Days 52-53 Jakarta Indonesia

Weather
85-90, overcast

Map

What we did
We took the ship provided shuttle to downtown and explored a mall, procuring a few items that we needed. After returning to the ship and resting up a bit, we then proceeded out after 7 pm for a night walk in the Chinatown section where after 6pm local vendors set up food booths lining the streets. Our guides took us to stalls where we tasted chicken satay with crispy onions, lime and hot sauce. Very tasty. Next we tried Durian, a very stinky fruit. They actually provided us gloves to wear when handling the fruit. The smell wasn't as bad as we thought it would be, the taste was slightly sweet with a soft, mushy texture. Many describe the odor similar to Limburger cheese. We saw vendors that had live cobras for sale (we didn't try them). We tried the fruit "rambutan" (which looks like a Lychee but less sweet and a little firmer). We finished with some fresh marinated fried chicken. We were then whisked off to to a downtown high rise and up to the 49th floor for a buffet dinner and live music overlooking the city that was sparkling. We arrived back at the ship at 11:45 pm and with little sleep proceeded out at 7am for another walking tour of Chinatown and old Jakarta.

The morning came early, but we were troopers and headed out on our tour. We arrived to see a traditional lion dance with music. We then proceeded to tour the local wet market (down a small alley that was crowded with people and scooters). Spices, fruits, vegetable, fresh fish and meats (although we didn't see any means of refrigeration). We then visited a Chinese temple and released birds at the end to earn good karma and let go of past troubles. After walking back through the market, we headed to the oldest Chinese pharmacy. There, medicines are mixed to order. They have a wooden cabinet behind the counter that contains all of the natural ingredients that they use. Very interesting. Next we went to a tea house for a rest, tea and snacks. After our break we then headed to old Jakarta with all of its old Dutch influence. They even built a riverfront like in Amsterdam. We visited a puppet museum where old puppets that were used to tell their history. After that we returned to our ship and a well deserved nap!