The stories of Random weird things happening to me here are endless....but lets just share a few....
Toilets...not that complicated....or so you would think....
Here bidets are very popular. Not really my thing, but it seems to be the chosen method of many here in Indonesia. For the most part it's not a problem....but in some really nice hotels, restaurants, etc... you have to look twice before you hit any button and assume it is going to flush.
On this particular night, I went to the restroom and didn't even notice that this toilet had the bidet "function." That was, until I hit the wrong button. I turned the wrong handle and this little nozzle came out from it's hiding place from under the toilet seat, like a turtles head, and started spraying water ALL OVER ME!
I swung myself out of the way and up against the wall thinking the water would stop automatically, but nooooooooo....it continued to spray and was shooting high up on the door and starting to flood the stall! I had to reach over and turn the handle back the other direction in order for it to turn off! Meanwhile I had gone to the bathroom alone, but when I screamed I heard a familiar voice from the other side of the door saying..."oh god, Joanna is that you?! there's water going everywhere!"
OOPS!!!
So, once I got the water turned off and the turtle pulled it's head back into it's shell, I found the REAL handle to flush and exited the stall with the right side of my body soaked from the waist down....NOT REFRESHING!!! I was disgusted! I was SO happy we had just finished happy hour and were headed home! but I felt sorry for the person who had to squeeze into the back seat of the cab with me!
Taxi drivers...If someone is hired as a taxi driver in a big city, I would think that they would have a clue about where things are in said city....they should know where they are going...but that's not the case here.
I can't tell you the number of times I have gotten into a cab and the taxi driver had no clue where I was trying to go. And sometimes I'm not going very far!! I could drive myself to my destination, but unfortunately I don't have a car....
One night, Kristen and I had just finished dinner in a neighborhood not far from our Apartments, and when we got in the taxi we asked the driver to take us to Our apartment. We gave as many landmarks as we could think of including Jakarta International School (which is not a small landmark) and Hotel Kristal which a large number of taxi drivers know...but not this guy....
We tried all of our limited Indonesian, but he kept saying "I don't know! I don't know! Speak Indonesia!!" but then he started driving!!! So with my, once again, limited knowledge of where we are going and knowing how to say Right and Left, I tried my HARDEST to direct him to our place, but with in minutes I was lost....and Kristen is no help...(sorry girl, haha)
Now, we just keep looking at each other laughing and trying to figure out what to do...he keeps talking and saying "Speak Indonesia!" so we just start saying all the words we know....Left, Right, straight, What's up?, what's your name?, I'm from America, I don't understand, Where are you from?, do you speak English?......and of course then he yelled..."No! Indonesia!" it was hilarious to see the two of us trying to spit out anything we knew....
I couldn't stop laughing, and then Kristen asked in Indonesian "What's your name?" and
he answered..."Micheal"....
NO!! hahaha!
So, I asked, "What is your family name?"
"Jordan!"
Kristen's response was..."well, you must be really tall when you stand up!"
I was dying! I was laughing so hard I started crying and couldn't control my laughter...
and he just kept talking in Indonesian.....
Then we looked up and started recognizing things around us and realized he was just messing with us the whole time! And since we had had such a great time laughing with this guy, Kris gets the bright idea to ask him for his phone number so we can call him directly when we need a taxi. Some taxi drivers eat this up....but not him...I think she may have creeped him out! hahaha!
That's right hottie....she wants your number so you two can hook up later! hahahaha!!
At least I burned off a lot of calories from our rich dinner.... :)
And finally Traffic and Turnarounds....
When I chose to come to Jakarta the 2 biggest complaints I heard about the city were the pollution and the traffic....and Man...they weren't kidding!
You are risking your life walking down the street! The scooters and motorbikes will drive anywhere to get around the cars that are stuck in traffic, leaving you no where to walk....but wait....there is no where to walk...no sidewalks, nothing...there is the sewer. But your taking a chance walking on the "covers" that could crack and then you'd fall into it....I'll pass!! So the edge of the road is your best bet, and if you stand your ground then most motorbikes and scooters will let you walk, but it's a risk. You could end up loosing an arm, toe, foot, or whatever else gets in their way. Not to mention the debris and particles that are flying all around you, into your eyes and mouth. YUCK!
Then if you take a taxi, so you don't have to walk, you sit in traffic for hours and move 10 feet. What's worse? Walking and breathing in all that pollution, or sitting in a taxi and not moving?! I can't decide....I know the day will come when I get out of a taxi and just start walking! and then maybe I'll be able to answer my question....Especially when I can see the place I am trying to get to passing by me on the other side of the road because we have to drive an extra 500 yards down the road only to make a U turn and drive back to it!!!
