Life's been pretty exciting this past week.

JAKARTA was amazing:
1. Simply blown away by the kind hospitality showered on us by the Client.
2. thought working life in Sg was tough? The trip made me think twice about that.
3. Never had that many donuts at one sitting! J.Co is way better than Krispy Kreme!
4. Instant coffee with great aroma = coffee with sediment
5. Steering the wheel single-handedly while messaging or talking on the phone with the other = Piece of cake.
6. Shopping malls are all MEGA malls
7. Bread Talk,M.phosis,Bakerzin,Mango,Zara,Carrefour...even Ya Kun kaya toast have set foot in the bustling city.
8. Traffic never ceases. Traffic jams are the norm, do not expect to reach the airport on time if you do not buffer sufficiently.
9. Something as simple as crossing the road can be dangerous for your personal safety.
10.There isn't really a moment when the air does not stink.

I loved the respectfulness of the locals, the gentle yet friendly nature of the ladies and the cheeky friendliness of the men we met. True, we started off each meeting all a little distant and careful but ended each one on a high note interspersed with innumerable humourous incidents.
From my initial impression, people travel to Jkt for business reasons. Few would come here to learn more about the culture or if so, would travel on to Bogor or Bandung or even Lombok, Sumatra, Java. Life is anything but easy for the locals, unless you are rich and even so, it is about keeping up with the appearances.
Wandering the streets is not considered safe, even amongst the locals. Jakarta is a capital city that is not want of much except the environment that allows their people the freedom and capacity to enjoy the fruits of their labour.