Though it's temporary, I have a hi-rise apartment on the 35th floor of a 41 floor tower. My floor is just above the 33rd floor. No, that's not a typo and you read it right. Indonesians have a thing about the numbers three and four in the ones column.

View from the balcony of my apartment.

We have a pool, gym, tennis courts, restaurants, ATM machines, and convenience stores right in the middle of shopping mall heaven. It isn't exactly a slum.
My new apartment has the same floor plan as the old one but mirrored. The view isn't any different but two levels higher. Some things are better and some things are not.
The one revelation about cooking was that my apartment electrical system wasn't built for cooking. If I plug my company furnished microwave into the refrigerator outlet, it blows the circuit breaker. Using my toaster oven forces me to turn off the AC as it blows circuits frequently. Neither of these breakers are tied to the circuit board in my apartment. I have to call maintenance to have them reset the breaker.
The maintenance guy started to recognize me from my multitude of electrical problems but I seem to have it under control. The geniuses from maintenance haven't tied one large toaster oven, in my bedroom, can play hell on a cheap/defective electrical system. I even got blamed by the maintenance folks when my AC unit blew the breaker while I was sleeping. Sure, I had the oven going, instantaneous water heater, stove, and a multitude of other appliances running at 0400. Unfortunately, the wiring in our apartment buildings isn't wired correctly...this coming from my electrical manager associate as we have others in the same complex with the same problem. It's common for working overseas. The cause of the blown breaker; an AC compressor that blew while running due to the improper wiring in my apartment. Expect more electrical adventures in the future.
Years ago, I bought an indoor electric grill that is designed to reduce smoke from the food. I had four chicken legs to barbecue. I had two exhaust fans going above the grill and the one in the bathroom too. The sliding glass door to the porch was open too. The smoke continued to roll off the grill yet the smoke detectors never went off. I've started carrying battery powered smoke detectors for those apartments that don't have smoke detectors. The one I brought for this assignment hasn't been opened. That's going to change.
One day, I started doing the math and figured that the five towers in my apartment compound hold the same or larger number of people than the town I was raised in. That boggles the mind.

My home in Jakarta, the Thamrin Residence. Living quarters start at level 10. My tower was the second from the right. Shopping mall heaven is just minutes awa.

Taxis, both car, scooter, and tuk-tuk are at your service. Yes, you can hitch a ride on a scooter but you need to negotiate the price in advance.

A scooter stand near my apartment...two-wheeled taxis for hire.

Jakarta has protestors for hire.

Want a picket posted for a day, hire a protestor or a bunch. Your cause may make the evening news.
In the US, we know May 1 as May Basket Day…delivering baskets of goodies to friends and loved ones. For the majority of the world, it's Labor Day. It was a legal holiday in Indonesia. The police were in riot gear early around the regular location for protests. Those that did work found alternate routes…a normal routine to avoid the traffic jams that follow. Reporters were ready for the ensuing story. Rumor had it that the Indonesian government was withdrawing price support payments from gasoline and the people weren't happy. Mother Nature squelched the protest with a major downpour that came and stayed for several hours. The protestors went home. The police stayed. The riot gear went back on the shelf.
One day, I entered a building near the protestors favorite protest point to find the TV cameras on the lobby floor. Often in the morning as I'm heading to work, I spot a TV crew preparing for a live feed with the square in the background. Connecting the dots, the TV folks cut a deal with the owners of the building to leave their equipment in the lobby so they can be live in the morning on the daily protest.

Another protest not far from the office.

Walking home, I compete with the scooter taxies and the food carts that line the way. I've sampled the local cuisine. It's generally fried. The slightest nibble leaves a greasy residue on my fingers even for a moment. The larger shacks along the sidewalks and alleys aren't too keen on refrigeration.
Their cleaning techniques worry me. A half-gallon of dishwater is probably used for a hundred diners. I'm not a clean freak but I'm not too keen on local cuisine. I generally view one rat crossing the sidewalk on each trip home. Stray cats are everywhere. I have no doubt it's cheaper than the foods I eat but I don't think my system would adapt too quickly.

Check on the photo...a local drink wagon. The packets are drinks; coffee, tea, fruit, cup of noodles...mix it and sell it to those who can't take a break from their jobs.

Gereja St. Theresia, Jakarta - One of two churches where I attend Mass.

