Life in Jakarta seems hectic. For me at least. With over 10mil. population, this city is constantly abuzz with life. And although KL with it's meagre 4mil population is awake 24-7, it's drastically laid back compared to the Big Durian.

I don't have any problem communicating here except that I've become terribly conscious of the different words and meanings Bahasa Malaysia (BM) has with Bahasa Indonesia (BI), along with certain titles used to address people here. Some of the differences are like the word bisa which means "poison" in BM, while in BI it means "can" or a variation of yes. Whereas "can" in BM is boleh. Not that they won't totally understand me, if they're aware I'm Malaysian. But I like to learn quickly to blend in. Especially since it'll be required for my script work. ^_^ Unless I get caught doing something I'm not supposed to, like use my video camera, then I'm a non-bahasa speaking tourist! LOL

I like the BI sentence intonations are compared to BM, the latter which is comparably quite flat sounding. I'm already starting to speak in Indo with the right intonations, according to a colleague. Heheh... The other thing I was puzzled with was how they tell time here. Instead of half past ten, they say it the other way around. E.g. "Jam setengah sebelas" meaning half and hour to ten o'clock.

Addressing people is also something we share that's very Asian. In Java, men of around the same adult age are addressed as Mas, and women Mbak. The general address for people slightly older or out of respect is Pak for men, and Ibu for women. The funny thing about me being addressed as Ibu is that in BM, it means mother. That's going to get a while to get used to. Better than being called "Aunty" back in Malaysia, I guess! =P But I don't look that old anyway. Hahah.. I was asked for my ID at Dragonfly this week. =P

the bajajGetting around Jakarta on your own isn't easy. There aren't any MRTs or LRTs. And uniquely Indonesian public transportation like the ojek (motorcycle pillon riders) and bajaj (three wheeled motorcyles like Thailand's tuk tuk) look quite scary, but it's more cost effective for the locals. As for taxis, I found out from my first time here two years ago, only Bluebird and Silverbird taxi companies are reliable. And even then, locals and expats will tell you to be very very cautious of rogue drivers. So having a supir (driver) in Jakarta is more a necessity than a luxury. Jobs aren't readily available for the locals, so it's commonplace to get a supir. Most of the time, they come with their own Toyota Kijang (same as the Unser).

Despite the availability of a supir, I kind of miss having Wendy to just jump in and get around KL. Driving on my own gives me a feeling of independance. Of course, I don't think I'd be able to bear driving in the infamous Jakarta macet (jams).

I can't think of anything else at the moment. I guess that should suffice for a review for now. ^_~