Taxied from BINUS to Pacific Place Mall, one of the newest in Jakarta, catering to Jakarta's rich and to Westerners. It would be Greta's first visit. Entering an exclusive mall is much like checking into the departure lounge of an airport. Bags are x-rayed, we walk through the metal detector, and, if we set off the beeper, repeat the process. Pacific Place is huge, near impossible to crane my neck for a view upwards as this cathedral of consumption seems to go on forever, dizzying, sublime. All the namebrand sects are here: you can trust the labels. Elsewhere, the same namebrands can be found, but they're pirated. Like Grand Indonesia, its spaciousness makes it delightful to walk around, to have my own sense of space, one premised on the exclusion of the majority of the population. Comfort and pleasure - always interrogate. Here ostensibly to go to aksara, a local bookshop, where we met Priscilla. Very trendy. Stocks mainly English books, specialising in literature, art, design, business, and magazines. Had a small CD section, so indulged myself. Many restaurants. As we rubbernecked, Greta spotted a celebrity, an actress from one of the local soap operas. An embarrassing admission, for who wants to own up to recognising a soapstar!
Dined at a Balinese restaurant. Background music was excellent, a modern version of gamelan, which allowed me to rant some more about the appalling music at the hotel. Priscilla lives near Kebayoran Baru, so after the meal, we made our way to Dianita and Arief's place. No trouble finding it, though we did have to stop twice for directions. A pleasant change from my first trip to this part of town. I've been well looked after by Greta, Priscilla, and other BINUS colleagues.
From 9.30 to 11pm, chatted with Dianita and Arief. Great to see them again. Recounted my adventures, impressions, what it was like in Aceh, Javanese culture, and my worklife in Salatiga. Dianita, who was my tutor, impressed by my fluency. Eight weeks here has made a difference!
No comments:
Post a Comment