Newley Purnell

Get thee to Gridskipper and check out my gustatory musings on Bangkok’s Crepes & Co.

Me looking silly in Jakarta

So. Jakarta. My notes from that portion of the trip are long overdue. Here’s what I’ve got:

Why I went
People have asked me why I decided to visit Jakarta — since Indonesia, apart from Bali, is not a typical Southeast Asian tourist destination. Well, first of all, I was close. I was in Kuala Lumpur at the time, and it was only a quick flight to Jakarta. Second, it was cheap – the round-trip flight, on the low-cost carrier Air Asia, was only about US $100. And third, I didn’t want to miss out on a chance to visit the world’s most populous Muslim nation. (In fact, Indonesia is not only home to more Muslims than any other state, but it’s got the world’s fourth largest population after China, India, and the US.) As war continues in Iraq and conflict — figurative if not always physical — between the West and the Islamic world rages, I wanted to see, first-hand, what an enormous, dynamic Muslim nation was really like.

And what was it like?
It’s easier to say what it wasn’t like, actually. There were no anti-Western riots in the streets. I perceived no hostility when I told Indonesians I was from America. (It was the same case in Malaysia, another majority-Muslim nation — indeed, the world over, my experience has been that while people tend to dislike American foreign policy, they usually like American citizens.) Given the manner in which the Islamic world figures in news stories that appear in the Western media today, it can be tempting to assume that many Muslims harbor a deep-seated hatred of the West, and that militant Islamic fanaticism is much more common than it is.

Seeing Muslims go about their daily lives — the simple act of eating with Indonesians, of chatting with them, of seeing women in headscarves consumed with laughter and men drinking coffee together and telling jokes — served as a counterpoint to my image of life in the Islamic world, as hard as that is for me to admit. People go about their lives in Indonesia, of course, just like they do everywhere else in the world. Indonesia is a nation of over 220 million people; while extremists no doubt exist there, my feeling was that that the vast, vast majority of citizens were apolitical.

While I was in Jakarta, I met up with a friend of a friend who’s an American Foreign Service Officer there. Part of her job is to interview Indonesians who’re applying for visas to study in the US. One of her questions, she said, is what these applicants would like Americans to know about Indonesians. Nine of ten respond along the same lines: “I want them to know we’re not terrorists.”

How not to be a sucker in a drug-smuggling scheme
Anyone who’s familiar with the Schapelle Corby case – or the dreadful movie “Brokedown Palace,” for that matter – will recognize the potential peril I faced in checking in for my flight from Kuala Lumpur to Jakarta. As I was waiting in line, a young woman – perhaps 25, clean-cut, and attractive – tapped me on the shoulder. Her friend, she said, was 15 kilograms over the limit for checked bags. Would I mind taking a bag for them, the woman asked, since I had only a small backpack and no luggage to check?

I politely declined.

The woman walked away. They didn’t look like drug dealers’ girlfriends, and that was one reason I was suspicious. I consider myself to be a good Samaritan, but carrying a bag into a Indonesia for two complete strangers is not something with which I feel even relatively comfortable.

People doing nothing
I observed something in Jakarta that I’d yet to see on this sojourn – and that, in fact, I hadn’t seen since my days in South America’s developing nations: people doing nothing. Men and women on the side of the street. Simply sitting there. In the middle of the day. All day long. Perhaps it was due to Indonesia’s high unemployment rate?

Tourists as novelties
It’d also been a while since I’d been in a place where people routinely approach me and ask to take photos with me. Part of it, no matter where I travel, is due to the fact that I’m tall and conspicuous. But there also seemed to be very few tourists in Jakarta, so seeing someone like me walking down the street was a rarity. In addition to the image at the top of this post, here’s another one — I was at the top of the Monumen Nacional when a father asked to take a photo of me with his child. Unfortunately the pic didn’t come out very well (but don’t miss the kid’s jaunty red sunglasses):

Stray Cats
There were stray cats everywhere in Jakarta. One evening I returned to my hotel room at midnight and found one feasting on a fellow guest’s room service leftovers. The cat didn’t live in the hotel. And my room was on the fourth floor. An enterprising feline, indeed:

Cartoon wars
Okay. Now this is bizarre. I didn’t know much about Indonesia’s ongoing conflict with separatists in the province of Papua. So when the Australian government accepted a boatload of Papuan asylum seekers during my time in Jakarta, I was surprised at the Indonesian government ’s resultant anger. One local paper, in fact, ran a cartoon depicting Aussie Prime Minister John Howard and his Foreign Affairs Minister as copulating dingos. Not to be outdone, an Australian paper struck back with a canine version of a similar cartoon. It shows Indonesian president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono mounting a Papuan. Wow.

