All too often, on these sorts of trips, I see little except hotel–taxi–office. This time, I found a kindred spirit in one of my Indonesian colleagues. We had passed no more than ten minutes chatting before we made a date to check out the market last weekend. 
Jakarta kind of makes my head explode, in a good way. Lots of people, lots of traffic, all set against a riot of color and horn-honking. It is the rainy season here. Swampy-hot during the day, the air is increasingly saturated until evening, when dark clouds roll in and rip open. Rain beats down, the streets briefly flood, then the water subsides.
If you’re vegetarian, visit Indonesia. It’s very easy to avoid meat here; lots of veggies, but also tofu and tempeh. Lots for meat lovers to enjoy, too, but mostly, you will love the food (as I do) if you love lingering chile-spice in your mouth. As usual, though, I miss my kitchen. 
The only sight-seeing-ish thing I’ve accomplished was a stop to the textile museum here. It is well worth it, if not for the beautiful old house in which it’s housed or the amazing collection of Indonesian textiles, but for the DIY batik. I can’t think of many museums in the U.S. where they let you play with burning hot wax, and they have the real deal batik artists in there showing you how it’s done.
Just wanted to collect some notes/photos and say hi. Hope you’re having a good week.
Tuesday, 21 February 2012 | 26 comments
Such a beautiful home…and it looks big for Indonesia!
Gorgeous! Thank you for sharing. My cousins lived in Jakarta for a few years and I wish I could have visited while they were there. I also wish I had a job that allowed me to travel to faraway places. I need to plan a trip, bust out my dusty passport and get going.
wow. that is stunning.
A riot of color is a perfect way to describe Indonesia, it translates to so much of Southeast Asia in general I think. I saw a lot of those red spiky balls in Vietnam, what fruit is that again? I can’t recall.
Rambutan! I love it. Produce here is really good right now. Pretty sure the hotel staff thinks I’m crazy because I keep toting home bags of fruit :) Also loving salak, which I had never had—it’s also called snakefruit. It has this brown scaly snake-ish skin.
Yep, correct! Rambut in Indonesian means hairy, so yeah, as the skin of rambutan is so hairy :P same with Durian, the spiky fruit, as duri means spikes. Sarah i wish you had tasted mangosteen while you were there, they were exceptional.
I’m glad that going to the local market counts as sight-seeing in your books. It’s what I tend to do too. Are the root-like things in the second photo ginger?
Enjoy the rest of your trip! Hope you get some time to relax, like those lounging cats!
It is ginger. Young ginger, before it gets the tough outer layers of the rhizome, which I’ve read about but never seen. So pretty and rosy, but much stronger ginger flavor, supposedly.
these pictures are beautiful, as usual, and giving me a case of wanderlust. i love pink ginger – one of the farmers at my local market just starting growing it last year. so much more delicate and flavorful than the kind i can buy in the grocery store. and i love your batik! what an amazing souvenir.
Such amazing colors.
Your kitchen misses you too, and so do I! It looks beautiful though, I can’t wait to hear stories.
What a simply stunning set of photos – you’ve captured the energy and light of the place so well.
While I’m sure all your photos capture Jakarta beautifully (sadly I have yet to visit), I must say that the first is my favorite. Kitties!
And the truth comes out, finally—I am a crazy cat lady.
You can’t go wrong anywhere there are cats lounging about.
:)
Traveling is wonderful but it’s always good to come home to one’s kitchen – I was just away for 10 days and missed it quite a lot! These are beautiful pix … have not yet been, but with the vegetarian recommendation I may have to plan a trip for ‘one day’ …
Thank you for capturing the true beauties of Jakarta! :) Lots of visitors can’t see beyond the traffics and crowded malls of the city. Hope you’re taking advantage of the fantastic food over there!
Wow. This is just gorgeous. Bring me home the littlest orange kitty?
The red, spiky fruit… My mouth watered when I saw the picture. I grew up in the Philippines and have that tree in our neighborhood. Rambutan is what we call it back home. What is it called in Indonesia? A juicy pulp of sweetness… Oh… I would pay any price to eat some rambutan right now.
Yes, rambutan! They are good.
just beautiful. I’m new to your blog, having made your grapefruit-olive oil cake for my colleagues yesterday!
Just found your blog and love it! Such beautiful photos!
I love your photos of the market. :-) How wonderful and inspiring to be so close to such wonderful ingredients. :-)
The colors are so vivid! I especially love the photo of the rambutans. Makes my mouth water.
Beautiful photos! Thank you for sharing. I’m planning a trip to Indonesia and would love your tempeh tips.
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