A Glimpse of Jakarta

A month ago I had my first business trip abroad. I was sent to Jakarta to assist in the holding of the board of directors' meeting of our Indonesian subsidiary. Naturally, I was so excited about the trip for many reasons. It was my first time in Jakarta andit is via the famed Singapore Airlines or SQ with a stopover at Singapore at that which means I can spend a few hours there to visit a friend, and it was all expenses paid. Jakarta would be just my the third overseas destination - yes, another stamp to add to my passport.

Day One - I woke up at 4:00 am, because I had to be at the airport by 5:30 am. I weighed my bags the night before and it weighed in excess of 20 kilos. Naturally, I panicked! Mon, my companion for the flight (who I haven't personally met) said he'd be there at 6:30pm. I prayed for things to fall into place and luckily, I found myself standing in line in front of Mr. Cabredo, one of the directors who will be attending the meeting with us. He agreed to check in my luggage with his and as it turns out my baggage is not in excess of the load limit since what is weighed is just the luggage to be checked in. Hehehe. I totally forgot about that! Di naman kasi ako masyado excited. Hehehe.

Flight is at 8:20 am but the plane had to queue at the runaway so we were able to lift-off at 8:40. We arrived in Singapore at 11:40am, barely enough time to run from the arrival gate to the boarding gate of the flight to Jakarta which is located at the other end of the very long terminal. It was like scaling Megamall Building A to Building B twice over. Needless to say, I was thirsty and out of breath when we arrived at the Boarding Gate where I met the other directors, Mr. Alejo, Mr. Tempongko who with Mr. Cabredo looked happy and refreshed unlike me. In just a matter of seconds after arriving, the boarding gate opened and we bagan our flight to Jakarta. It was a short one hour flight. Still, yummy lunch with equally yummy dessert was served along with a selection of wines (I had red wine). So that was how I spent my entire flight to Jakarta - eating. :) I need not say that since seeing the individual monitors per seat and having had my breakfast, I was already an SQ fan.

Oh, I also read the Strait Times (a major Singapore newspaper) and the Jakarta Post where I saw a notice that the auditing firm we were to appoint had changed its name. Shucks. That meant I'd have to revise the pre-prepared minutes of the meetings ready for signing, not to mention the script! Oh well, nothing can spoil my excitement nonetheless.

As soon as I stepped out of the departure area, I immediately perceived the uncanny similarity between Manila and Jakarta - is it the flourescent lighted airport, the courteous and smiling immigration officer at the checkout area, or the warm air pervading the building? My immediate impression was more than confirmed as we stepped out of the airport - even the vehicles and familiar and I could see that I couldn't tell the Pinoys apart from the Indonesians! Indeed they looked like our long lost cousins.

After a hour hour ride, we arrived at the Mandarin Oriental Jakarta where we are to spend two nights. Since the others proceeded with their operations report meeting, I took the chance to rest and unpack my things. After their meeting, we had dinner at Pondok Laguna. On our way there, I noticed that the street lights are much like the ones seen along Roxas Boulevard. :)

All I can say is that everything we ordered at Pondok Laguna were delicious and HOT! This is certainly the place to go to sample real Indonesian food. We ordered the "Dancing Fish", an artistically fried Garupa which meat was as tasty as its artful presentation. Other cuisines, while lacking in art more than compensated for its taste. The fragrant, fresh smelling boiled rice, or what we in the Philippines called kanin was served in a banana leaf lined native basket. Fresh coconut juices are served in its half-opened nuts. I do not remember the names of the dishes, only the experience of feasting on it. I particularly like the mildly hot and sour vegetable soup, similar to sinigang and Thailand's Tom Yam. No pork dishes were served of course so naturally, the dishes were low on bad cholesterol. Neither were beef dishes served but just the same, our group went home satisfied and very full. Pondok Laguna is one place I can confidently recommend as a must visit if you want to gastronomically experience Jakarta. If you think I can't run out of things similar between Manila and Jakarta - think again. Look at the picture which I took from the 19th floor of the hotel - traffic!

Day Two is meeting day. Breakfast was a long one which essentially cut my time for shopping. Before long it was lunch time and so I ate. Food was also served during the meeting (which went well, thankfully!) but I didn't touch any. Dinner was at Xin Hua, a Chinese restaurant at Mandarin. Needless to say, the food was yummy! It was only after the dinner when I finally had the chance to see more of Jakarta.