More pics
Here’re the rest of my photos from Jakarta, though I regret that they’re neither numerous nor particularly exciting.

In my newest Gridskipper dispatch, I discuss my visit to Dragonfly, a popular Jakarta bar/restaurant, a few weeks back.

I’ve just posted a bunch of photos from my recent trip to Koh Phangan, Thailand.

Here’re a few of my faves:

Twilight on the beach outside our bungalows; glowing squid boats visible on the horizon.

View from my bungalow.

“Good Food. No Diarrhea.”

Urinals to the right.

Getting off the boat in Chumphon.

Sunset.

Songkran (Thai New Year) revelers.

My blinged-out beach glasses.

Full moon party on the beach.

Drink bucket.

My brother Mechum, John, and Me.

I just got back to Bangkok after a few days at the beach — Koh Phangan, to be exact. Was there with my brother and his pal John, who are visiting Thailand from Korea. (You might recall these two from the notorious french fry-encrusted corn dogs incident in Seoul a couple months back).

Photos to come.

I had the pleasure of meeting Lee and Sachi Lefever two nights ago. I’d corresponded with Lee for a while but I’d never had a chance to meet him or Sachi in person.

As luck would have it, we were all arriving in Bangkok at the same time (I was coming from Jakarta and they were coming from India). So we met up and had a few drinks at Saxophone Pub. They’re both enthusiastic and interesting people, and I’m delighted to have had a chance to hang out with them.

Lee and Sachi quit their jobs in Seattle in December and are currently traveling around the world. And they’re chronicling their experiences on their excellent blog, The World is Not Flat (otherwise known as TWINF). In addition to making good use of moblogging technology, their site is radical in that they’re soliciting travel advice from the public. They’ve got about eight months to go, so be sure to check out their site and contribute your own recommendations.

Below’s a pic Lee took of us on a Bangkok Skytrain platform using his Treo Smartphone (a gadget of which I am highly envious), and here’s his account of our night.

Before I tell you about Indonesia, let me relate the details from my final days in Malaysia.

As I mentioned before, I enjoyed myself immensely there. In no small part because of the food, which consists of various cross-pollinations between Indian, Chinese, and Malay cuisines. Here’re a few pics:

After five days in Penang, a pal and I drove down to Ipoh for lunch and then continued on to Kuala Lumpur. (Ipoh is famous for both its food and for producing beautiful women such as Michelle Yeoh.) Then it was on to Kuala Lumpur.

KL boasts the famous Petronas Towers, which together are the world’s third-largest building (after Taipei 101 and the Sears Tower). Indeed, the towers are…well, imposing:

And, finally, the people: The Malaysians to whom I talked were outgoing and extremely helpful — and, more than anything, delighted to explain their country to a curious foreigner. Here’re a few of the faces I encountered during my journey:

And here’re the rest of my Malaysia photos.

Up next: Indonesia.

I just got back to Bangkok after four days in Jakarta. I have many things to say and some vivid images to share. Which I shall do tomorrow.

That’s right: I’ve acquired a new addition to my metro card collection. You’re looking at the Kuala Lumpur Monorail single-use card.

The system gets high marks in my book (and I am a strict grader): it’s cheap; if offers powerful air con; trains run frequently; and the system (in conjuntion with KL’s other LRT networks) covers a wide swath of the city.

Malaysia is renowned for its ethnic and religious diversity. Indeed, the monorail car in which I rode yesterday contained the following:

1. a Muslim woman wearing a head scarf;
2. an ethnic Chinese teenage girl wearing a skimpy outfit;
3. an Indian man sporting formal business attire;
4. a Malay Buddhist monk; and
5. me.

In my most recent Gridskipper dispatch, I discuss the unique KL guest house I’m currently calling home.

I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Friday. I’m enjoying Malaysia immensely. It’s a country I didn’t think I’d see on this trip, but I’m delighted to have popped across the border from Thailand. I’ll relate the backstory in due time; until then, I leave you with the following photos devoid of explanation. Details to come.

I arrived here on Monday morning. Flew in from Bangkok. Fantastic place, Penang. More text and some photos to come soon.

I’m back in Chiang Mai after five days in the sleepy, beautiful, farang-inundated town of Pai. Here’re some pics. I’m off to Bangkok tomorrow night, and have many more images I’ll be posting then.

Self-portrait on my rented 125cc Honda Dream motorbike:

Two sunsets:

One of Pai’s main streets:

I made it to Chiang Mai yesterday. Here’s a pic of me with a buddy. More images and text soon.

Phnomenon is an excellent new food/drink-centric Cambodia blog. It is for the Kingdom what Noodlepie is to Vietnam.