The Indonesian Tales: "Home sweet home in Jakarta"

My first real business travel led me to the capital of Indonesia, Jakarta. One month spent in this crazy city made it to my top 10 life experiences so far and I decided to let you know why through these short stories that I named "The Indonesian Tales".

One of my tasks in Jakarta was to contact embassies for professional networking purposes and the first one that I contacted, obviously, was the embassy of my home country. I googled up the contact information and wrote a kind of stupid e-mail asking about expat activities and community of Slovaks in Indonesia. For my surprise, I actually did received a response. And not only that but also the invitation to meet the ambassador in person.

Meeting was scheduled on one Tuesday afternoon at the embassy itself. The day came; I selected carefully what to wear and went through all the rules of etiquette that I could remember from my college times when I took a class on social behavior.  I must say I felt pretty important when the company driver, Tommy, stopped in the black BMW limo in front of the embassy. However, the best was yet to come.

I was received by a local lady offering me tea right after entering the main door. In a short while the ambassador himself appeared and led me to a small meeting room. "Welcome to Slovakia!", he said with a smile and I felt relaxed. He was a tall man in his fifties (I hope he won't read this cause I am terrible guessing the age :D). I had no idea how to behave and I tried to stick to my classy "general approach" behavior that many people refer to as cold. But then, out of a sudden the ambassador asked me a question of the day: "Would you like to get a shot of a Slovakian pear spirit?"

If you would like to imagine my face at that moment, don't even dare to try. I guess all the rules of etiquette were gone in that moment and I appeared to be drinking with the ambassador at 3pm on a working day. That afternoon meeting finished with the offer of a another shot and the invitation to attend Slovak national day in Jakarta this coming September.

It felt good to be 'in Slovakia' for a little while on that day and I hope I can make it in September because I have a feeling that the ambassador has more aces on his hand than that bottle of Slovakian pear spirit ;) Well, now I know why they say "home sweet home" ... 

Singapore haze ... moving to Jakarta

Although they are not related, these are the issues giving me a bad sleep at night ...

HOW NOT TO CHOKE IN SINGAPORE

Pollutant Standard Index (PSI) hitting 400 today. Reaching level of 300 is already considered hazardous for human health ... what else to say, you should see it on your own: Singapore in haze

From my personal experience, you know the air is polluted when:

1) You can see an orange sun "shining" from behind a grey veil few days in a row that reminds you of apocalyptic films and finally gets you environmentally conscious. 

2) You start coughing even indoors and smell bunt wood with all your windows shut and cannot remember that you was doing a barbecue dinner.

3) You see smoke inside of the shopping mall or even in the corridor of your office even though no one is allowed to smoke indoors.

4) Your eyes get itchy and infected and it is not caused by your late return from fiesta last night.

5) You buy yourself a face mask not because you admire Michael Jackson but because you cannot even cross the street without it anymore (Btw, pharmacies ran out of face masks in one day ... MJ would be happy seeing so many followers).

Moving on, I just happen to be in Singapore when the highest pollution ever threatens this city. I don't intend to blame anyone be it companies (maybe also from Singapore itself) that want to plant palm trees in Indonesia and local people trying to clear the agricultural land for these companies by fire because it's cheap and fast. Only one thing makes me wonder and gaze in relation to the big Singapore haze ... why am I still obliged to come to work which makes me spend 40 minutes in the health damaging environment ... 

Previously, when the PSI reached 250 all the people stayed at home already. Is making money (or better to say not losing them) over my health? But I guess it is the way people think here since I heard some locals saying "I wanted to come to work, I have a presentation to do" ... well good luck, I hope you won't choke when presenting (no offense, you know who you are ;) This is just how I feel it and you know I wouldn't compromise my health for the company's success). 

MOVING TO JAKARTA

Second issue, but nothing less important than the previous one, is my temporary placement in Jakarta. I am moving to the Southern hemisphere to spend working the next 27 days in the capital of Indonesia with almost 30 million inhabitants. I am hearing from every side that the city is a dangerous place and I cannot even cross the road  ... I have to take a cab which may take 1 hour to bring me just to the opposite side of the street due to the heavy traffic (4 lane roads each way in the plain city centre ... well, sounds a bit scary).

