PHOTOS TO FLOOW SOON
Over 10 million people live in inner Jakarta but if you include the outer reaches, around 30 million call it home. It is Indonesia’s administrative heart from where this very diverse nation is governed. What a job that must be. What a history it has endured to get to this point. Today it’s a modern bustling megatropolis that’s groaning under its own size. The roads are constantly clogged with traffic. The traffic is about 50/50 cars and bikes. Then there are buses, mini buses and trucks. The smog dulls the sky. How unhealthy it must be to live and work amongst all this. The roads are crying out for greater capacity but I don’t see that happening anywhere. Cranes dominate the skyline, building more high rises, which can only impact further on the roads.
I’m off to Ragunan Zoo today. I negotiate a fair price for a bike ride first thing in the morning so I can see the animals out and about. I’ve been caught out before, visiting a zoo in the middle of the day can be disappointing. That’s when most animals just sleep. Ragunan zoo is enormous. I know I’m going to get lost and I do. I want to see Indonesian native animals. Of course there are animals from all over the world because that is what people want but it would be more user friendly for me if all of the Indonesian animals were segregated from the rest. But that would be racist I suppose. There are families and thousands of school kids visiting today. I’m the only human foreigner about and the kids seem more interested in looking at me than the animals! Perhaps I could set up as an exhibit next to the kungurus! I have my photo taken several times. Some very familiar animal faces are here. Kangaroos (or Kunguru) and a variety of Australian birds live here now. The Kunguru’s even have a zoo street named after them.
There is a special ape enclosure within the zoo. You pay extra to visit but it’s worth it. The variety of apes is impressive, from gorillas to the smallest of monkeys. Watching them is mesmerising, particularly with babies. The cheeky behavior of the juveniles reminds me of some kids I know. The enclosures are generous with space and facilities for the occupants.
Jakarta also has a safari park just outside of the city.
angusmccoll 