A Study in Contrast

This weekend has been an interesting juxtaposition of cultures. Last night I went out in Kemang, a Jakarta neighborhood. I ended up at an Irish bar listening to an Indonesian cover band singing everything from Maroon 5 to The Corrs. The fiddle player was pretty good, so their rendition of The Corrs was not half bad. 

Scene at the Irish bar.

After an evening of Irish - Indonesian culture, Alex and I decided to venture to Taman Mini (Beautiful Little Indonesia - think Indonesian Epcot). Naturally, the day started with a 2 hour public transportation adventure. It took three different Transjakarta buses and a angkot to get to Taman Mini. While making a bus transfer, I did get a good view of car free days in Jakarta. Every Sunday morning certain streets in Jakarta are closed to traffic. It was nice to see the streets clogged with bicyclist and runners opposed to cars, ojeks, bajaj, and buses. 

Car free street in Jakarta!

Once at Taman Mini I started to walk around the park visiting representation of everything from Bali to Sumatra to Kalimantan. I'll admit that after a while it all started to blend together. Then again it might be because the limited English translation - another feasting outfit that is what the last 7 plaques said. That was until I stumbled across the strains of Katy Perry and the Black Eyed Peas emerging from a special events tent. While I did not get to go inside the tent, the pop music extravaganza made an interesting soundtrack. 

Elephant chair

At the Bali site.

Dancing with a bear!

Right before I heard the strains of Firework by Katy Perry.

There were these neon colored animals roaming the park. This must be one of the worst jobs considering the overwhelming heat in Jakarta. Interestingly, on the way back from Taman Mini there were people dressed in sheep costumes along the side of the street.

Blue Pooh Bear ?

The castle - it was almost like the Magic Kingdom ;) Right before another English language interview!

One of the things that strikes me during my adventures is the abundance of cars. Even in the botanical gardens in Bogor or at Taman Mini there are cars roving the parks and ojeks zigzagging through the traffic. It makes me wistful for my little patio with its tree back in Little Rock.