Once again, I am writing about a day that feels long ago even though it was just two days ago. When everything is new, the memory of things gets distorted. Thank goodness I have my pictures to remind me of the order of things and where I saw certain things.

Perhaps I’m keeping this blog as much for my memory’s sake as for my mother.

Sunday, February 18, 2024

On my first full day in Jakarta, we walked to the National Monument. Kiana said that she had tried to visit multiple times before but hadn’t been able to get in. She had a back up plan, but we didn’t need it since we got in!

First, though, I want to share some of the beautiful plants around the compound where she lives. Whenever I travel, I like to really look at the different varieties of plants, especially flowers that I get to see. If there are any botanists reading, let me know what these are.

Then we were off to the monument. It was good practice because it’s the same walk we took the next day to get the train station.

The National Monument is only about a 15-minute walk from her apartment, but I’m not going to lie, the heat was kicking my butt. I’m not good in heat. Never was. But coming abruptly from places that were in full-on winter mode to 90s with 92% humidity is a shock.

I wasn’t even sad about the rain we got because it’s so warm anyway that anything that might cool me off was welcome.

The monument is in the middle of Merdeka (Freedom) Square which is huge–almost 200 acres. We were only there for the monument though.

If you are in Jakarta and decide to visit the monument make sure you go to the North side. I’m saying this as a friend. We did not know and proceeded to go in the exact opposite direction resulting in us almost circling the entire thing before finding the opening to purchase tickets and go in.

You can go all the way up to the top, but the next opening for that was in three hours, so we decided to just visit the museum instead. The entrance is not actually at the base of the monument–at least not yet. Not only is the ticket counter underground, but it is also across the square from the monument. You purchase tickets and go underground underneath the stones you see me standing on above to get to the monument.

Inside was a large marble space with some of the best dioramas I have ever seen depicting Indonesia’s fight for independence. I also liked how families were all sitting around taking rest breaks and having picnics/snacks inside.

Then we went outside to look at the reliefs and to walk back around outside of the park.

The next thing we planned to do was go to one of the local malls because I had seen some bowls that I had thought about getting ever since Kiana had shown them to me. It was too far to walk . . . so we took a tuk tuk! I was so excited.

I really wish I could figure out how to upload videos here. It was super fun.

Too soon, we arrived at the mall. After going through security, we walked in search of the store with the bowls. I really couldn’t decide, so I took some pictures of bowls, and we decided to walk around to look for a place to eat. Kiana suggested the “food court,” but I have to say, it was like no other food court I’ve ever seen–there were restaurants on two levels in this section of the mall, and there are over thirty of them.

I knew right away what I wanted when I saw it because I haven’t been able to have it since I was in Seoul in the summer of 2017: cheese filled katsu! Yes, it was delicious, and yes the irony of me having something with cheese in Indonesia after lugging cheese halfway around the globe was not lost on me.

It was so good that I have requested to have it again before I leave. Seven years was a long time to wait. I don’t even know if that place I ate it with my friend Eleanor in Myeongdong is still there. I’m not going to only eat it once.

Afterwards, we went back to the bowl store to decide, bought bowls, and headed to another part of the mall to get some groceries, but Kiana wanted me to stop at a store that she couldn’t figure out. It was an odd mix of makeup, craft ideas, stationary, electronic gadgets (like earbuds), hair accessories, puzzles, snacks, and odd stuffed things like the one below:

I finally decided that KKV, the name of the store, is a slumber party store. It basically has everything you’d want if you were going to host a slumber party.

We stopped at the grocery store to buy eggs and milk, but I think Kiana just wanted to buy snacks for the trip we are taking to Yokyakarta.

On the way out, we got to see part of a show for Lunar New Year in the mall.

We took a taxi home and ordered in for dinner.

It was a great first day!