Survivor II: Jakarta Wellcovered
Still on the topics regarding vehicles and the likes, I have summed up the conclusion that driving in
First of all, it’s the trust that because you have driven as slowly and carefully as you can, that other people will considerably do the same.
Secondly, it’s the trust that, like most people in Jakarta, they will drive based purely on experience and instincts, therefore knowing the signs when something was about to go awry even before it happened - like for example, you are driving a car and you are signaling to go right but there is a motorcycle on your right who is stubbornly ignoring you, and as well all know, most motorcycle drivers are insane, they will not give you a chance unless you force them to it, so when you slowly move your car to the right they will have to obey to slow down to give you way, and this would never have happened if both you and the motorcycle driver has no experience with the ruthless ways of Jakarta’s traffic menace.
Thirdly, it’s the trust that other road users have already mastered the “silent traffic language” - which can only be achieved through daily gruesome activity on the road and some minor or major accidental experiences. Because there are no other ways of communicating with other road users apart from using the light indicators and honk, honk, honk away. Some truck and bus drivers often improve themselves by using hand gestures, which can either piss you off or make you feel deflated for not driving a vehicle a size bigger than theirs.
Last but not least, of course, trust yourself and your whole safety of your passengers - if there are any - to the God Almighty. I always uttered a small prayer before I drive, because even if I get involved in an accident, without the protection of God, who knows I might end up being in an even more tragic accident which might cause me to be amputated or even worse, die.
And now that the monsoon season has arrived earlier than expected - it was still warm and sunny this time around last year - I can only expect that the traffic in
Sometimes I fear phone calls that get through my mobile, thinking it might be some companies wanting to interview me and to think that all those are located right in the business district. Having a job is swell, but being stuck for four hours back to back on a daily basis is beyond bearable. I imagine it will make me age ten more years. Even so if I end up having ridiculous salary - and even if it isn’t, sometimes, for the love of God, I think the whole stress combined from work and driving is just not worth it.
When I was on my way home from an interview at Menara Batavia last week, I had a chat with a taxi driver - taxi drivers love to chat with me, especially concerning politics and the likes -I told him I would rather own a small grocery shop at home rather than working in the CBD of Jakarta. This he responded by laughing bashfully, thinking I must had been joking, but then I insisted that to have worked a nine-to-five job and be stuck in traffic for another four hours is no way to lead a meaningful life. Surprisingly, he told me that I was not the first passenger that he had heard for saying the same thing.
Sometimes the simplest thing the one that is hardest to get.
