I had no idea about how quickly time really does fly until moving overseas. We have been in Jakarta for a little over a year now, and it literally seems like we just arrived yesterday. I think time feels like it is flying by because we do so much. In the States, we hardly ever went anywhere other than the usual…to work, to school, and to visit family. Most weekends we stayed at home or close to home. Here we are doing so much more. The kids have more after-school and extra-curricular activities. We are also traveling a whole lot.
Last year we arrived at the end of February. In March, I took the kids to Balikpapan to spend Spring Break with DH. He was sent there for a 4.5 week assignment just after we moved to Jakarta. In July, we went back to the U.S. for 3 weeks to visit friends and family. In October, we spent a week in Bali during Fall Break. In November, we took the kids to Hong Kong over Thanksgiving break.
In between all the larger trips, we took short trips in and around Jakarta to see the many sights. It seems like a rare thing for us to stay home on the weekends. Although we did not fly anywhere during the 3 week Christmas break, we still did lots of fun things around Jakarta.
This year is also blowing by quickly. In March we took a 2 week trip to Taiwan to meet up with my parents. This last weekend (Easter weekend) we went to Singapore for a few days. Next month we are headed to Malaysia for several days. Then the day after school lets out in mid June, the kids and I will be off to Texas for 2 months! By the time we get back, more than half of 2012 will be over.
DH and I talked about all the things that we have done in the last year. Mostly the reason we have been so active going places and seeing things is because we do not know how long we will be living overseas. This might be our only opportunity to live in a foreign country. We are definitely trying to make the most of our time here.
Our kids are still so young. We have wondered how much they will really remember. Still, I am glad that they are having opportunities to go new places and experience so many wonderful things. We feel very blessed to be able to spend so much time together as a family and to have so many positive experiences. Life is good.
Monday, April 9, 2012
Wednesday, March 7, 2012
Future cars
Even though I have a car in Indonesia and two cars in USA, I am still always daydreaming about buying more cars. Especially for when we return to the US in the future. Generally, I am thinking about one of two catergories: 4x4's and alternative energy / energy efficient cars.
I have always been a fan of 4x4's. I even spent a lot of my youth reading magazines and anything else I could about the subject, and yet I've never owned one. But I am pretty committed to getting one when I return to the US of A. I really want to get back into hunting and other outdoor projects. I generally like buying new cars (although our Indo car we bought used), but the trouble is that I just can't get over how much a new 4x4 truck or suv costs as it would not be a primary vehicle. So, I'll likely get a used one. Some of my personal favorite 4x4's are the Toyota FJ-40, Ford F150 4 door, and Toyota 4 door trucks. Sometimes I even think of going all out and getting a 3/4 ton Suburban / Expedition, but that's a lot of car. So far, my practical side has won out, and I've bought just enough car to meet my needs.
Recently, I've been doing a lot more research into high fuel efficiency vehicles. I guess its the nerd in me coming through. I've been in love with the Ford Fiesta (picture from autoblog.com) and Focus (especially the electric version) ever since they've been redesigned. Finally, America is getting refined, gorgous compact cars. I am also excited about other cars just now coming out like the plugin Prius and the Ford C-Max cars (even though they are missing the critical third row. Come on Ford!). 2012 should be an excited year for cars. :)
A couple years ago, I came fairly close to buying the Honda Civic CNG powered car. I really like the idea of filling up at home whether it is natural gas or electric. My commutes are generally well below the 100 range of CNG and electric cars, so I think they would suite my commuting needs perfectly. The main reason I never pulled the trigger is that I currenlty own a perfectly servicable Pontiac Vibe that gets great gas mileage (34 on highway) and is paid off. It is impossible to beat the economics of a paid off, reliable, fuel efficient car.
What I am really waiting for is the high efficiency family hauler. I would love to buy a 7-8 passenger car that gets 30+ mpg. Currently, for whatever reason, such a car has yet to be avaiable in the US. I currently have a Mazda 5 which is a fanastic car that seats 6 and get 30 mpg in the real world, so that may have to do for now until something better comes along.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens when we move back (whenever that is)...
I have always been a fan of 4x4's. I even spent a lot of my youth reading magazines and anything else I could about the subject, and yet I've never owned one. But I am pretty committed to getting one when I return to the US of A. I really want to get back into hunting and other outdoor projects. I generally like buying new cars (although our Indo car we bought used), but the trouble is that I just can't get over how much a new 4x4 truck or suv costs as it would not be a primary vehicle. So, I'll likely get a used one. Some of my personal favorite 4x4's are the Toyota FJ-40, Ford F150 4 door, and Toyota 4 door trucks. Sometimes I even think of going all out and getting a 3/4 ton Suburban / Expedition, but that's a lot of car. So far, my practical side has won out, and I've bought just enough car to meet my needs.
Recently, I've been doing a lot more research into high fuel efficiency vehicles. I guess its the nerd in me coming through. I've been in love with the Ford Fiesta (picture from autoblog.com) and Focus (especially the electric version) ever since they've been redesigned. Finally, America is getting refined, gorgous compact cars. I am also excited about other cars just now coming out like the plugin Prius and the Ford C-Max cars (even though they are missing the critical third row. Come on Ford!). 2012 should be an excited year for cars. :)
A couple years ago, I came fairly close to buying the Honda Civic CNG powered car. I really like the idea of filling up at home whether it is natural gas or electric. My commutes are generally well below the 100 range of CNG and electric cars, so I think they would suite my commuting needs perfectly. The main reason I never pulled the trigger is that I currenlty own a perfectly servicable Pontiac Vibe that gets great gas mileage (34 on highway) and is paid off. It is impossible to beat the economics of a paid off, reliable, fuel efficient car.