However, I made some research about the most dangerous cities in the world and I have to say Jakarta has not been mentioned even once in any of those resources. All the ranks to up to 30 were taken by cities in Brasil, Mexico and Latin America in general. To be honest, traveling to Southern America has always been my dream so experiencing Jakarta can only make me readier for my future "latino" trip ;)

Finally, looks like Indonesians are more scared of their own city and country than foreigners are. Of course, everyone should avoid danger while traveling but this is exactly how Singapore is - rules and sometime exaggeration of safety. Some call this place also a "Nanny state" because making videos on how to stand on the escalator or being scared to top up your travel card with the amount of more than 30 Dollars is simply ridiculous taking into consideration Singapore is one of the safest cities in the world. A bit of rebellion, dirtiness, chaos and danger is not that bad people. It brings "spice" to life and makes it interesting. Some of you will think I am crazy but actually I cannot wait to go to Jakarta and experience something that you would not find in the comfortable life of Singapore :) 

Fingers crossed that my living space in Jakarta will have a decent internet connection so I can bring you some first hand experiences and who knows ... maybe also busting some travel myths!

Prada Bags or How to Overcome a Cultural Shock

Since I am writing this blog you can assume I am alive, worked through the shock and ready for the "dragon boat" experience (if I finally stop promising and really go to that training on Saturday). But back to my experience of a cultural shock which was not as much based on seeing different people around me but more the conditions at work and how is the "business as usual" done in Asia.

Kiasu 

To understand a bit of local culture I have to explain again what is "Kiasu". Due to my understanding, and correct me if I am wrong, Kiasu is a really workaholic approach to life. Actually, one has no choice I'd say since people have at least 44 hours working week (French and Danish people must be shocked now :P). 

However, usual working week is even longer since there is a clause sneaked in your working contract (or at least in mine it is) saying "if needed stays also after usual office hours" - btw, I haven't seen the usual office hours stated anywhere ... Anyways, I feel really bad packing and leaving office at 6pm sharp since everyone seems to be still at their computer "saving the world".

Food Talks

I have already discovered that you cannot meet a Singaporean person avoiding a huge portion of some nastily caloric local food. Anyhow you wish to go around this rule, I think it's impossible since even instead of "How are you?" people rather ask you  "Have you already eaten?"

So one day, not avoiding a greasy banana roti prata, which is a sort of chapati style fried thick pancake, I got a another lesson on Singaporean culture. As explained by a friend, all Singaporeans go for 5 C in their life: Cash, Car, Credit card, Condominium and Country club membership.

Meetings and Prada Bags 

Soaking into the kiasu and materialistic culture even more, we get a lot of unexpected meetings at work recently and every single one of them had a word Prada in it - and no, I am not working for a fashion company in any way. 

Basically, it is used by my boss as a motivation for us, ladies, to work hard so he can buy us all Prada bags in return (I am sure that now 90 percent of my western friends look at the monitor with a face like "wtf"). Yes, I have never worn and never plan to wear a Prada bag ... if someone gives me that thing I think I will run into the first shop, sell it and buy me a nice vacation somewhere in Australia :D

BTW, business meetings take around 2 hours, are a complete chaos, noone says anything constructive because they kinda try to be polite and avoid anything that could in any way offend, or better to say challenge, someone and there is never an agenda sent prior to the meeting and same goes for the meeting minutes ... so the total outcome of this businessing in Asia is: no progress.

Gym Heals it All 

Firstly, I thought I wouldn't make it through these kind of meetings and materialistic talks but actually I have somehow digested the way people are maybe also thanks to my everyday gym hang out. In the gym, there is no difference between Asia and the rest of the world ... all this built up bodies and stupid staring into the mirror ... all inclusive!

Stay tuned for the Dragon boat quest! I am sure it will be pretty amazing if I ever make it (I am a bit scared :D). I am also "working hard" to bring you some food stories from Asian cuisine, tasting like crazy creatures of all kinds and fruits you have never seen. 

