The Jakarta Globe

Thu, May 24, 2012

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BLOGS

Monkey Mail: Mosquitoes and Other PR Stunts

9:14am May 12, 2012

Sadly, the whole event is a farce or, to call it by its modern name, a PR event staged for the purposes of convincing the public that the government is doing something in defense of their health.

Comment(s): 3 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: This, That and the Other Thing

10:21pm May 4, 2012

Here, in one rather odd-looking building, are gathered some fine specimens who not only speak with tremendous authority but also always speak the truth — yes they do, lots of different truths, especially when they are ratting on their fellows while arraigned before the anti-corruption court.

Comment(s): 0 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: Rest, Freedom From Cares and Chrysanthemums?

12:28pm Apr 19, 2012

I've been ill of late. It was a neat variation of an old-fashioned kind of disease that I'd been immunized against in my tender youth. So, either it was a unique strain invented in the fecund environment of Tanah Air or I was in that small percentage statistically that turns out not to be made immune by the vaccination and it took years to be exposed and succumb. I cannot say which.  

Comment(s): 0 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: The Silence of the Mechanics

10:21am Mar 26, 2012

The shop is staffed by two young men and one young woman, all of whom are marvelously mute, speaking only the minimum needed to convey messages. They exude a quiet (of course) but nevertheless sturdy confidence as they go diligently and methodically about their tasks. They make no concessions to customer service other than that required to put a vehicle back on the road, which they do very well and at low prices.

Comment(s): 3 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: Rhino Rides the Rails!

7:53am Mar 24, 2012

According to their Web site, the vision of KAI Commuter Jabodetabek is to “be the best provider of railway services which meet the expectations of stakeholders.” It seems they are failing to meet the expectations of those “stakeholders” who can’t squeeze into the carriages no matter how skinny they are and how much they hold their breath.

Comment(s): 2 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: Motoring in Jakarta Teaches Many Lessons

8:39am Mar 19, 2012

What I find interesting about the types of behavior described above, which would be considered foolhardy and life-threatening anywhere else in the world, is how they reveal the somewhat astonishing social contract engaged in on the roads. For a pedestrian to be able to step boldly out into the kind of creatively flowing traffic we all experience every day and do so with the confidence that the drivers will go around them shows a high level of trust in one’s fellow citizens.

Comment(s): 8 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: Around the Golden Triangle with Sayang Belakang

10:31am Mar 14, 2012

Oddly enough, even the Jakarta Administration’s own tourism department has little faith in its charge’s ability to retain the interest of visitors. If I recall correctly, their sad claim was that Jakarta was hard to sell because of the traffic jams and floods. Seems to me that it should be a selling point given the neighborhood competition, such as Singapore or Kuala Lumpur, both of which are intent on turning themselves into theme parks of what they thought they once might have been and what someone else hoped they would become.

Comment(s): 0 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: Small and Shrill Can Pose a Trap

10:18am Mar 10, 2012

Last week I was trapped in my house by two little girls. The kids had taken up position in the lane in front of my gate and were making loud but vain attempts to scale the fence in order to seize their prize: the fruit of the belimbing tree. The tree yielding belimbing, known in English by the much less attractive name of star fruit, takes up most of my small front yard. Tania, the 5-year-old daughter of my nearest neighbor, had with her friends developed the habit of demanding the fruits whenever the fancy took them.

Comment(s): 0 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: Why Would a Monkey Declare War?

10:40am Feb 17, 2012

I was recently alerted to reports in the media that a solo monkey had been “waging war” against five villages in the district of Sidoarjo, East Java. Said monkey apparently bit and “wounded” at least 25 citizens during his “war” before he was captured by a Mr. Rahmat, 44, using the old food-as-bait trick.

Comment(s): 0 | Read more..

Monkey Mail: An End to Religious Intolerance at Last

10:37am Feb 15, 2012

The subject of religious tolerance is a vexed one, but I’ve found out what the problems are and how to solve them. I never thought it could be so easy.

Comment(s): 6 | Read more..

About Robert Finlayson

Longtime Jakarta resident Robert Finlayson is one of the rare few who proclaim love for Ibu Kota. As he swings through the highs and lows of the urban jungle, he offers us his musings on the subtleties of train travel, motorcycles, warung dining, celebrity scandals, politics and more.

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