica in mouth play for you in hope of some money. And mind you, it's not begging. The Indonesians are a very proud people and highly polite too. It's upto you whether you wish to pay him. If you do, it's mostly out of respect for music and appreciation of his talent and you pay him only after the song is over. You don't interrupt him during the song or shoo him away with a wave of the hand or unpolite words. If you don't want to pay him, you stand up a little, nod your head to thank him and wish him best of luck. That's it. The Indonesians also don't abuse too much and their slangs end at "fuck". Abusing in presence of women is considered insulting and embarassing and they don't use abusive terms involving family members. It might be hard to believe, but there are no words for that kind of language!

Something the world needs to learn from here.

Something more that India particularly needs to learn is how secularism should work. While the Western media continues to propagate Asia as a volatile region and countries like Indonesia are seen as "Muslim fundamentalist" or "terrorist", Andi Balarama, Heidi, Melinda, Devi, Susanti, Aditya Yono and Arjun happen to be Muslim names. It doesn't matter to them where these names come from. In the same breath, Arif, Lutfi and Grace happen to be Hindu names. And Tania and Yunita are Christian names. With an 87% Muslim population, the largest Muslim country in the world has no official religion, everyone knows the story of the Pandavs and Ramayan, the Central Business District of the city has a 30 metre long, 25 feet high statue enacting Arjun driving the chariot whilst Krishna gives him instructions from the Gita. Indonesia is a melting pot of diverse cultures just as India is. Just that no one spices it up once in a while for political gains out here.

To end it all, I can't describe my experience at Hard Rock Cafe. Oh my god, it's a rock lovers' paradise. I didn't wanna leave untill my friends dragged me out. It's a rock museum and deservingly so for the gods of rock whose autographed guitars, shirts, portraits hang on the walls as the ceiling-to-floor glass painting of The Beatles lights up with each song that the live band plays on the raised stage. For teasers to make you all envious, there's the original mask used in the film The Wall, there's rare snaps of Pink Floyd in concert, original records signed by Hendrix, letters written by McCartney, Bob Dylan and exclusive snaps of The Doors. The DJ counter says "Music for life", the bar reads "High on rock" and the bar on the gallery reads "Take time to be kind".

And yes, after "Upstairs", I headed to Vertigo with Thomas, a few other Germans, this really hot Indonesian babe, a Chilean girl, a Turkish guy and an English brat. Vertigo truly can give you that feeling literally because its on the 17th floor of Plaza Semanggi (a mall and office complex). The place has 2 floors - the one below plays hip hop and R&B and the one above plays techno and trance. And its huge. No, huge is an understatement. It's massive! And common to both these floors is a staircase surrounded by a glass chamber full of liquor bottles. The music rocks, the women are hot and at 3am, there still may be problems with entry because the place is so packed.

That's all folks, this is undoubtedly the longest mail I''ve ever written and the longest you've ever read. So while I prepare sending an entry into the Guiness Books, you take care and have fun, untill next time, sampai jumpa.

Loads of love

Yousuf

Jakarta Tales Vol 2 (contd)

WORK

Work's been going great. So far, so good. As I've said earlier, it's a small agency and my role is big so am enjoying the pressure, the repsonsibility and the authority. And I love lunches at Mirasari... that's a nice traditional Indonesian restaurant opposite my office. In fact, we often have client meetings there... hehe. There's the option of sitting down and eating on a low table like the Japanese do and that's what I love the most!

Anyways, my colleagues are great and I'm already in the process of driving people to perform, be accountable and consolidate our key accounts. Have had meetings with all clients and they've all been great. It's funny when they try to speak English because it's as bad as my Bahasa but some Chinese do manage to speak it well.

About the language, believe me people, I'm lost in translation. Firstly, the Indonesians are a very proud people and they love their language so they prefer not to talk in English. Secondly, most of them don't know too much English! But that's the fun and challenge of going to a non-English speaking country and this is what I love. Everyday, I read one page of this "English-Bahasa" phrase book and apply whatever I learnt during work, travel, etc. And it works, my Bahasa is improving slowly although i can't figure out the grammar yet.

The learning here is the way communication works. It's opening up my mind so much and making me think so much more about people, their psychology and how things can either vary from country to country or be the same. At times, we feel we are right in our own ways and thoughts but that may not be true for someone in another country and at that stage, its a question of choosing between your thoughts and respect for the other person's culture and feelings. Customisation is the key. There are so many times when I try and tell my colleagues that this is how things should be done. But a second later, I realise that it might be different here and I should check on that first. If there's no problems, then go ahead.

