Indonesia - Part 1: TRAVEL and Jakarta

On Monday, March 18th, Phil and I embarked on the trip of a lifetime.

The first 34 hours were spent on airplanes and in airports (Tampa to LA was 5.5 hours, LA to Taipei was 14.5 hours, and then Taipei to Jakarta was 5 hours).

 We had a 3.5 hour layover in Taipei, and it was 6:00 AM (although time has no meaning when you're traveling internationally), when we feasted on a bunch of authentic Chinese cuisine.

 Phil wanted to try something new and adventurous at every meal (Exhibit A: Thousand Year Old Egg) while I simply wanted to find something that wouldn't upset my already nauseous pregnant belly.

We arrived in Jakarta at 2:30 PM on Wednesday, and the two hour cab ride back to Ann's apartment was a quick introduction to Indonesia.  For lack of a polite way of saying it, I barfed ALL OVER MYSELF on that herky-jerky drive through the crowded streets of Jakarta.

This is the view from Ann's apartment on the 20th floor.

  

If you've read this blog for any length of time, you know that it's impossible for us to visit a new place without also visiting its zoo.  On our first full day in Indonesia, we went to the zoo.

After 8 blessed years with my dear husband, it's time that I confess that this is purely an act of love on my part.  I am not an animal person.  I am not a zoo person.  I am not a "walk around in the stifling heat and humidity while miserably pregnant" kind of person.  I kept snacks in one hand and water in the other,
and that is how I will remember the Jakarta Zoo.

Phil, on the other hand, was a CELEBRITY!  NO JOKE!  There were multiple times on our trip that he was asked to be in a picture with the locals.  They must have thought he was someone famous, or a basketball player or something,
because they just couldn't get enough of him.

The zoo was enormous...although many of the habitats were empty or overgrown.  It gave us a greater appreciation for Busch Gardens.

 These were the two kangaroos...one of which I was certain to be dead.

 We had to pay extra to see the primates, but our tickets included "assurance"...INSURANCE.  Just makes you wonder when/why that was added to the price of admission.

So...there you have it...Jakarta and The Zoo!