Thick grey clouds loom overhead. The rumble of thunder is somewhat dulled by thick humid air. The distant muffled sound of a man chanting or singing a foreign language signals the afternoon call to prayer.
Somewhere out there beyond the walls of where I am staying is the bustling metropolis of Jakarta, Indonesia. It is sometime in the afternoon on Saturday, and I am feeling somewhat confused from just waking up. Blame it on the jet lag, blame it on the journey that started on sometime on Tuesday evening.
What a journey it has been, perhaps the maddest so far. Driving from Jersey to Caen in France on Tuesday evening, and then to Rotterdam, Holland for an Interview on Wednesday afternoon, stuck in traffic in Belgium for 3 hours after, crossing the channel by ferry, arriving at Gatwick at 1am to drop off the luggage, then getting to the airport for 12pm on Thursday to catch the emirates flight to Dubai, arriving finally on Friday afternoon in Jakarta.
Long distance travel having kidney failure is proving quite the logistical challenge. Arriving at check-in with 3 bags of dialysis fluids is quite the experience. Never quite knowing whether the airline will let you on or not, but having that special letter from the hospital and showing them your dialysis catheter has so far worked. The supervisor at Emirates was both procedural and pleasant, with a compassionate smile she waved her magic hand then my excess luggage and I were cleared for flight…all 65kg of it.
It’s exciting to be flying again long distance. I am and always will be a traveler and explorer at heart. Over the past few months, I have lived in Holland, and have taken trips to Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, Switzerland and Croatia. It’s been a practical but tiring way to travel by car. But nothing, to me, quite beats the excitement of boarding a big plane on an Intercontinental flight.
Of all the places in the world, why Jakarta? Well, to be honest, to visit Wimmy, a remarkable young lady friend who I met earlier in the year whilst living in Holland…and to take the
opportunity to travel a little with that nice redundancy pay out. From the first moment we met, there was really quite a special feeling of oneness and connectedness between us, which we both felt. I didn’t know what it meant, but I believe that such soul connections are special and should be honored and explored. Whilst fate brought us together, our choices and leave us to make the most of the moments we spend together, no matter how short or long.
Arriving in Jakarta turned out to be quite the drama. Having forgotten to inform the bank about my travels, my credit cards refused to work upon arrival, leaving me a bit stuck to pay the 25 USD for the entry Visa. Luck had it, that the immigration guy was fairly helpful, if not a little corrupt. Corruption and back hand pay outs are the norm in this part of the world, as I learn a bit later. Luckily I was able to contact Wimmy who paid for the entry visa, promptly to be grilled by customs who were quite inquisitive about the amount of medical bags I had with me. A friendly smile, the special letter and showing them the dialysis catheter saved the day, and soon after I was out to arrivals.
Who’s that in the glasses waving at me? Ah, that broad sweet smile and happy chuckle of happiness…Wimmy. Words could not quite describe the feeling I felt to see her again, and the happy moment was mutual.
“Hey! How are you?”
“Good, so happy to see you again!”
“Good, so happy to see you again!”
Driving into the Jakarta rush hour, we head from the airport in the north, down south, across the city, giving us the time to chat and catch up after months of short emails, chats, calls and a lot of easy anticipation. The toll based freeways of the north give way to the tall commercial buildings of central Jakarta, and the infamous city rush hour. What madness - it makes London or Dutch traffic look like a casual cruise along the motorway; drivers cutting you up left right and centre, dodging mopeds, tok toks and pedestrians by inches, but somehow the traffic moves.
Wimmy carmly chatting away, and me, bemused and confused…I thought I came here to relax and for a holiday??? Why on earth did I come here? Surely a beach on Thailand would have been a tad less frantic !?
The light fades over the tall buildings in the west, with the faintest of orange glows, the suns blocked by thick grey polluted air. The commotion, the sound of impatient drivers hooting their horns, screaming mopeds everywhere, brightly painted tok toks mixed in with that unique murky humid smell of Asian street food combine together to paint a vibe of this sleepless city.
The traffic, never eases, as we head onto the flatter more rural areas of the south suburbs. Modern concrete buildings giving way to basic shack like buildings, typical of the small rural stores often seen in south east asia with bumpy roads and lots of palm trees. We arrive finally, after a couple of hours to the Cilandak suburb and stop for some street food dinner. This is what I love most of about being in a Asian city: those rag tag mobile kitchens joined together with sheets, tables and plastic stools selling all sorts of deliciously smelling food: spicy, sizzling satay on sticks, fragrant tasty Nasi Goreng, and many regional curries to wet the taste buds of your tongue with delight and spice. The atmosphere, the food, the chaos, the night life is a world away from the quaintness and quietness of Jersey…
Anticipation frenzies the mind before we meet friends we look forward to seeing, whilst the energy of the moment in meeting steadies us in joy and delight, that words rarely make the mark compared to the feeling of companionship. How is she really like? Pictures show a pretty girl with a warm smile, her warmness and openness reflected in her presence: full of life, lightness and young playfulness that makes her an absolute delight to be around. Funny, very cheeky, intelligent and smart with a certain drive, spirit and emotional intelligence…we share quite the same energy.
Checking into the traditionally ornate Jakarta Bed and Breakfast in the same suburb, we chat to the early hours of the morning about everything and nothing, bringing to heart the warmness of each others’ company, with time on our side, nothing seemed a rush…
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