At work, my colleagues who don't understand English make an effort to use Bahasa words that I know or use colours, sign language, write or simply ask someone else to translate. In return, I speak English slowly, I speak broken English at times or simply cut out the unnecessary words like "a, and, the, is" because for them, every word means something to be interpreted. I also use symbols, hand movements and actions and a little bit of Bahnglish (Bahasa and English) which draws everyone into splits of laughter and gives all of us a moment to unwind. This has also made me realise that I need to be crisp, precise and short with my communication since things need to be translated at times for me, meetings do take longer and tasks or info could get misinterpreted.

But the most fantastic language barrier-breaker is the way our office driver and office peon understand me. They don't speak English at all. Yet, they never make a mistake when I give them an instruction or try to explain something that needs to be done. Strange, how we think only words can express our thoughts and translate them into actions.

Honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better AIESEC internship!

The week was hectic but fun too. Had to work on a brand plan for a "natural detox drink" brand so stayed in office all night on Thursday and went home at 8am the next morning. We all did, actually. And the meeting couldn't have been better! And Friday night was one long party!!


More on that later...

Jakarta Tales Vol 2: From Exigo to Vertigo

Two roads diverged into the woods,
And I took the bloody wrong one because I didn't know the right bus to take
And that has made me wiser - read what's written on the bus.

If you can't, ask someone, goddamit!

Well, Robert Frost certainly wouldn't be impressed with the slang but what the heck, that's the best way I think I could have described my stupidity last Monday while boarding a bus. I tried saving transportation costs, I ended up paying double the fare to office.

Anyways, welcome to Vol 2, Version 1 (Unlike Microsoft, I keep my versions to a bare minimum) of Jakarta Tales. Please choose from the following sections to save yourself the trouble of going through my entire mail:

Work
Play

So much for options.

PLAY

The last 2 weeks (you already know what happened in Week 1) have been exciting. I've started liking Jakarta bit by bit and I'm loving the people more and more. In a nutshell, it's work everyday, maybe some fun in the evenings, weekends is fun.

I started off my weekend expeditions two weeks back by visiting the Monas (short for Monument Nasional... believe me, the Indonesians use abbreviations for everything), the Istiqlal mosque and the Royal Dutch Cathedral.

Monas is a 100-something metre high tower in the heart of Jakarta Pusat (Central Jakarta), made of Italian marble and has a 30kg gold "flame" above it. It was constructed by Indonesia's first President, Soekarno as a symbol of Indonesia's independence. Unfortunately, I reached a lil later than the visiting hours so could not take the lift to the top or visit the museum inside. And I wasn't carrying any camera so don't have any snaps.

The Istiqlal mosque is bang opposite the Monas and is a beautiful, modern mosque with a capacity for 120,000 people at a time. That makes it the largest mosque in South and South East Asia. Again, no snaps. And lastly, the Royal Dutch Cathedral is bang opposite the Istiqlal mosque. it was built in the 19th century by the Dutch and is a beautiful piece of architecture. No snaps again.

Bottomline - have to go to these places once again to get snaps :)) Btw, this virtual tour you're taking costs eh... 2$ an hour... I'll take it when i come back.

My next stop after these was Giant - the superstore. And it is super, in size! Anyways, I did manage to find an "Indian section" where MDH, Everest, Pillsbury and the likes are doing very well and it warmed my heart to see them there... ah, mera bharat! I picked up groceries for the month and off I was.

Loads of love

Yousuf

Jakarta Tales Vol 1 (contd)

I JUST WANNA FEEL...

Now to sum up my reactions. Honestly, when I landed here, I was disappointed and wanted to take the next flight back home. But the more people I meet and the more I am staying here, I keep postponing my decision :)

Actually, to be very honest, I'm not in love with the place. Not yet. It's not so international and hi-tech as I thought it would be and the stopover at Singapore really heightened my expectations. So at every opportunity, I keep comparing it to Singapore and feel let down. More so, because it reminds me of India so much. For instance, Jakarta isn't as polluted or dirty but it is to a certain extent. There are garbage dumps in the lanes and in contrast, Singapore is so clean you would want to check if your shoes are dirtying it. While Singapore and Jakarta are equally humid, you don't feel it in Singapore because everything out there is air-con. Out here, its' not.

