Some people long for the seaside, the hillside, or the riverside (am I stretching this too thin?), far from the constantly grinding infernal machine that is the city. I, on the other hand, have grown up in these cities, and love their polluted air and concrete-sprouting tarred (but not feathered) earth. When those around me express their desire to commune with nature I idly wonder how long they could bear to survive without internet access and the creature comforts that they have, at great expense, appropriated for themselves. This means that I'm either a spoiled brat who wants no less than instant gratification or a sophisticate who has learned to love the metropolis (it is obvious which explanation I prefer). I was born in New Delhi, moved to Jakarta at the ripe age of 2 months (what implications this has on my claim to Indianness I shall leave you, dear reader, to decide), and am now pursuing an undergraduate education in Canberra (it's ok if you've never heard of it, I'll try not to *sniff* take it *sniff* too hard). By some bizarre coincidence, all three of these are capital cities, and as the self-proclaimed expert, allow me to take you (in two parts) through these capitals I have been fortunate to call home. Why two parts for three cities? Well, because I said so.
Jakarta: I grew up here, and love this place in spite of (and perhaps paradoxically because of) its many flaws. Having said that, though, I increasingly find myself advising people not to visit as a tourist. I mean, 'Sightseeing in Jakarta' would make a very very short book, and Jakarta seems to me to be fairly tourist-unfriendly (Bali, on the other hand...). If you have friends or relatives or, even better, if you live here, then you pretty much have it made. The lovely people, readily available domestic help, drivers (more on that in a minute), the shopping (more on that too), etc. The roads, however, will make a man (or woman) out of you: few activites will imbue you with zen-like calm faster than the first-hand experience of Jakarta traffic, and this is why great drivers are indispensable (I know this because I learned to drive there: good times, good (oh-my-god-I'm-going-to-kill-us-all) times...). The mind-boggling number of malls, however, means that if you wait long enough, eventually one will pop up next door: I posit that a mall can be built in the time it takes one to visit all the existing malls in Jakarta. One never walks in Jakarta unless one is desperate or lacking, as the roads are very pedestrian-unfriendly. Jakarta's poverty is extremely depressing, but in this respect it is slightly better than, say, New Delhi. The Indian community here is small (3-4%, Sindhis not included because they've integrated themselves so well that we consider them Indonesian: if you're Sindhi, you probably know exactly which relatives of yours are here already) but extremely tight-knit, and as an Indian you will be in great company. I could go on, but I seem to have something in my eye (I’ve been also been chopping onions, and don't you dare ask me how I can chop onions and write at the same time, it's a gift).
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