Oh Jakarta.....you are going to take some getting used to....
Toilets...not that complicated....or so you would think....
Here bidets are very popular. Not really my thing, but it seems to be the chosen method of many here in Indonesia. For the most part it's not a problem....but in some really nice hotels, restaurants, etc... you have to look twice before you hit any button and assume it is going to flush.
On this particular night, I went to the restroom and didn't even notice that this toilet had the bidet "function." That was, until I hit the wrong button. I turned the wrong handle and this little nozzle came out from it's hiding place from under the toilet seat, like a turtles head, and started spraying water ALL OVER ME!
I swung myself out of the way and up against the wall thinking the water would stop automatically, but nooooooooo....it continued to spray and was shooting high up on the door and starting to flood the stall! I had to reach over and turn the handle back the other direction in order for it to turn off! Meanwhile I had gone to the bathroom alone, but when I screamed I heard a familiar voice from the other side of the door saying..."oh god, Joanna is that you?! there's water going everywhere!"
OOPS!!!
So, once I got the water turned off and the turtle pulled it's head back into it's shell, I found the REAL handle to flush and exited the stall with the right side of my body soaked from the waist down....NOT REFRESHING!!! I was disgusted! I was SO happy we had just finished happy hour and were headed home! but I felt sorry for the person who had to squeeze into the back seat of the cab with me!
Taxi drivers...If someone is hired as a taxi driver in a big city, I would think that they would have a clue about where things are in said city....they should know where they are going...but that's not the case here.
I can't tell you the number of times I have gotten into a cab and the taxi driver had no clue where I was trying to go. And sometimes I'm not going very far!! I could drive myself to my destination, but unfortunately I don't have a car....
One night, Kristen and I had just finished dinner in a neighborhood not far from our Apartments, and when we got in the taxi we asked the driver to take us to Our apartment. We gave as many landmarks as we could think of including Jakarta International School (which is not a small landmark) and Hotel Kristal which a large number of taxi drivers know...but not this guy....
We tried all of our limited Indonesian, but he kept saying "I don't know! I don't know! Speak Indonesia!!" but then he started driving!!! So with my, once again, limited knowledge of where we are going and knowing how to say Right and Left, I tried my HARDEST to direct him to our place, but with in minutes I was lost....and Kristen is no help...(sorry girl, haha)
Now, we just keep looking at each other laughing and trying to figure out what to do...he keeps talking and saying "Speak Indonesia!" so we just start saying all the words we know....Left, Right, straight, What's up?, what's your name?, I'm from America, I don't understand, Where are you from?, do you speak English?......and of course then he yelled..."No! Indonesia!" it was hilarious to see the two of us trying to spit out anything we knew....
I couldn't stop laughing, and then Kristen asked in Indonesian "What's your name?" and
he answered..."Micheal"....
NO!! hahaha!
So, I asked, "What is your family name?"
"Jordan!"
Kristen's response was..."well, you must be really tall when you stand up!"
I was dying! I was laughing so hard I started crying and couldn't control my laughter...
and he just kept talking in Indonesian.....
Then we looked up and started recognizing things around us and realized he was just messing with us the whole time! And since we had had such a great time laughing with this guy, Kris gets the bright idea to ask him for his phone number so we can call him directly when we need a taxi. Some taxi drivers eat this up....but not him...I think she may have creeped him out! hahaha!
That's right hottie....she wants your number so you two can hook up later! hahahaha!!
At least I burned off a lot of calories from our rich dinner.... :)
And finally Traffic and Turnarounds....
When I chose to come to Jakarta the 2 biggest complaints I heard about the city were the pollution and the traffic....and Man...they weren't kidding!
You are risking your life walking down the street! The scooters and motorbikes will drive anywhere to get around the cars that are stuck in traffic, leaving you no where to walk....but wait....there is no where to walk...no sidewalks, nothing...there is the sewer. But your taking a chance walking on the "covers" that could crack and then you'd fall into it....I'll pass!! So the edge of the road is your best bet, and if you stand your ground then most motorbikes and scooters will let you walk, but it's a risk. You could end up loosing an arm, toe, foot, or whatever else gets in their way. Not to mention the debris and particles that are flying all around you, into your eyes and mouth. YUCK!
Then if you take a taxi, so you don't have to walk, you sit in traffic for hours and move 10 feet. What's worse? Walking and breathing in all that pollution, or sitting in a taxi and not moving?! I can't decide....I know the day will come when I get out of a taxi and just start walking! and then maybe I'll be able to answer my question....Especially when I can see the place I am trying to get to passing by me on the other side of the road because we have to drive an extra 500 yards down the road only to make a U turn and drive back to it!!!
Oh Jakarta.....you are going to take some getting used to....
