I think we've all enjoyed having the feeling at one time or another when things have gone entirely to plan.
Whether it's an event, a moment, or a day out, it's always a weight of your mind and a relief when things work out exactly how you envisaged them in your mind.
Being here in Asia I tend to get those feelings quite a lot. When I find my way to the hotel I'm staying in or I manage to visit a place of interest I have been looking forward to going. At least once a day I have the feeling of "phew" when things go my way.
What about when things don't quite pan out then? I think that's when people's real character shows through. I pride myself on being able to stay cool, calm, and more importantly rational in those moments, although sometimes trying not to freak out about stuff can be a tricky task.
Yesterday when I made my journey on the bus for the first time was one of those moments, and although I had to do a little more walking than I expected to reach the entrance to Taman Mini, that was a time when I could have just completely folded and jumped back on the bus.
I think moments like that are character building, whether you're in your own country or another one. And I feel like having gone through moments like that on my travels before has made me a much stronger person.
Today was my last in Indonesia; the eleventh of my whirlwind tour through three regions and four different cities. My stay here isn't over yet, and I could be proved wrong, but pretty much everything about Indonesia has been enjoyable. I didn't quite expect it to be this intriguing a place and I feel like my stops in different places have provided me with plenty of variety.
I'm glad that I took the time to do enough research on Indonesia and spend some time here rather than just cutting it out of my travels all together - I feel that was a very wise move.
Well, I wasn't quite 'saving the best for last' for today in Jakarta, but I was planning to go to the aquarium which is something which always fills me with excitement. Most days out interest me, but there is certainly a child-like enthusiasm which washes over me whenever visits to the zoo or aquarium are involved.
Jakarta's Seaworld promised to be exciting too and I'd seen some good photos online which looked as though it would be fairly informative as well as varied and interesting to visit.
Life under the sea generally fascinates me, and I could honestly sit for hours watching animals swim around in a tank. There is something about it which relaxes me and I find fish such interesting creatures.
The aquarium in Jakarta is actually part of a larger complex called Ancol Dreamworld. There is a water park, a shopping mall, a marina, a theme park and the aquarium all fairly close together so I hoped it would be a good day.
We had quite a bit of rain last night as when I got up, all the furniture in the breakfast area was soaking wet. I grabbed a few bits of toast and headed back to my room to eat them whilst looking at the bus route for today.
It was a slightly more complicated one than yesterday with two changes involved, but I was fairly confident that I knew what I was doing without too much assistance from the map. It was still a bit cloudy when I left the hotel, and it seemed as though the traffic had calmed a little - perhaps only 50% of the people who own a car in Jakarta drive them on a Sunday.
I was heading in the opposite direction to yesterday and boarded the first bus which was still relatively busy. I took it too the terminal stop before jumping on the next one for a stop and then boarded a third and final bus to Ancol. Naturally it was quite a popular destination for people to visit, so I followed a few people out of the station to see which direction they would be heading in.
To get into the Ancol area itself you have to pay 25,000 Rp so I handed over my money and walked through the turnstile to be met with a huge map of everything that was around.
Turning right out of the station I followed the signs towards Seaworld, before coming to another sign which it wasn't listed on. I was standing outside the front of the entrance to the theme park so made a move to ask one of the people working behind the counter there who told me that it was closed...
I'm pretty sure I checked their website this morning before I left and hadn't seen any mentioned of a closure. It couldn't be because it was Sunday either so I have no idea why I'd only just discovered this.
I considered a number of options, including going back to my hotel and spending the day resting or going to the theme park, but realising I didn't have enough money on me, I decided to head towards what was described as an Eco Park, figuring I could spend a little bit of time there to work out my next move. It was fairly frustrating to find out the place I wanted to go to was closed, but I was determined not to let it ruin my day, besides arriving at the park it seemed like this could certainly keep me interested for a while. I grabbed some lunch from a stand at the front of the park, and then set off walking around the trail which led around the outside of the park:
It wasn't the most interesting place I'd ever been, but it certainly was a nice green space away from the usual dust and fumes of the city centre. There were a couple of different areas in the park with a small petting zoo, a lake and a woodland trail being the main ones. It was fairly quiet, and nice to walk around so I circulated it a couple of times before settling down on a bench as it started to get a bit warmer.
The far side of the park was nice with what looked like an under construction bird park being created. There were some pelicans sitting on rocks by the side of the river, but everything else seemed to be empty waiting for animals to be put in there.
You could hire a bike or a miniature moto-scooter and ride around the park too which looked enjoyable from the many people's faces I saw riding them. I was happy to just walk around though and after a couple of hours I decided to see if I could take one last walk through the busy streets of Manila and find somewhere to eat dinner.
I got back on the bus, and after a little bit of confusion, I jumped off the bus at a stop called Kota which is the first stop I got off at on my way to the unfortunately closed aquarium. I saw a couple of the major museums, which by this time were closed and continued to walk down the street until after about an hour I reached my hotel.
So it turned out to be a slightly disappointing final day in Jakarta, but at least I managed to get out for the day and fill at least a few hours with fresh air. It's been a brief, but good stay in the Indonesian capital and I feel like I have just brushed the surface of what there is to do here.
Indonesia itself, as I mentioned, went above my expectations and proved to be well worth the stay here. Bali holds perhaps the most enjoyable moments as it gave me plenty of opportunities to kick back and relax on the beach, but overall I like the country, its people and it's varied cities.