MacRitchie, Monkeys, Me

It's been a while since my last blog but it must be this "kiasu" culture here that is affecting me :D OK, just shortly, kiasu is a very much money oriented culture. Said in a simple European way ... workoholism; althought not a desired one in my case. It's just crazy working hours which make me wonder why would any European want to live entire life here under these conditions haha. Believe me, no matter your job is, the working hours are probably great comparing to Singapore. Let me elaborate on that some next time since I am preparing one more entry about the cultural shock I am having here.

Back to the title of this one ...

MacRitchie is this beautiful nature reserve that I can see outside my window. Of course, with this weather I am trying to make the best use of it. Going jogging in the jungle at 7am on Saturday mornings is one of the best ways how to recharge your batteries.

You could think this is way too early but I am telling you the park is already full at 7:15. These people here definitely don't sleep in. I have never seen so many people working out even on Sunday morning in Europe (OK, I mostly lived in Spain but I am sure elsewhere is not much difference).

Anyways, if you ever felt alone, be sure you can count on Monkeys that stroll around freely in the park. The nature here is just amazing. Monkeys everywhere! And reptiles ... if you like them as I do you just get distracted so easily ;)

Outdoors is the word for this place ... I already have a place to jog, I make sure to appear at the pool at least once a week and I've just spotted some kayaks at the MacRitchie water reservoir :P What's next? I've been invited to try something called a Dragon boat. Don't google it! Stay tuned and I'll tell you more if I survive my first training ;)

48 hours in Singapore

Keep left!

As a former British colony, Singapore inherited some particularities of this country: driving on the left, walking on the left, queuing left on the escalator. This makes me a bit confused about direction of buses I need to take so I got successfully lost a couple of times already.

MRT (Massive Rapid Transport) = Tube

Hi-tech nation

Yes, it’s true. It is not unusual to see grannies with iPhones and everyone (literally everyone!) watching series, playing games or chatting on the tube when going to/from work. When you see an Indian lady dressed in a traditional sari and she pulls out the most recent model of HTC and starts chatting, it is somehow extraordinary.

Kind People

Everyone is super caring! Lady in the shop showed me a yoghurt with live cultures to stay healthy (haha), public transport officer doing hell lot of work when I got lost at the bus terminal to help me get back home, my roommates being really caring and giving out their dishes to share, feeding me as well as a friend accompanying me to the bus stop with the umbrella when the rain started to pour and writing messages to make sure I didn't get lost again since it became my new hobby here.

Dining with locals, Guorong Chen - the caring friend

Bloody Mosquitoes

Before I decided to come to Singapore I made a serious research on dangerous animals :P but the only thing I could find on different forums and pages was a warning regarding mosquitoes since dengue fever and malaria are common in South East Asia (SEA). However, everyone claimed they have never seen a mosquito in Singapore. I was hoping to have the same experience but since mosquitoes love my “sweet blood” I wanted to buy some repellent right after arriving to the town.

When I first time arrived to my flat the first thing I got to meet in my room was a mosquito …  mosquito 0 : Lucia 1 = mission completed.

Hot Weather

Hot, hot, hot …  but with a cool breeze making this a perfect destination for me. I was scared of humidity but it is nothing as I expected. Moreover, all the malls have AC set to 16 degrees so actually I need to buy long jeans and cardigans to survive when shopping in a store or sitting in the office.

Tropical Nature

Well this is a city but I have a small “jungle” outside of my window. It’s amazing how green it can be and on the first sight you can see these are the rests of what once used to be a rainforest.

Fort Canning Park, just 2 minutes away from my office

Let me get back to you once I start working and get to know a little more about this interesting place. Remember +8GMT means I am waking up for work when you go to bed and I am wearing flip-flops all year round cause its 28 degrees at night J

When life gives you lemons …

16 hour trip is over and I am finally in Singapore. My friends know that Asia has been among the last places on my travel bucket list but when life gives you lemons, make lemonade. To be honest, I love lemonade and it can be pretty refreshing ;) So when the offer from Singapore came I told to myself “screw it, I am leaving”. After all, I had only heard praise on Singapore as being the New York of the East and here I am, starting my new life in the far East.

It’s hard to keep in touch with friends around the world by mailing them and as I know myself I will become so busy it won’t be possible to really maintain my relationships back home so I decided to update my blog often to share experiences and stories with those far away from me.

Read, comment, enjoy and most importantly keep in touch!