Lost Horizons

Where has all the traffic gone?

It has been two years since I was last here in Jakarta, and my initial reaction, on the drive from the airport, was where is all the traffic? It may be my memory playing tricks on me, but the number of vehicles on the road seems a lot less than before. Also everyone riding motorcycles is wearing a helmet and no one is sitting side saddle.
Checked in at the hotel, after the obligatory security checks that were comprehensive. The girl who showed me to my room, pointed out my nearest fire escape ( I was impressed). When she asked if she need to show me the amenities in the room, I declined, saying it was a standard JW Marriott room and I think that I know my way around it. Maybe "showing me the amenities" was a code for something else?
Straight into a meeting with one of our managers from Singapore and a commercial guy from Head Office, catching up on what is going on in the company.
Nice meal in the evening at a Balinese restaurant, somewhere in the middle of nowhere. Meal for 10 people, with copious beer 1.6m Rupiah, about 200 US Dollars which was copious ammounts of food and beer.
Things are looking up. On the way back to the hotel, I found out about the traffic: it only comes out after dark!

posted by Luke @ 7:45 AM