Keep on Moving
5ive (1999)
Whether it's an event, a moment, or a day out, it's always a weight of your mind and a relief when things work out exactly how you envisaged them in your mind.
Being here in Asia I tend to get those feelings quite a lot. When I find my way to the hotel I'm staying in or I manage to visit a place of interest I have been looking forward to going. At least once a day I have the feeling of "phew" when things go my way.
What about when things don't quite pan out then? I think that's when people's real character shows through. I pride myself on being able to stay cool, calm, and more importantly rational in those moments, although sometimes trying not to freak out about stuff can be a tricky task.
Yesterday when I made my journey on the bus for the first time was one of those moments, and although I had to do a little more walking than I expected to reach the entrance to Taman Mini, that was a time when I could have just completely folded and jumped back on the bus.
I think moments like that are character building, whether you're in your own country or another one. And I feel like having gone through moments like that on my travels before has made me a much stronger person.
Today was my last in Indonesia; the eleventh of my whirlwind tour through three regions and four different cities. My stay here isn't over yet, and I could be proved wrong, but pretty much everything about Indonesia has been enjoyable. I didn't quite expect it to be this intriguing a place and I feel like my stops in different places have provided me with plenty of variety.
I'm glad that I took the time to do enough research on Indonesia and spend some time here rather than just cutting it out of my travels all together - I feel that was a very wise move.
Well, I wasn't quite 'saving the best for last' for today in Jakarta, but I was planning to go to the aquarium which is something which always fills me with excitement. Most days out interest me, but there is certainly a child-like enthusiasm which washes over me whenever visits to the zoo or aquarium are involved.
Jakarta's Seaworld promised to be exciting too and I'd seen some good photos online which looked as though it would be fairly informative as well as varied and interesting to visit.
Life under the sea generally fascinates me, and I could honestly sit for hours watching animals swim around in a tank. There is something about it which relaxes me and I find fish such interesting creatures.
The aquarium in Jakarta is actually part of a larger complex called Ancol Dreamworld. There is a water park, a shopping mall, a marina, a theme park and the aquarium all fairly close together so I hoped it would be a good day.
We had quite a bit of rain last night as when I got up, all the furniture in the breakfast area was soaking wet. I grabbed a few bits of toast and headed back to my room to eat them whilst looking at the bus route for today.
It was a slightly more complicated one than yesterday with two changes involved, but I was fairly confident that I knew what I was doing without too much assistance from the map. It was still a bit cloudy when I left the hotel, and it seemed as though the traffic had calmed a little - perhaps only 50% of the people who own a car in Jakarta drive them on a Sunday.
I was heading in the opposite direction to yesterday and boarded the first bus which was still relatively busy. I took it too the terminal stop before jumping on the next one for a stop and then boarded a third and final bus to Ancol. Naturally it was quite a popular destination for people to visit, so I followed a few people out of the station to see which direction they would be heading in.
To get into the Ancol area itself you have to pay 25,000 Rp so I handed over my money and walked through the turnstile to be met with a huge map of everything that was around.
I'm pretty sure I checked their website this morning before I left and hadn't seen any mentioned of a closure. It couldn't be because it was Sunday either so I have no idea why I'd only just discovered this.
I considered a number of options, including going back to my hotel and spending the day resting or going to the theme park, but realising I didn't have enough money on me, I decided to head towards what was described as an Eco Park, figuring I could spend a little bit of time there to work out my next move. It was fairly frustrating to find out the place I wanted to go to was closed, but I was determined not to let it ruin my day, besides arriving at the park it seemed like this could certainly keep me interested for a while. I grabbed some lunch from a stand at the front of the park, and then set off walking around the trail which led around the outside of the park:
It wasn't the most interesting place I'd ever been, but it certainly was a nice green space away from the usual dust and fumes of the city centre. There were a couple of different areas in the park with a small petting zoo, a lake and a woodland trail being the main ones. It was fairly quiet, and nice to walk around so I circulated it a couple of times before settling down on a bench as it started to get a bit warmer.
The far side of the park was nice with what looked like an under construction bird park being created. There were some pelicans sitting on rocks by the side of the river, but everything else seemed to be empty waiting for animals to be put in there.
You could hire a bike or a miniature moto-scooter and ride around the park too which looked enjoyable from the many people's faces I saw riding them. I was happy to just walk around though and after a couple of hours I decided to see if I could take one last walk through the busy streets of Manila and find somewhere to eat dinner.
I got back on the bus, and after a little bit of confusion, I jumped off the bus at a stop called Kota which is the first stop I got off at on my way to the unfortunately closed aquarium. I saw a couple of the major museums, which by this time were closed and continued to walk down the street until after about an hour I reached my hotel.
So it turned out to be a slightly disappointing final day in Jakarta, but at least I managed to get out for the day and fill at least a few hours with fresh air. It's been a brief, but good stay in the Indonesian capital and I feel like I have just brushed the surface of what there is to do here.
Indonesia itself, as I mentioned, went above my expectations and proved to be well worth the stay here. Bali holds perhaps the most enjoyable moments as it gave me plenty of opportunities to kick back and relax on the beach, but overall I like the country, its people and it's varied cities.
Keep on Moving
5ive (1999)
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