Read Part 1 here.

So here I am finally landed on Jakarta. First thing was the heat and humidity which quickly made me sweat quite a bit.

walking through the airport. Even with the AC, I already felt the humidity in the air
walking through the airport. Even with the AC, I already felt the humidity in the air

As soon as I stepped out from the airport, I met up with my uncle who drove me back to my house.

on my way to my house
on my way to my house

And what’s the fun of being in Jakarta? The traffic and the NO stop sign or traffic lights whatsoever in this multi intersections! This was just outside the street of my house..LOL!

bajaj are still around
bajaj are still around
we are about to cross this multi intersection to go to the street that will lead to my house
we are about to cross this multi intersection to go to the street that will lead to my house
gotta wait for our turn!
gotta wait for our turn!
no stop sign whatsoever in this multi intersections! (total 5 I think!)
no stop sign whatsoever in this multi intersections! (total 5 I think!)

Here’s a video to get you a feel how traffic in Jakarta looks like:

Home sweet home…
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Greeted by this bodyguard! He has no name but don’t try to play with him or he’ll bite you! He stopped barking at me when I started to give him a bit of food for a few days. Next time I know I should save some of those bread rolls from the airline food to give him!

Strong dog. He will bark to any strangers. My parents said he's an alive trashcan. He eats our leftover food - veggies, meat, bones, rice, you name it! No dog food whatsoever for this fella!
Strong dog. He will bark to any strangers. My parents said he’s an alive trashcan. He eats our leftover food – veggies, meat, bones, rice, you name it! No dog food whatsoever for this fella!

The guest room where I was staying. This room used to be my brothers’ room.
Ignore the mess!
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The traditional bathroom! Our house is a pretty old house. We don’t have showers here so we need to have a tub filled with water. We DO NOT jump into the tub! Instead we use that blue “scoop” (we call it “gayung” (guh-yoong) in Indonesian) to scoop out the water to rinse ourselves. The toilet that we have at our house is a seated toilet.
The plumbing system at our house doesn’t have strong water flow, so we have to manually flush the toilet. Use a bucket of water to flush the toilet, especially after you do your number 2 business.

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Traditionally, people usually use this squatting toilet. Ha…you bet you need to be able to squat ATG (Ass to Grass). I actually prefer using this type of toilet when at public restroom because I don’t need to worry touching the public toilet seat.

squat toilet at a public restroom.
squat toilet at a public restroom.

This was my old room, which now is occupied by my uncle (geez how many more thing he could squeeze in here?)
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My old clothing cabinet with various stickers that I collected.

Kamen Rider (left hand side picture of a bug looking figure)
Kamen Rider (left hand side picture of a bug looking figure)

One of my crayon drawing that I got first place in a drawing competition when I was in a grade school.

I vaguely remember the theme is a morning walk with the teacher. :)
I vaguely remember the theme is a morning walk with the teacher. 🙂

My drawing trophies. According to my dad, one of them has my name engraved on it.
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During my relative short visit, these pictures below pretty much summarized my activities there:

Went to traditional market to shop groceries (veggies especially since I ate about a pound of veggies everyday) with my parents every morning. This market started very early, like around 5am. You better went there early enough to get the good stuff or they would sold out if you went too late. We usually there around 6am. It was about 10 minute walk from our house. Veggies and produce are seasonal. What you saw on one day wouldn’t be the same the next day. Talking about a TRUE farmer’s market!

Another vendor that parents usually go to get veggies/produce
Cash only please.
One of my parent's regular vendor for produce.
One of my parent’s regular vendor for produce.
Fresh coconut milk/grated coconut/coconut water in process
Fresh coconut milk/grated coconut/coconut water in process
Fresh coconut milk anyone?
Fresh coconut milk anyone?

WARNING: Some pictures below might not be appropriate for those with faint heart!

chicken butchering area
chicken butchering area

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I didn’t see any ice box, cooler box whatsoever for any meat section. Everything was displayed on the counter. In fact this place doesn’t even have any AC!

fish area - very fishy and stinky.
fish area – very fishy and stinky.

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I went out with some of my high school friends enjoying some Indonesian food

can't go wrong with satay slathered with peanut sauce - YUM!
can’t go wrong with satay slathered with peanut sauce – YUM!

Or went to an even more traditional a restaurant in the hole type:

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Spicy egg, Indonesian beef stew (rendang) and saute squash. You pick any dish that want from the display and then pay the total amount.
Spicy egg, Indonesian beef stew (rendang) and saute squash. You pick any dish that want from the display and then pay the total amount.

I didn’t dare enough to eat the street food. Don’t want a chance getting a stomach ache!

various street food
various street food

Met up with some of my cousins and their kids, my little nieces/nephews (In Asian culture, we consider our cousins’ kids as our nieces/nephews, instead of second cousins) – Extended family thing. So their kids actually refer me as “Aunt”, my parents as “Grand Uncle/Aunt).

Watching nieces/nephews enjoying a ride in a bajaj
Watching nieces/nephews enjoying a ride in a bajaj

Most of the time, I enjoyed my meals with my parents at home.

Veggies, meats, you name it!
Veggies, meats, you name it!

No pictures, but I brought some of my portable exercise equipment (mostly resistance bands and a yoga mat) so I could still pump my muscles 2-3 times during my stay plus some bodyweight workout circuit that I came up with.

Visited some places (temples)
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Then went to shop for snack goodies to bring back to the States for friends.

various snacks in bulk for sale.
various snacks in bulk for sale.

My friend whom I've known since junior high is tasting the snack before deciding to buy it
My friend whom I’ve known since junior high is tasting the snack before deciding to buy it
Sealing the bags of the snack goodies that I bought to bring back to the States
Sealing the bags of the snack goodies that I bought to bring back to the States

The not so good experience is I got TONS of mosquito bites! Boy they surely LOVE imported blood…LOL!

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Without realizing it, it was almost my time to go back to the States.

Stay tuned for the final part of this series!

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