St. Peter Canisius

St. Peter Canisius

St. Peter Canisius

You might call it a Facebook Moment but it never got posted there. I tried and it just came out wrong so I killed it. I call it a Bluelou photo opp. We had a one day holiday and one of the locals set up a tour of a local zoo. They actually call it a safari. It was a zoo where you remained your car as you drove through the exhibits. My mind kept drifting back to my safari in Tanzania. One of my contact lenses was giving me fits so it wasn't a fun trip but I went to please the others who were counting on me. There were some pretty cool animal exhibits.

I skimmed the children's zoo where you could get your picture taken with the animals...they looked pretty drugged up. It was the end of the tour and I went looking for something cold to drink. All they had that was cold was beer...I'd taken out my contacts before this but I'm sure that beer goggles would have numbed any eye pain I would have had.

"Go away! It's only Tuesday..."

As we approached the venue, folks along the road were selling bananas and carrots for feeding the animals. I've never seen so many carrots in my life...more than a grocery store. The animals would approach your car in search of carrots...scratch that for the tigers, lions, bears, and other carnivores or they'd scratch you.

You could ride camels and elephants. I skipped this part too.

A cool waterfall that was part of the park.

The Kimodo Dragon originates in Indonesia.

Still resting after the last idiot said I wasn't the king of the jungle...he tasted just like chicken!

President Obama canceled his trip to Bali when the government shut down. They've named a bar in Jakarta after him. I haven't seen any patrons in this bar.
About a year after I took this photo, I spotted a sign on the suddenly empty bar. They've moved. It's not on my bucket list to find the sequel.

Some folks need reminders. This sign is posted in our men's room. Don't laugh. Sometimes, sit don't happen! I've been in many countries where folks need this reminder. You haven't lived until you've pinched your rear on a cracked toilet seat.

Check out the photo. These signs are common gifts for weddings, business openings, child births, etc. Note the sign dwarfing the cab of the pickup holding it up (blue to the right of the photo). It's not uncommon to see entire blocks lined by these signs.

I've been trying to visit the Jakarta Cathedral, The Church of Our Lady of Assumption ever since I moved here. When the boss announced a half-day off on Saturday, I was in. I went to Saturday night Mass so my photo opportunities were minimal so I'll be back. Here's a couple of photos. I was impressed by the Gothic architecture. There was a lot of planning and detail. Mass was in Bahasa so I followed along on my computer.

The Jakarta Cathedral, The Church of Our Lady of Assumption

The Jakarta Skyline Photo By Pablo

Part of the Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Bus Line Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

Not sure what these two do but usually they're followed closely by loudspeaker with music blaring and someone to take up collections. Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

The Jakarta Cityscape Photo By Pablo

Currency in Indonesia is the Rupiah. As a rule of thumb, we use 1 USD equal to 10,000 Rupiah...another relatively worthless currency. Give the money changer a hundred dollars...become an instant millionaire. As value of the dollar has been slowly increasing, it's getting cheaper to live here...but not much.

The cost of living for expatriates is far from cheap. Currency continues to slide.

When I arrived, the Rupiah was about 9,600 to the dollar. The US Fed was buying back debt and the Rupiah slide to over 11,000 to the dollar. Since the Fed stopped buying back debt, the Rupiah is expected to stabilize.

This is not an illusion.

It is not uncommon. Four on a scooter...happens in Indonesia and many other places.
Ever since I arrived in Asia, I've been fascinated by how many riders the Indonesians can pack on one scooter. Trying to photo a four-headed scooter is about like snipe hunting…elusive. There's a school in my compound so there's lots of folk transporting their kids on the back of their scooters and that increased my odds of actually getting a photo. Like hunting, you must be vigilant. Even then, getting that perfect photo where everyone's in focus and the picture isn't blurry is a trick. As I walked to work, I was on the alert for the elusive four-headed scooter. The most I've seen on any scooter is Mom, Dad, and the three kids…five. I'm told the Jakarta police are stopping scooters with more than an operator and passenger as any more riders are deemed unsafe.
As it is now, the scooter operator is a menace to traffic. There are over nine-million people in Jakarta. I'd estimate three scooters to each car. The scary thought is that if everyone who owned a scooter would graduate to a car, the impact on traffic and the environment would be devastating. Way back in my driver's training days, we were taught about the two second rule. Here, they have the two-tenths of a second rule. Like most third world nations, a quick observation is that most drivers weren't taught by their parents to drive nor observe roadside courtesy.

March 31 was Election Day in Indonesia. To make sure everyone has the opportunity to vote, it's a national holiday. One day before the election, the boss let us go home after eight hours. We went to Mass and were walking home when we saw a huge parade of cars, trucks, and floats speeding along the main thoroughfare. These folks were involved in the presidential election. We got several photos. Here's a few.(Yellow vehicles).

