Originally Posted by
rain13
Yes, indeed I live in Jakarta, although I've spent nearly half of my life in Australia.
Haha, yeah whenever I've had friends coming from abroad I'd say to them becareful of what you drink, and don't you ever ever drink water straight from the tap...
It takes a nerve of steel to ride a bike in this city, especially during peak hour. Forget about giving cyclist 1.5 meter of space, as the cars and motorcycles will squeeze themselves to every inch of road space possible (painted lanes on the road is a joke, people ignore them anyway, like you've already seen before). Cycling is the most logical way to get around the city, sure it's bloody hot and humid out there, but it beats sitting in a car for hours every single day.
So, me and my pink Tikit will happily cycle past the endless row of cars every day, until I can get my hand at that nice bright red Pocket Rocket Pro... yummm...
Pocket Rocket Pro. One sweet ride. Hey, they make a pink one with nice bright green cables which will go nice with your helmet. $1800 on this side of the pond. What does one have to fork out your end? I will have to dream about that unless the "Publisher's Clearinghouse" van pays a visit.
The big prize is $5000/week for life. I can live with that.
I don't know, I can't imagine someone riding a bike in the streets of Jakarta, but they do. I saw so many riders darting in and out of traffic. Yes, it does beat being stuck in traffic sitting in a car. Its frustrating to say the least. One part of the car you don't want failing on you is the horn. It pays a major role in driving. You can't change lanes there unless your horn is loud and clear. My first taxi cab ride in the traffic of Jakarta was a nail biting experience. With all the horns blowing I imagined major road rage until I understood that that is normal traffic procedure. After awhile I got used to it, but like I mentioned earlier, with all the chaos on the roads, I saw no accidents. Amazing drivers. I'm sure if drivers from my neck of the woods were to drive out there it would be pandemonium -- gun fire everywhere.
Be safe out there.
Cheers
Wayne