And though the culture shock is huge and I desperately keep looking out for Indians and get frustrated on not being able to communicate when someone can't understand English, or when I have to repeat the simplest of things in English more than twice, or that I couldn't explain what "dal makhani" is, or that I am finding it difficult to pick up Bahasa, I still think it's not as challenging as I thought it would be. I mean, it's not something I wouldn't have found inIndia, except the people and food.

But yes, there's one thing I'm in love with and that's the people. No, not with anyone in particular but everyone. Strangers say "hi" to me on the roads. People are almost willing to drop me off to a place when I ask for directions and they respect the fact that I don't speak their language, yet. More importantly, I love the people am staying with and my colleagues. They've been so friendly and helpful and have been listening to my ideas already.

Finally, the end. The experience hasn't been overwhelming so far but I'm liking it. The more I stay here, the more I am growing accustomed to it. And although I terribly miss home, I think I'll manage this one year. With some hope and help from God. Andyou. Tolong permissi mas and 'mba, saya harus perggi (Now if you'll excuse me ladies and gentlemen, I have to go).


With every good wish
Your favourite Indian in Jakarta
Yousuf

Jakarta Tales Vol 1 (contd)

HOME SWEET HOME?

After an hour and a half during which I didn't manage to find out where the "Transit Terminal Mall" ended, I headed for my Singapore Airlines flight to Jakarta. As usual, I was late (even though the flight itself was delayed...haha) and the last one to board the plane. The flight was great. It was short and with it, the hostesses got prettier. An hour and fifteen minutes later, the in-flight announcement informed me that we were about to land at Jakarta. My heart started pounding. I was finally getting there - the place I had decided to call home for the next year.

My first glimpses of Jakarta from the plane were impressive as well as disappointing. I could see several ships, cruises and speedboats below us heading out into the vast sea leaving a trail of white surf behind them. In the distance, I could see tall high-rises and further ahead, even taller mountains. And as we drew nearer, I could see slums as well.

Soekarno Hatta International is massive as well but nothing compared to Changi (the pilot took 10 minutes to find the right gate :) . One word of caution - henceforth, whatever positives I mention about Jakarta are to be multiplied 5 times to be compared to Singapore and twice to be compared to Kuala Lumpur. The only exception to this is when I talk about the people in which case you should reverse the equation.

Now let's get back to what I was saying. Inside, the airport is hi-tech and unlike Singapore, has a character of its own. While Singapore is too futuristic, the Soekarno Hatta International building is made like a "pagoda" in traditional Indonesian style contributing to the ambience of a country resort. I completed my formalities and headed out for the exit gate. The AIESEC Jakarta team was supposed to be there to pick me up and they came. 30 minutes late. I took this opportunity to go to a "warung" and call my family to inform them that I had reached safe and sound.

While I waited outside the McDonald's outlet near the exit gate, taxi drivers and car operators swarmed towards me like bees and I asked myself, "It happens only in India?"

The AIESECers came and off we were in a slick Toyota sedan. I must say, I was overwhelmed by their hospitality. They continuously apologized to me for being late and talked to me at length about my flight, my background and India. I felt like I was representing Brand India at a forum.

Along the way, I saw Mumbai. Yes, I am serious. I sawMumbai. Broad and smooth roads, expressways and slums. Carrefours, Giants, K Marts, Ikeas and slums. Skyscrapers, beautiful buildings and slums. Glitzy restaurants and roadside vendors. Limos and hand-pulled carts. My first reaction was "Oh shit, this is what I hadn't hoped for! What happened to the internationalism of Jakarta I had heard of?"

On enquiry, the three AIESECers responded in unison and confirmed what I had read about briefly in Lonely Planet in the run-up to my trip. From 1990 to 1997, the ASEAN capitals - Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta - were running neck-to-neck in terms of progress and development. But the 1998 Asian financial crisis plummeted the Rupiah and the Indonesian economy into a coma from which it is still recovering. While Singapore and Malaysia took the crash in their stride, Indonesia (due to its corrupt government and "rich vs poor" economy could not sustain it. The bubble had burst. The illusion that everyone was rich was gone. As if that wasn't enough, the Bali and Mariott bombings and the tsunami played their roles to add to the demise. For facts, the Rupiah fell from 1300 to a dollar to 12,000 in 1998. It has stabilized somewhat at 9,000 today.

