Wayang, Ojeks, and Batik

October 5. 2011.  I've had a full day.  I started off by going to a Wayang Golek performance, a puppet show.  It was accompanied by gamelan and pretty spectacular.  There is one puppet master, the Dalang, and he had the puppets sword fighting, flying, chopping heads off, etc.  Wayang Golek is with 3D wooden puppets.  The cutest old guy (which made me think of my sister, RP) was there selling his hand carved wooden puppets.  They were gorgeous and I would have bought one, but they were mostly sold out by the time I got there at the end of the show.  I did get his name though, so maybe I'll be able to track him down.  Puppets are a big deal in Jakarta and there is a puppet museum here, which I plan to check out soon.  The other type of puppets are Wayang Kulit, which are 2D shadow puppets. 

Ode to RP:  Aming Sutisna - Wayang Golek Craftsman

After the puppet show, my first in Jakarta, I had another first.  There was a long line of cars with drivers waiting to pick up the women who were at the performance with a few taxis in this long line.  I felt pretty savvy, because I decided to walk out to the street to get a taxi.  There were many taxis available, but there was also an ojek driver waiting right outside the gate.  An ojek is a motorcycle and driver who transports passengers for money - a motorcycle taxi, if you will.  I have not yet ridden on an ojek and to be perfectly honest have been a bit afraid since I have seen how the motorcycles swarm through the traffic.

He asked me if I needed an ojek.  I asked him how much to take me home and he said Rp. 40,000.  The taxi to get there cost Rp. 30,000, so I told him Rp. 20,000.  He told me it was far and offered Rp. 25,000.  I told him that I would just get a taxi and then he said ok, come on.  I asked if he meant Rp. 20,000. and he said yes.  (Don't be impressed by my bargaining skills, I probably still grossly overpaid, but it is only an issue if I am aware that I overpaid, and I am not sure how much ojek drivers "should" charge so it is all good).  I still wasn't sure if today was the day I would take an ojek, but with the bargaining process completed, I felt obligated to hop on.  He handed me a helmet and I reminded him for the third time "pulan-pulan" (slowly).  He understood.  I never felt afraid because of his driving, however, I did feel a bit afraid the entire time.  But I told myself that since I was now on the ojek, I might as well relax and enjoy it because everything else was really out of my control.  While I was white-knuckling the handle behind my seat and "relaxing," I was contemplating my mortality and my plan that if I was ever about to fall off, I would grab onto the driver, because I did not intend to fall off by myself.  He turned out to be an excellent ojek driver.  He avoided all the grates and potholes even when it was an inconvenience, perhaps because of my initial insistence on pulan-pulan.  It is quite nice to ride on an ojek.  When you are moving it is very cool and it is faster than a taxi because you can weave in and out of traffic.  I will do it again.  I did have to wipe off some smut which accumulated on my face by the time I got home.

The best part of that adventure was the look on the guards' faces when I pulled up in front of the apartment compound.  Their mouths sort of dropped.  There was some sort of exchange between the guards and the ojek driver and he had a huge smile on his face when he told the guards "pulan-pulan."  As I was walking through the gates, the guards asked me, "Ojek?"  I told them it was fast.  I felt very cool (literally and figuratively) riding on the back of an ojek.  I also feel I have taken the first step toward owing a motorcycle...

When I got home, I went batik shopping with my new friend, Kristin.  Several people told me that I should meet her and that I would really like her, but of course, when people say something like that I am very skeptical, by nature and by training.  Turns out the people were right.  I really like her.  I bought a few pieces of batik and am hoping that Yana can work her magic on them. 

It was a very lovely day.