Some Interesting Facts...

It was great to talk to all the ladies in NYC this morning; I hope you girls drink lots of wine tomorrow for Buckler's Bachelorette. Sorry I can't be there but I am thinking of all of you. So I thought it would be interesting to give some little facts about Indonesia, Jakarta and Southeast Asia from things I have noticed along the way.
1) There is an airport departure tax whenever leaving an airport in Indonesia; the amount varies depending on the airport and if it's international or domestic but it must be paid in cash. This is good to know ahead of time!
2)Indonesia has a very wealthy and very poor class separation. There is no middle class as one might expect in a developing country. However, the wealthy in Jakarta look down on pretty much everyone but other people in their Indonesia social circle. It is very entertaining to see this in any of the malls.
3)Asians love their malls - every city I have been too has TONS of malls with every store from Gucci, Kate Spade to Nine West
4)You can get a motorcycle taxi around Jakarta which will take you about 1/2 the time it would in a cab but you have about a 50% chance of incurring some sort of bodily injury (don't worry Mom, I don't plan on doing this)
5) Everything takes about 5 times longer to do, for ex. dropping off laundry should take 5 minutes but here it takes 25 minutes (no exaggeration). My pedicure took 1.5 hours but it was also one of the better pedicure I have gotten.
6)Airport Security is 'interesting'; you have to pass through a security clearing to even get into the airport (and have proof of travel), then you go through another to get to the terminal areas, then one final screening right before your gate. However, you can pretty much bring whatever you want through, water, any liquids, just about anything. I am not too sure they even look at the screen from what i can tell.
7)There are more KFC's in Jakarta and other parts of Indonesia then in San Francisco. Globalization has hit here big time; I have seen at least 6 starbucks in the city and there tons of other american fast food chains all over the place.
8)Tipping is a way of operating here; if you need help with traffic you tip the guard in the middle of the road to help you get across traffic.
9)They drive on the 'other' side of the road here and in most southeast asia countries
10)A large percentage of the Indonesia population do not speak English. Even in areas where they cater to ex-pats english rarely spoken. So I have picked up many key words that help me get along otherwise its sign language and hoping for the best.
11)Most meals are served with a fork and spoon. I have rarely seen a knife when I'm eating dinner or lunch. If you were to get a steak or something then you would get a knife but for the most part the meals consist of rice or noodles and don't require a knife. you use the spoon to eat with instead.
12)Yellow rice is made here for a special ceremony or event like a wedding, or anniversary.
So there you have it, some random facts about life here in Indonesia.