| Nov 26, 27 & 28 - 2002 -the departure | [next] |
[My JAL 747 aircraft docked in Vancouver]
| Well looks like I made it and found a computer in the room where I'll be
staying here for the first week in Indonesia. It's really hot and humid here but
first let me start off when I got to the airport at Vancouver. So did my mad
craziness stop when Noel generously dropped me off at the airport? yeah right
guys, everyone knows me better than that! I found out when i tried to cash my
american traveler's cheques that they were all in Canadian funds!! can you
believe that?? the bank ripped me off on the exchange rate and sold me canadian
dollars at an american price!! so with only 2hrs until my flight, I had to do
even more emergency craziness to get my money back before going overseas (can
you imagine trying to do that from here in Indonesia? yeah right). so after much
yelling I got the bank to instantly wire me the rest of the money they owed me
and I just got cold hard us funds thus completely eliminating the security of
traveler's cheques to begin with. anyhow, everything went fine as soon as I got
on the plane but holy crap was I tired... haden't slept for 3 days before that
and haven't had a proper night's sleep in 3 weeks yet. oh well, tonight I'm
gettin' some fer sure! hahaha. so the plane ride to Tokyo was fine, I slept for
alot of it and took advantage of the whole free liquor from Japan Airlines.
ah... free kirin beer...
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(thank you Salim of Tripzter Travel in Vancouver!!). I had this tiny ass room
but it was perfect for me. Ate at one of the hotel restaurants and that was
about it for sightseeing. I didn't even see Tokyo at all. but I didn't care, I was just happy to be in the country. I was also facinated with Japanese T.V.!! wow totally different than north american style!! I happen to obtain a Yukata (a japanese style robe) from the hotel. hehe... sucks that it says "Hotel Nikko Narita" all over it but whatever.
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[my plane docked at Tokyo Narita International taking passengers
for Jakarta]
| I caught my plane just fine at Narita and everything went quite smoothly. The plane
ride itself to Jakarta was wicked, had 3 seats to myself by the window. Got to
Jakarta and oh man the humidity just hit me like a huge wave. wooosh!! The
airport was really beautiful too! alot of natural wood and couryards filled with
palm trees and little huts and stuff. quite enjoyable to look at. I lied on my
customs declaration form and didn't put anything (although I did have my whole
computer taken apart in my backpack). the plan worked perfectly fine and they
just let me go through without checking... sweet. My uncle also wasn't there. so
I was kinda screwed. see at least in Japan i'm relatively ok if I'm by myself, I
know enough basic japanese to get things figured out but in Indonesia, I have no
language skills.
So this porter just hung around me for a while chit chatting and just making sure I was ok (he just wanted tips I'm sure but I could use the company and the help so it was perfect). really nice guy though, I forgot his name but I have a picture of him. Him and his buddies were trying to convince me to take their transport over to my uncle's house. hehe.. yeah right, fuck that shit. I'm not going into Jakarta by myself, somebody will try to take advantage of this obvious tourist like these guys were already trying to do. So I just told them I'm going to wait for him. waited for over an hour outside in front of the McDonald's (yeah I know, wha??? really popular here too, they even have fried chicken and rice, but obviously I didn't order anything). Also the scent of just being outside in Indonesia is awsome!! it's like god decided to fill the country's air with a type of musky incense or something. really soothing and enjoyable to breathe in. all I remember from this city is the polution, but somehow it's nice now. My uncle eventually showed up, aparently right when he was about to leave the house to come get me, my grandmother was having some pains so he had to take her to the doctor's. then there was a shitload of traffic. but I didn't care about the delays so much, I was a little worried about him but I was pretty self content. The drive to his home was funny and scarry.
I thought so many times we were going to get into an accident but that's just the way they drive around here. turn and go whenever they feel like it, use the shoulder when they feel like it and signal only a second before they actually turn. The highway was just another highway to me except the vehicles are a little different. when we got off it was cool, all the little booths selling fresh foods and little whatevers. His house is really nice and the area is enjoyable too! nice night air and atmosphere with the houses and neighbourhood setup. Lotta pictures so no worries. It was really really refreshing to see my grandmother again... been so long and this is only the third time I've seen her, so alot of hugs were definately in order. I took a shower to refresh myself and ate some delicious foods my grandmother prepared. |