An hour later, I was amused to know that we were still far away from my boarding house. There was little traffic since it was Sunday, we had been traveling at about 100 miles an hour so what was the problem? The distance. Jakarta is huge. Nah, its too huge. The airport is 80km from South Jakarta - the closest to the airport - and the city is divided into five parts:North, South, East, West and Central. It takes three hours by car to get from North to South or East to West with traffic and an hour without traffic. "An hour without traffic" is a distant reality the locals have been praying for the way they did for Moses to part the Red Sea. They hope, someday, it will happen.

We reached my boarding house that turned out to be twice as expensive (120USD) than what had been communicated to me by the AIESECers before I arrived here. They said the cheaper place did not have any spare rooms at the time so they had to go for this one. They were right. I checked out the other place before agreeing to go with this one. Eventually, I took it. I've decided to stay here for the first month. In the meantime, the AIESECers, my office colleagues and I are gonna look for a cheaper place that meets three criteria: a) it's in the same area as my office or closer to it than where I am right now, b) it's cheaper and c) it's as international and culturally diverse as the place where I'm staying right now.

It's not that I hate my boarding house. I like it. It's a 3-storeyed building with 3 rooms, a furnished living room with a tv, a kitchen and refrigerator and a bathroom on each floor. It's not too far from my office. It's clean and spacious. The rent includes laundry and ironing and the electricity bill. My room is on the 2nd floor and has an air-con like all the others. I can come in and go out anytime and most importantly, I've got wonderful dorm mates. There's a Korean guy and a Dutch guy and an Indonesian girl onthe 1st floor, a Canadian writer and an Indonesian girl and myself on the 2nd, two Indonesian guys and a Danish girl on the 3rd. There's a German guy moving in within three weeks on the terrace.

But, all said and done, it's expensive.

My tours of Jakarta, so far, have been limited to South Jakarta because everything else is so far away. And that too, I've just seen ¼ of the South. They've been mostly to "warungs" and "warnets" for calls and checking my mails; to Carrefour, Matahari, Starbucks, Gloria Jeans and California Pizza Kitchen (a 3-storeyed pizza place where each floor serves a different style of pizza) for my groceries, more groceries, coffee, more coffee and pizza; the Pondok Indah Mall (double City Centre, divide it into two blocks and put an expressway through it, then connect the two blocks with a travellator on the 2nd floor), the National Monument (nothing so impressive) and to the Cilanda Town Square Shopping Mall (sprawling, sprawling and sprawling).

With regards to the food, I've tried beef fried rice, sushi (I never knew it tastes so good) and prawn chips. Apart from that, I got to try out a Padang meal at a balcony party thrown for me by the AIESECers yesterday. And that was the best cultural experience I've had here so far. Those who would have delighted themselves in the fact that I hate spicy food, rejoice! If you thought Indian food was spicy, try a Padang meal.

Vegetarians, get ready to puke! Actually, I almost did too. The meal is a very interesting concept. 15-20 dishes are first laid out on the table. Each eating member is served a glass of hot green/jasmine tea and given a small bowl of rice. You can choose what to eat. Whatever remains is thrown away instantly so that Satan doesn't pamper himself! But what shook me was the dishes that were laid out: cooked squid, cow brain, cow intestines, fried and sauted crab, spicy fish, the leaf of kasafa (sweet potato that ain't sweet but spicy), duck soup and the works. I just helped myself to some bar-b-cued chicken and corned beef and politely declined the rest not wanting to insult my hosts.

And believe you me, the Indonesians love rice. All they eat is that. And fish and beef. Chicken is considered lowly and is the cheapest. I've already made friends with all my neighbours, Thomas - an AIESEC "intern" from Germany working in Jakarta with Allianz and Adrian from Mexico who works with the AIESEC Indonesia National Committee. He's from Mexico and a really nice guy. He stays just down my lane in another "kost".

Enough of sounding like a host on "Travel and Living", now for the most important part and the reason why I'm here in Jakarta - my work. Well, I came to office for the first time today and am right here. Yesterday was a national holiday here and I landed on a Sunday. My office is small (add creative and servicing at Bates minus the studio and corporate) but very interestingly done up. The infrastructure is slick and almost everyone has a laptop including myself.

I met my colleagues (Andi, Rayendra, Kevin, Dewi, Lino, Yanti (all Indonesian) and some others and was taken for an office tour. My immediate boss is traveling for work and will be back on the 14th. But he's done his homework. Or actually, he's left a lot for me to do. I've gotta work on a presentation and get it ready by the time he comes.


Cheers
Yousuf