The joys of Jakarta traffic

When we first moved to Jakarta 2 and a half years ago, I thought I was prepared for the traffic. I mean... traffic, schmaffic. I'd heard all the horror stories. Come on...I'm Malaysian! Who hasn't sat through an hour on the Federal Highway, or been caught in the forever changing 1 way systems in the centre of KL. Not to mention being stuck on the M25 and North Circular Road in London... Traffic! Ha! I laugh in the face of anything Jakarta could throw at me...

Well, you know what they say, pride goeth before a fall. After 3 hours of trying to get from the airport to town (not even to the house!), a crabby 4 year old in tow, I was ready to prostrate myself before the Gods of Jakarta traffic. It was unbelievable! True, there was rain, and it was also a Friday night, but rain in Jakarta is like roast beef and yorkshire pudding, or nasi lemak and fried anchovies, you can't really have one without the other. Of course, subject to times of year, you get more or less of the stuff... And Fridays, don't they come, something like, once every week? In any case, my first lesson of Jakarta traffic... If it rains, stay home. If it's rush hour (7-10am, 12-2pm, 4-7pm), stay home. Weekends, stay home. We've learnt, over time, how to 'guestimate' how long it will take us from Kemang to the airport in order to make the 1.5hr check in time. It's an art. The conversation between my honey and I goes something like that:

Hubs : Flight's at 2pm tomorrow. Check in at 1. Leave house 11.30. Lunch traffic...
Me : Siau! (Meaning crazy in a Chinese dialect) International check in is 2 hours!! Check in at 12. Normally takes 1 hour to get there, but lunch traffic, extra 30mins. Also Friday, extra 30mins. Starting to drizzle too... We leave at 930am!
Hubs : Nah... You're being over cautious... (Mind you, he's the one who's missed flights, not me)

Usually after a lot of wrangling he'll agree to leave at 10am. So far, we haven't missed any flights while travelling together. Incidentally, that first trip from the airport to our rented house in Kemang took 5 hours.

A little tip for those travelling with kids. Have a little bin lined with plastic in your car. Also supplies of old newspaper, wet wipes, tissues and hand sanitisers. I can't begin to count the number of times kiddo has needed the loo while stuck in the traffic. Short of opening the window and dangling her out over the poor, hapless motorcyclists, not to mention the insult to her dignity, this is honestly the most acceptable option.

Here's to dust bins!!