Jakarta, Indonesia

Our sail-in, as anticipated, was heartwarming. Families of many crew members were on the pier early in the morning to greet their loved ones. Small children could be seen waving & jumping with excitement as they spotted their mother or father on the lower decks. Tears of joy were exchanged as the ship inched closer to the dock. Along with many other passengers, we posted a note on our door stating ‘no service’ for the day, and we’ll do the same tomorrow in Bali where there will be more family reunions. Unfortunately, crew members are only given a few short hours off duty to spend time with their loved ones unless the guests (passengers) actually post ‘no service’ notes on their doors. By doing so, it affords the stewards a few extra precious minutes with their families & friends.

We didn’t attend the sail-away at 5:30. We’d rather experience tears of joy instead of sadness. It will again be several months before some of these crew members are able to return home. You may wonder why these folks sign up for months at sea? Surprisingly, a job on a cruise ship provides an income much higher than they would otherwise be able to achieve in a land-based career. In general, Indonesia is quite poor – they are willing to sacrifice family time in order to provide a decent income. It’s tough to hear some of the stories…many have VERY young children…some have never seen their newborn. Again…tough life, but when you see living conditions in Jakarta and some of the other countries in this part of the world, it’s easy to understand why they make the sacrifices they do. In reality, it’s much the same as military deployment – loved ones are gone for months at a time. God bless them all.

To digress for a moment, Halloween was a lot of fun. I included a few photos in a separate post – Cheryl as a witch & yours truly as an Angry Bird. Many folks were very creative and went ‘all-out’ – while some merely wrapped themselves in toilet paper but a good time was had by all. Our Halloween started at 4:00 with a private party hosted by two of our tablemates. They were fortunate enough to book a penthouse on deck #7 so they had room for about 15 couples. Very nice time – met several new folks, had some appetizers, a drink, and it was off to Happy Hour. With dinner at 5:30, it was a challenge to wedge my ‘Angry Bird’ base into the chair but I made it. The costume contest started at 9:00 up in the Crow’s Nest, but (surprise) you had to stay on the dance floor for 15 minutes while the judging panel evaluated everyone. Neither of us dance…so no sale. We grabbed chairs, talked a while with friends and wrapped things up by 11pm – WAY past my bedtime…but I compensated last night with lights out at 7:00!

Our 9:30 tour for the day was labeled ‘Jakarta Highlights’. I’ve always been brutally honest with my posts, & Jakarta will be no different. As first-time visitors, we were advised to take this particular tour as it was intended to give you a general feel for the city. We were forewarned about transport & road traffic and believe me, the first thing that strikes you in Jakarta is the traffic: Motorbikes, cars and rusted minibuses literally ‘herd’ through the streets of this chaotic Indonesian metropolis. Traveling across Jakarta, even short distances, could mean spending hours in nearly unbreathable, polluted air. Our tour guide, who lives less than 20 miles from his office, says he must leave home by 5:30 to arrive at work by 8:30. At one point, our bus was at a standstill for nearly 30 minutes. At times there are six lanes of muddled vehicles trying to squeeze into two lanes. We also saw a three-lane road expanded to five lanes with vehicles using shoulders on both sides. Most traffic lights were inoperable – others were merely ‘suggestions’ – absolute madness!

The second thing that strikes is the lack of sewage and wastewater treatment systems. Ditches exposed and covered run along the roadside, collecting waste from homes, offices and industry before pouring into waterways across the city. One photo below in particular, captures one of these waterways and it’s so green it looks like antifreeze – amazing! By the time the wastewater reaches the nearby coast, it is black and polluted. A vile odor envelops slums like Muara Angke, a coastal community of poor fishing families who build their shacks on the waste from the processing of mussels. Greater Jakarta is a delta city of more than 10 million people, crossed by 13 rivers and hundreds of canals. It is estimated that about 2 million people commute daily to downtown Jakarta from the suburbs. The metropolitan area is the second largest megacity in the world (after Tokyo-Yokohama), home to an estimated 28 million people and comprising the satellite cities of Tangerang, Depok, Bekasi and Bogor. Data shows that Jakarta’s population grew by 34.6 percent between 2000 and 2013, ranking it among the top 10 of the world’s fastest growing megacities. I think what bothered us the most was looking at the grand, meticulously maintained presidential palace & other government facilities in contrast with general living conditions. There just seems to be a major disconnect.

Together with pollution and population growth, climate change poses a real threat to Jakarta and its people. I recently read an article & study published in the journal Nature, & scientists write that Jakarta is one of the globe’s most vulnerable cities in terms of flooding. Coastline areas like Muara Angke, Pluit and Tanjung Priok regularly suffer from seasonal floods, monthly high tides and rising sea levels. Mainly composed of slums, these areas lack protection against high water or floods. Jakarta once benefitted from the natural protection of mangrove forests around its borders, but these are long gone. As recently as 1998, mangroves occupied 44,000 acres in Jakarta, West Java and Banten. By 2009, they had been reduced to just more than 11,000. Today only 300 acres of forest remain in Jakarta itself, and these face continual threats from pollutants and garbage. Moreover, slums now surround the northward reservoirs, which are supposed to receive water flooding from rivers and canals. In fact, slums are replacing the role of mangroves, as they act as a sort of urban, inhabited buffer to the floods. Locals are getting used to have their shelters inundated.

