jakarta, hate it, love it, its my city

Just this Monday, my friend from Holland came to stay at my place for three days and two nights. YAAAYYY!!! His name is Jan, he's kinda..errr ol*..but very funny and kind
I wass so excited that he was coming over.
The problem is: WHERE the HECK shud i take him
i live in a crampy jak-freakin-arta for heavens sake, what cud i possibly show him,,,monasss?? oh..purr-leasseee xp

anyway

me and father took him for lunch at Marche restaurant in plaza senayan. I just love the decor and ambiance, it is a fun place to chat and eat. Nevertheless Jan said that the food was great..so good. yeahh
then, comes the hard part--sightseeing

my dad came up with an idea to go to the sunda kelapa harbour. 17 years i've lived in this city, i've only been there once. i just remember seeing lotsa ships there. no big deal

ohhh...how wrooonggg i wass

yes, there are ships, but not just ships! pinishi ships carrying cargo to all sorts of place. the place is soo full of life and color. it was indeed very interesting, Jan also enjoyed it

Then we when to the fish harbour, via a slum area. It is quite ironic how the slum area is facing a quite prestigeous housing complex. But slowy, as i was explaining to Jan about stuff around Jakarta, i have this new sense of appreciation for this city.

Everyday i past the same damn road to go to school, that i dont even pay attention to it anymore. But now that i have some explaining to do for Jan, i began to notice the small details and began to notice small wonders of this city.

at the fish market, it was very windy, yet the sky displayed one of the most glorious sunset i've ever seen. the wind blew some salt water into our faces. and now i just realize, how much i'm gonna miss this city when i'm gone.

i love this place... for better, for worse..if only others could start to also appreaciate the hidden beauty in this place :)

There is still lots of room for development and im sure Jakarta has a very promising future :)
Good luck to all of us :D

rgds,
L.