Around the world in ? days!: July 4

July 4 day 140

We woke up, had a simple breakfast in the hostel and got some work done in the room. The co-owner, a Sumatran woman who married and Irish guy, gave us detailed advice about getting around the city. We spent a long time next door at a travel agent booking trains and found out they were very popular and we'd have to spend another day in Jakarta or take the much longer and less comfortable bus. We opted for the extra day. About noon we decided to head downtown and check stuff out.

We walked about 10 minutes along the frequently sidewalkless road to the commuter train system which bypassed the traffic congestion and had lots of room in the middle of the day. The tickets were cheap and easy to buy and the trains were reasonably frequent. There was a women's only car at the front of each train that people seemed to respect. The route went by parks but also by some slums, which was our first look at how many Jakartans live.

The central train station isn't far from the historic downtown square but we had to cross a hazardously busy street to get there. We had learned to watch the local and cross with them between you and the traffic for extra safety. This led on to a pedestrian street, such a welcome rarity in southeast Asia. There were museums, restaurants and mimes in metallic makeup who moved for cah of posed for photos. The Dutch colonial square was surrounded by old buildings, but the big attraction here was to rent a pastel-coloured bicycle and wear a similarly coloured sunhat and scoot though the square. this was a very popular activity and families were out in force enjoying it.

We ate lunch at the Cafe Batavia, which looked like a set from an old movie. The history wasn't exotic, it was a shipping office for most of its existence, but they had spruced it up nicely. The staff was super attentive and the food was extremely nicely presented but not exceptional.

We walked around a bit and then hit the puppet museum. Most of the space was for wooden puppets used for telling Hindu stories but they also had some huge puppets, skins puppets, strange Christian puppets and primitive straw ones. Much of the fine cutting and painting on them was amazing but unfortunately they weren't putting on a show the day we visited.

We made out way back and spent some time on Skype finally getting our credit cards sorted so that they could be usable again. Meg was annoyed that the movie wanted to see wasn't close by and the others had already started so we went downstairs, had some peanuts and beer and scrolled through what was available in the hostel's digital collection. We were hoping for the final season of Game of Thrones but they only had episode 6 so we watched the excellent but grim Once Were Warriors instead.

It was latest but we hungered and so went to a recommended place less than 10 minutes away down a dark, narrow street. The place was wildly decorated with every room covered in exotic decor and elaborate furniture. Neither of the two entrances had a reception desk, which made it seem even stranger and more disorienting.

We were seated by the nattily dressed and very attentive staff and had a great meal. It was expensive by local standards but to eat this well in such a cool place for about $30 each was well worth it.

Full of tasty food, we headed back and slept well once again.