Red vehicles to the right...

Ten Lamborghini's parked at the neighborhood mall...pick a color...

A year and a half later, at the same neighborhood mall, seven McLarens and one Mercedes (black-rear)...hard to believe that the a Mercedes is ever referred to as the economy car...

A couple of glass buildings at a city park. Both are empty. Best guess...green houses or something that holds plants.

In the building where I work, there's a small café that serves breakfast and lunch. By law, Indonesian businesses provide lunches to their hourly workers. Besides our worker lunches, this restaurant caters to the businesses in the compound. In the photo above shows just a few of the local cuisine selections they offer. At the bottom, a fried banana best eaten just out of the fryer with a bit of sweet chili sauce (orange stuff on the right). On the left and at the top are tofu products. Total cost of the above...about sixty cents US. When I finish, I carry the plate to the hallway and set it on the floor. The restaurant comes to take the plate away.

"Stranded" on the beach in Lombok, killing time waiting for my room...teasing the folks back home on Facebook: The perfect selffie...admit it...you'd do the same thing.

Click on the image... "Stranded" on the beach in Lombok, killing time waiting for my room...another post teasing the folks back home on Facebook. In reality, there was only one red flag (center) but it was too cool.

Here's what I was waiting for...twin beds..fridge, outdoor toidy and shower, AC, Internet...two years old..and with a view two buildings away from the ocean...doors closed...windows closed...stereo playing with AC on...I could still hear the roar of the ocean.

..and the ocean view from my balcony...

The hotel lobby.

Jealous yet?

Sunset...

Sorry...I don't have a GoPro Camera so you'll have to settle for a picture of Tory, our dive leader at DSM Lombok.

No GoPro...The dive boat at DSM Lombok.

Lost?

The teasing is over...all of me...While my beach days are over, the hotel had a huge tree to hang out under. That was my spot.

Back to work...Walking down the streets, I see many of the scooters resembling the early Honda motorcycles of my childhood. Many are the low end scooters that simply have chrome spoke wheels while others are full blown retro. By this, I mean chrome and steel as opposed to fiberglass. I’ll add some more photos as I find them. When I log into Facebook, they're bound to have these retro-scooters as part of the advertising.

Another retro-scooter.

The sidewalk makes a great freeway for some.

If you look in the background, you'll see lots of crash helments. Those are connected to bodies on scooters riding on the sidewalk. To the right, on the street, are more scooters riding in the space between the car and the curb. Like rising water looking for a crack to open, the scooter operator will find a gap to squeeze in and pass through. Frankly, they're annoying. They believe they have the right of way with total disregard to the pedestrians on the sidewalk.

Add a roof and you have a mobile home...for some. I've seen this work as a mobile home for four.

No, it's not mine. It was a local benefit party and part of the admission included a photo. I was stunned when they told me I could actually sit on it...and no, I didn't tip it.

The previous picture was part of a fund raiser for more petrochemical engineers. It's a shrimp boil! They were quite popular with the guys.

Tied to the previous two pictures...notice how Bluelou is hating life at the moment

The total cost was under a buck...The guys asked if I wanted noodles. In the spirit of adventure, I said yes. It came in bags...even the noodles. The broth is at the lower left. The flavoring is at the bottom. The kicker, is the orange stuff on the right. Go easy on the kicker...

The street vendors are hard at work selling breakfast or cigarettes. I wrote about a sweet lady selling tea and smokes not far from the office. She has such a sweet smile it's hard to get mad at her for selling cancer. We have to earn a living somehow.

He's a shoe repair man I see on the way to work.

Facebook Post: To my sewing friends and biking buddies who don't have the time for both...your excuses are gone.
This picture took several months to get. It piqued my curiosity but I didn’t think about picture until I nearly reached the office which was too late. I kept retracing my steps in hopes that I’d find it for the BLT photo opportunity. I've been looking for this guy for a long, long time. I kicked myself for not taking a picture. I saw this guy a few other times but didn’t think about taking a photo until he passed. I'd forgotten about it. I was walking home from work and the rest is photographic history. Sometimes, you get lucky.

For more bikes, click here

Check out the top...a bit later, they had a fire while I was gone to Laos. A few months later, they reopened the building except for the top levels. It takes a bit to fabricate and reinstall curtain wall

I wrote in a Facebook post that Santa was at the mall on December 27th. I thought he was plumb tuckered by then and resting on some tropical beach. No, he was still selling photos of the kiddies sitting on his lap. He must be Orthodox Catholic who celebrates Christmas in January. Never mind that Indonesia is predominately Muslim.