Although you can see new construction & high-rise buildings going up, I will share with you in all candidness - Cheryl and I thought Bombay (India) was the worst in terms of slums, poverty, & odor… but it actually pales with much of what we saw in Jakarta. According to a 2012 study, the number of residents living in poverty counts around 340,000. This is a conservative figure, though, as more than 20% of Jakarta settlements are slums, and there is a large share of undocumented immigrants. The number of poor people, then, might reach well beyond that official number. The poor usually work in informal sectors as drivers, scavengers, and so on. Slum areas occupy chiefly riverbanks, like those pictured on the Ciliwung. Shanties weaken the riverbanks and their inhabitants live with inadequate infrastructure, unhealthy surroundings and low accessibility to basic needs. They use the river water not only for sewage but also for bathing and washing clothes. Due to illegal residential development, the Ciliwung has no overflow basins. Flood waters enter directly into houses on its banks.

Jakarta is a place of contrasts, much the same as Bombay & Manila. There doesn’t seem to be a middle-road or middle-class. You’re either extremely rich or going to bed hot & hungry every night. No more than a crumbling wall might separate glassy luxury apartments from informal settlements, most with dirt floors. Elite and sub-standard housing stand side-by-side. On the positive side, Indonesia itself is Southeast Asia’s largest economy, with a growth of 6.5% in 2013. Jakarta is the biggest economic hub of the country, counting alone for 7% of the Indonesian GDP. Most of the new housing supply is targeted to the rich. Gated communities and high-rise apartments contribute to widening social segregation.

According to our tour guide, the Jakarta Capital City Government doesn’t have a policy specifically tailored to climate change, though it does have policies on disaster mitigation. After floods this past January, which killed 26, displaced 100,000 & caused millions in damages, the government has started to clear illegal settlements on riverbanks and around the north reservoirs, moving people to new popular housing. They definitely ARE making progress, but he says this is far from a permanent solution. Failing to adapt is not a viable option in coastal cities. The estimated adaptation costs are far below the estimate of aggregate damage losses per year, in the absence of adaptation. I asked him how Indonesians will cope with the many challenges facing their city, and he said it’s still an open question subject to much debate, and will inevitably take years (possibly decades) to resolve.

We were back to the ship by 3:15. Having missed lunch, we were both hungry but opted instead for showers and went straight to Happy Hour followed by our standard 5:30 dinner. With lights out at 7:00, I was up at my normal 3:30am but instead of working on blog posts from the Lido, I’ve since taken up permanent residence in the Library. It’s a much more comfortable environment to do laptop work – plus – there are several World Atlas & reference books readily available if I need to verify facts & other data.

A relaxing sea day today – great conditions on the ocean and in fact, we’ve had very smooth sailing since leaving Japan a couple weeks ago. Tomorrow, Bali – our second visit. Current plans are to take a private tour with our Happy Hour friends (Barbara & Orlin) and go to a Batik factory – specially designed & processed shirts/blouses. I know…sounds like a boring day but last visit, we took a jeep tour for nearly 10 hours and saw most all of the ‘touristy’ sites. Batik is very unique. We looked at several while in Jakarta but didn’t care for the color selection OR the prices…about $85. While we’d both like to have one, we’re told we should be able to get high quality between $35-$50 so hopefully, we’ll find what we’re looking for in Bali at a more reasonable price.

After Bali & the following day, we’ll be back at Komodo Island…home of the fierce Komodo Dragons. We’re still debating whether to return to the island, though we’re now running out of time to book the tour. The dragons are dangerous & deadly. Guards have been killed and the most recent fatality was a 9-year-old boy from China. One of our tour groups was attacked during our last visit (without incident), and I just don’t think we want to expose ourselves again. As it is, it’s a hot, miserable hike through the jungles on narrow, uneven dirt paths. Largely, the dragons lay in tall grass waiting for prey – they eat pigs and deer, raised on the island by the natives and fed to the dragons to satisfy their horrific appetites. Their bite alone is venomous – their saliva is saturated with deadly bacteria and unless you have anti-venom serum readily available, you die…it’s that simple. I don’t understand why cruise ships still visit Komodo Island. Granted, it’s a very unique experience and I’m glad we went the last time we were here, but it comes with a very real risk. I just have a feeling about this visit…and the more I think about it the more I’m inclined to just stay on the ship...Cheryl feels the same way at this point. We drop anchor at 10am & leave at 4:00. Inclined…but not convinced yet. More to come.