Mon and Jay of our Indo sub took me on a tour or the Merdeka Suare. We passed by several government offices, the Presidential Palace (which has Mendiola-like cyclone wires), and the Catholic cathedral in front of the huge, multi story mosque (mashid ia the corect term actually). Our last stop is the Monument Nasional or Monas, an obelisk with a flame atop. The golden flame on top the Monas is made of real gold a gift from the former USSR to Sukarno which gift spurred negative sentiments toward him accusing him of being left-leaning. Sukarno was ousted from office soon via a coup led by Suharto.

Day Three was spent going to the airport en route to Singapore where I spent a copuple of hours having lunch with a friend. My trip to Jakarta literally offered me a mere glimspe of it. A week after my visit, Mt. Merapi erupted and a month later there was an earthquake at Yogyakarta. Still, I look forward to visiting Jakarta once more to see much more of it. Next time, I'll make sure to have no less than an adventure.

Going to Cheung Chau

Literally, Cheung Chau is the Cantonese noun which means "long island". Nope, I'm not going to NY because Cheung Chau is the tiniest island in Hong Kong which is shaped like a Coca-Cola bottle, post war era. In fact, I have recently been to it -- in thoughts only though.

Despite visting Hong Kong over two years ago, I have not heard about this tiny Hong Kong island, off the coast of Lantau Island - yes, the airport and Disneyland island, even though I've read about Lamma Island whose beaches, my friend says fell short of his Boracay white sand standard. It is only when I came across an advertisement in Businessworld for the Hong Kong Tourism Authority, soliciting entries for an essay in answer to the question did I came to know about Cheung Chau island. The question goes, "which of the four festivals during the Culture and Heritage Celebration would you like to see and why?" In the same ad, it was stated that the four festivals are the Birthdays of Tin Hau, Buddha, and Tam Kung, and the Cheung Chau Bun Festival, all of which are to be held between April 27 and May 7 this year. I quickly searched the net to know more about these festivals. Since the criteria for judging were creativity, impact, originality and cohesiveness/knowledge of Hong Kong, I read the write-ups posted at the HKTA website and then veered away from what I perceived were typical sites which would be read by would-be contest participants like me.

And so, this morning, I wrote my not more than 10 sentence essay in answer to the contest question which goes:

The Cheung Chau Bun Festival - the mere privilege of being a spectator is an experience I am most certainly looking forward to when visiting the "Fragrant Harbor."

Legends abound that Cheung Chau island, less than an hour away from Central via ferry and off the coast of Lantau Island (famous for Po Lin Monastery and its Giant Buddha and recently, Mickey Mouse's abode, Disneyland) has hidden treasures from pirates' booty, whose excursions to Cheung Chau was put to an end only after the rise of the temple in honor of Pak Tai, the Taoist God of the Sea. While digging is most certainly forbidden in the island, Cheung Chau's secrets caves with neolithic carvings, cradles artifacts of an ancient civilisation - its rich cultural traditions and the community's peaceful existence are like an enchantress which mesmerizes one to cease resisting the urge to take a dip and wade through the experience that is Cheung Chau. For such a tiny, seductively shaped island, it is a gastronomic paradise seeping with culture which intoxicates visitors to forget the fast-paced grind of the industrial world and submerge in its environ surrounded by inviting shops, ubiquitous sampans, windsurfing beaches and magestic temples. And as if it is not enough that the island itself is a beauty on its own, the weeklong Bun Festival, promises to bring to life the word "festive" in all sense of the word, rivaling any other cultural celebration for its vibrance, color, people and pomp. The bun race at the end of the festival calls to mind the palo sebo in Philippine fiestas where townspeople race to climb a greasy bamboo pole for a prize, only that the prize found at the end of the poles in Cheung Chau are buns, which are gastronomic delights in their own right. Children clad in colorful costumes, heart-thumping parades, and traditional Chinese opera are sights which I look forward not to miss. The mere thought of experiencing the Cheung Chau Bun festival floods my entire being with excitement. The food, the island, and the enveloping festivities permeating the air during the Cheung Chau Bun Festival is truly a hypnotic spell worth giving in to.

It would be nice to win the prize which is a 3D/2N Hong Kong package for two, inclusive of hotel accommodations, airport transfers and a half day city tour (hopefully no expensive portraits on ornate plates!). Still, the whole experience of discovering that peaceful tiny island in Hong Kong brought my thoughts back to planning a trip to Hong Kong. Afterall, I know now that I have other choices other than the staple and sole-ripping shopping, always on brisk mode streets and endless sightings of Giordano stores.