4 posts tagged “jakarta”
Have you ever watched disaster on TV? It's ugly, isn't it ? Now, picture that disaster in your neighborhood.
Last Friday (2 Feb 07) Jakarta got flooded. I woke up and read the message in my cell from the lady who clean my house, and she said she couldn't come to clean that day cuz water got inside her house at 2 am in the morning. And it's raising up!
Raining has been constant in Jakarta. Only the last couple of days, the city is free from rain. I mean, it's crazy. It usually starts at midnight and don't stop or just decrease in intensity throughout the day. No wonder we're flooded.
Well, and it's not all the rain to blame. The drainage system is crap. The whole infrastructure system is so bad, and it's ancient! Who would count on a Dutch legacy of infrastructure from centuries ago? The city worried too much on other 'make up' and not paying enough attention to the essential need of the citizens. Argl ENough rambling.
So, that friday electricity also went out (until yesterday). Tap water also was cut. It was horrible. A couple of blocks from my house, the water was up to waist height. In the hospital in the main road of Benhil, the water was chest high! Imagine the medical supplies and facilities.
Thank God, my house is in higher ground, so it didn't get flooded, but since electricity and water was out, we decided to 'evacuate' to my home town, 3 hours away. Meanwhile during that weekends, messages came rushing in, from people asking if I got flooded. IN 'evacuation' I can laugh about it, I can point my fnger to the TV and say "whoa.. look at that, that man is riding his children's rubber duck" but what if I was there??
I was there, after boss calling to ask if I could come to office (about 3 days after the peak of flood), and I hastily went to Jakarta again, the capital of disaster... what a titile! And flood was getting better. At night still heavy rain, but in the day then rain didn't fall long.
Funny, I used to like rain. I still like rain. But when it falls that heavily, I felt very afraid..
Please rain go away, come again another day..
it was very different from last similar gig that i went to, JavaJazz. JavaJazz was very full, very crowded, and it was held inside a building (Jakarta Convention Center), unlike JakJazz which this year theme was "Jazz in the park" (though there was no park, oh maybe parking lot can also be considered a park). I kinda like it to sit in the middle of Jakarta hot and humid night air, listening to those musician perform, when they go back and forth, querying and answering each other with each their own interpretation of the discussion.
Amazing how this universal language can reach every part of the world. I held a huge block of envy inside my chest while I watch them play and enjoy the whole process. Sometimes I even question if they need audience, since they're so into the music they create. If I'd ever be a musician, I would certainly a classical musician or jazz for the sake of improvisation!
We watched Idang Rasjidi and his band, featuring a male vocalist who jammed with Idang in a humouring sense. Then went to Bubi Chen inside. He played several composition, including a very smart one by Miles Davis (forgot the name). Tots Tolentino of Phillies was also jamming with him - he was a lot younger than I thought.
(to be continued)
Yesterday I passed the mainroad in Jakarta, Sudirman, where a road work was taking place. They're reducing the green space between two lanes of roads to expand the road, because they decided to use more space for the transjakarta (busway) line.
