Kim and Ingo's visit

I was very happy when I heard the news that Kim and Ingo planned a visit " a detour" to Jakarta, during their trip to Singapore last week.

They arrived on Friday night, 12 May and the next 48 hours was spent "catching up" with our friends from Germany (living in Bangalore). The visit was short and sweet but I loved every minute of it, "thanks for the visit guys, it was great seeing you"!

Their visit was also our opportunity to do a couple of touristy things around Jakarta that we haven't done yet.

It was a short visit so we couldn't really do a lot but we managed to fit in a visit to Sunda Kelapa Harbour (The old Dutch port), an active port since the 12th century to see the Bugis Schooners (large wooden sailing vessels). These Bugis schooners/pinisi's have been build the same way for centuries by islanders of the archipelago, using centuries-old trade routes.

We watched the labourers reloading for the return journeys to Sumatra, Kallimantn and Sulawesi. They carry as much as 100kg of cargo inl. cement and rice on their shoulders, across approximately 40 cm wide, wooden beams. A very good balancing act, that's for sure.
When the heat got to much we went for a drink at the Batavia Marina restaurant.

Our next stop was the Maritime Museum. The restored warehouses, which date back to 1653, originally held pepper, tea, cloth, coffee and other valuble goods for the VOC (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie).

The buildings now house the Maritime Museum collection. Original and scale model boats that represent the techniques of traditional boat building. The collection also contains navigational charts and equipment, paintings, historical photographs and other maritime memorabilia.
The resident cat, that looked very at home in the shade of one of the big boats.
We enjoyed a cold beer at Cafe Batavia, one of the oldest buildings in Jakarta. The building was erected between 1805 and 1850, and over the years it has served as a residence, warehouse, office and now the famous restaurant.

By this time we were starving...

We had a fantastic lunch at Koi, and afterwards we took Ingo and Kim on a little tour through one of our Supermarkets (a bit of supermarket heaven to them). You can come back anytime, guys ;-)

In the late afternoon Ingo and Marc went for a massage while Kim and I baked a cake and prepared everything for our BBQ. I am pleased to say that our guest definitely didn't go home hungry, as it did seem that all we did was eat.

On Sunday morning, we visited the Rangunan Zoo, which was really a pleasant surprise. The plan was to hire bicycles and ride around the Zoo, but we were about 30 minutes late, and there were no bikes left. Which worked out well in the end because we had to wait about 20 minutes for the Schmutzer Primate Centre, which only opened at 9am.

The Primate Centre was definitely the highlight for us, and definitely worth a visit if you haven't been there yet. HINT: To avoid the masses, it might be a good idea to go during the week.



I will rather not elaborate too much on this picture. Let's just say Ingo hit the nail on the head when he said it looked like she (yes, it's a she) was doing a pole dance for us. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen.

Kim sizing herself up against a Gorilla, which gives one an idea of just how big these primates are.

Spot the "bule" (foreigner) - Ingo towering above the crowd.

After a refreshing swim and "brunch" Kim and I headed to the shops where Kim picked up a couple of nice things that will always remind them of their visit. "I hope you are thinking of me every time you turn your lamp on, Kim"!

We ended their 48 hours with a relaxing foot massage, followed by a last minute shopping spree in a fantastic shop called Pantry Magic, again a little piece of heaven for Kim and Ingo who probably wished that they had more space in their suitcase for all the lovely goodies they just loved and wished they could take back with them to India.

We had an early dinner at Die Stube. I know...perhaps an Indonesian dinner would have been the more obvious choice.

Or perhaps not. With 3 German's in our midst we decided to go for German munchies. We really enjoyed the Schweinhaxe (roasted pork knuckle), Knödel, Rot Kohl, Kaiserschmarrn (sugared pancake with raisins). The food was delicious and definitely a very good END to their visit.

Just before 8pm we said our goodbyes. "I miss you already, Kim". Until we meet again, guys. Mwah!