Jakarta, Indonesia. Friday Feb 19, 7pm.

What a hectic couple of days.
First, our days on Gili T:
We walked around the island, took about two and a half hours. Away from the main tourist strip were a couple of big resorts on deserted beaches. There was one made from the hull of a ship! We swam for a bit, and Phill tried to get all Bear Grylls on a coconut, and failed. There was a massive deserted bar, with huge platforms right on the beach, but it looked abandoned. There was lots of empty plots...our hotel owner encouraged us to buy up...
Spent the afternoon relaxing on the beach and eating...lots of eating.
On Monday we went on a snorkelling 'cruise', on a very dodgy boat, with dodgy 'guides' and dodgy gear...for $9. It was good fun though, we went to three dive spots, the first with ok coral, the second was called Turtle Point (for the turtles), and the last spot, near Gili Air, was awesome coral and fish, really shallow and close to shore. After diving they took us to a restaurant on Gili Air - bit of a rort as we stayed there for about an hour and it rained the whole time.
That night we were going to go wild (and Phill did). One pub on Gili T had 14,000Rp (about $1.70) double vodkas and whiskeys, so we indulged. Phill had to have a beer to 'settle his stomach' after the dodgy local whiskeys. The vodka (and sunburn) made me ill, so I pyked...Phill can tell you about his night...
The next day (Tuesday?) we began an epic journey back to Denpasar. First there was the hour 'ferry' back to Lombok, a two-hour shuttle to the port in Lembar (a very scary trip in the front seat), about an hour wait in a packed shed at the port, with so many offers of rice (to be fair, it was good rice for 80 cents). Then finally we boarded the ferry for Padang Bai in Bali for six hours. Then there was the two and a half shuttle to Denpasar. Then walking around the bus terminal at Denpasar to try and find a hotel (they were all 'pull'). Finally after about half an hour we found one, for 50,000Rp, with a squat toilet. We went and booked a bus ticket to Jakarta - about $35 for the supposed 24-hour bus.
The next morning (Wednesday) we were at the bus depot at 5.45am, left Denpasar at 7.30 and proceeded to have a very interesting 31 hours on the bus. Granted, the seats were comfortable and reclined, air con was good, blankets and pilllows, and the bus was only half full (or half empty, if you are the bus company).
We only found out after 29 hours that our two drivers (and their 'companion' in a purple boiler suit) were drinking Indonesian whisky the whole trip. This would go some way to explain the erratic driving, extended 'toilet' breaks, and excessive horn usage.
The roads were dodgy and narrow, but our drivers insisted on overtaking at any possible opportunity - a loud horn seems to make it legal. They even beeped police cars! We were stuck at roadworks (blokes in thongs with shovels, not a Stop/Go sign to be seen) for at least an hour.
A good thing was the meals. For lunch and dinner we stopped at big roadside cafes and had rice, veges and chicken, included in the ticket. But poor Phillip was still under the spell of the runs and not up to much. He even had to do a poo in a squat toilet at a rest stop. Luckily though not in the bus, whose toilet was disgusting (naturally).
When, at 10am we finally started to (slowly, very slowly)roll in to Jakarta, the bus stopped at its final company terminal...we're still not sure where it is though. We had no map (and no Lonely Planet, God forbid!) and no concept of where we were, and where Jakarta was... After much poor Indonesian/English conversations with people at the bus terminal, we got a taxi to the Ibis Hotel, only because we happened to see it on Wotif.com a couple of days ago, and it said it was in the city centre. After an awful two and a half days travelling, with swollen ankles and upset stomachs we were happy to part with $60 for a room at the Ibis - with aircon, hot AND cold water, a fridge, cable TV, and a checkout time of 12pm. So we were happy.
We showered (so clean!) and got a map and our bearings, and a $5 taxi to the Chinese Embassy.
So...there's this thing that the Chinese people celebrate, called Chinese New Year...in February! Those crazy Chinese! So after walking around the building, feeling very intimidated by the metal fences and barbed wire, we found a page sticky taped to the fence saying the embassy was closed for a week to celebrate the year of the freaking tiger. It opens Monday 9am, we fly out Tuesday 4pm, so hopefully we can get me an emergency visa on Monday.
So back to the city, where we found the fanciest shopping mall ever - valet parking, flowers in the toilets, and security checks for taxis and customers. All the big buildings, particularly big company head quarters, has a huge security contingent, since the bombings in Jakarta.
We found lots of Western brands - Hugo Boss, Nike, Marks and Spencers (!) and lots of Western restaurants. Phill indulged in a Fatburger for $10, and I bought the last Harry Potter book from an English book store, which made me happy.
Then back to the Ibis to relax! Watched alot of the Winter Olympics on ESPN (go Torah!) and a bad Indiana Jones film. WE both had an awesome 10-hour sleep.
NOW we are in another hotel, Focus, still near the city but not so nice. We booked on Wotif.com but the reception lady could not understand us, and pretty sure they didn't have the Internet. The hotel is very close to some markets and it seems alot of traders stay here - there is a massive store room (doubles as reception) with people packing and unpacking goods, and about 100 mopeds just parked there. The best thing - free WiFi!
Went to the movies this arvo - From Paris with Love. Wow - bad. But it was $3 each, and a good way to spend a rainy afternoon in Jakarta. WE also negotiated the traffic and walked to the National Museum, paid 20 cents and looked around for a bit. But then we got hungry, and when we get hungry we get grumpy.