What I am really waiting for is the high efficiency family hauler. I would love to buy a 7-8 passenger car that gets 30+ mpg. Currently, for whatever reason, such a car has yet to be avaiable in the US. I currently have a Mazda 5 which is a fanastic car that seats 6 and get 30 mpg in the real world, so that may have to do for now until something better comes along.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens when we move back (whenever that is)...
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Toyota Kijang update
I've always had an interest in cars, so I'll probably start blogging more about them in the future. Now that we've had our 2001 Toyota Kijang almost a year, I'll take a moment to reflect back on car ownership in Indonesia.
We bought the SUV from a friend at church that was moving to India. We got a fair price for the Kijang and the opportunity to hire our friend's driver, Hartoyo. Hiring Hartoyo has been great as he has lots of experience driving expats in Jakarta, and he is honest and reliable. There are many fantastic things about having a driver, but one of my favorite is that I have yet to see the Kijang dirty for more than a few hours. Even in the rainy season, Hartoyo keeps the inside and outside of the car immaculate. He reminds me of routine maintance, and is always willing to work late (for over-time, of course) when we need it. It is a pleasure to pay him each month as he has become an integral part of our life here.
As far the car goes, we pretty much bought it after a quick test drive, and I must say that so far the old Kijang has run like a champ. The car only has about 100,000 miles on it, but no telling how many hours on the engine as I am sure 90% of the gas we buy is burned up in idling in traffic. Whenever we are lucky enought to get out of Jakarta and up to 50+ mph, the car gets about 30 mpg (although I've never done a proper calculation).
As far as I know, the car has the original engine and transmission, and both work very smoothly even after 10+ years of bouncing down Indonesian roads. We have done some work on the car (with cost including labor): 2 oil changes (50 USD each), fuel filter replacement (20 USD), new shock absorbers (100 USD), repad the seats (100 USD), rework the A/C (200 USD), new seat belts (200 USD), replace a door lock motor (20 USD), new battery (80 USD), replace a headlight fuse (2 USD), and replace the radio power cord (20 USD). I may have forgotten a thing or two, but really the Kijang has treated us well and has yet to leave us stranded on the side of the road (knock on wood). :)
We bought the SUV from a friend at church that was moving to India. We got a fair price for the Kijang and the opportunity to hire our friend's driver, Hartoyo. Hiring Hartoyo has been great as he has lots of experience driving expats in Jakarta, and he is honest and reliable. There are many fantastic things about having a driver, but one of my favorite is that I have yet to see the Kijang dirty for more than a few hours. Even in the rainy season, Hartoyo keeps the inside and outside of the car immaculate. He reminds me of routine maintance, and is always willing to work late (for over-time, of course) when we need it. It is a pleasure to pay him each month as he has become an integral part of our life here.
As far the car goes, we pretty much bought it after a quick test drive, and I must say that so far the old Kijang has run like a champ. The car only has about 100,000 miles on it, but no telling how many hours on the engine as I am sure 90% of the gas we buy is burned up in idling in traffic. Whenever we are lucky enought to get out of Jakarta and up to 50+ mph, the car gets about 30 mpg (although I've never done a proper calculation).
As far as I know, the car has the original engine and transmission, and both work very smoothly even after 10+ years of bouncing down Indonesian roads. We have done some work on the car (with cost including labor): 2 oil changes (50 USD each), fuel filter replacement (20 USD), new shock absorbers (100 USD), repad the seats (100 USD), rework the A/C (200 USD), new seat belts (200 USD), replace a door lock motor (20 USD), new battery (80 USD), replace a headlight fuse (2 USD), and replace the radio power cord (20 USD). I may have forgotten a thing or two, but really the Kijang has treated us well and has yet to leave us stranded on the side of the road (knock on wood). :)
One year in Indonesia!
On 23 February, we celebrated one year in Indonesia. We had a nice dinner at Samy's Curry restaurant which serves Singapore style Indian food. It was delicious, but as a co-worker pointed out, a bit ironic that we didn't have Indo food. Oh well, LOL.
It's been crazy fast as we've done so much in so little time. We've many new friends and had so many amazing experiences. Most mornings I wake up and can't believe we live in SE Asia. Its like a dream come true...for me at least.
The family has done remarkably well at adapting to life here. I think that is largely due to my previous experience of living in Singapore and Malaysia, our family trips to Belize and Taiwan, and our even living in another state (Oklahoma) from our native Texas.
Really, life is very similar (with a few notable differences). We still have to get the kids out the door to go to school in the morning and I still do the same job (although I walk here instead of drive). The main differences would be that traffic dominates any decision of what activities to participate in and we live in an apartment instead of a house.
All in all we are enjoying our stay here and are looking forward to another great year in Jakarta!
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Traffic
Unfortunately, this last month I've spent alot of time at the SOS clinic in Kuningan. My youngest has had one illness or another this last little while. While I was waiting with her at the clinic this last time, I picked up a newspaper to read. There was an article about the traffic in Jakarta. Anyone who lives in Jakarta can relate to how awful the traffic situation is here. The article talked about the construction of the flyways and whether or not the projects would help the increasing traffic problem.
In the article, it was reported that on a daily basis, some 230+ cars and almost 900 motorcycles are added to the roads each day! No wonder I kept thinking that traffic seemed alot worse than when I first moved here almost 1 year ago. It is! Major roads and intersections are terrible. The article said that in one particular area, the road could accomodate 3500 cars per hour. Well, there are 4500 cars that pass through there each hour. I'm thinking that by the time the flyways are finished, there will be too many cars and motorcycles on the road to make a real difference. I think that there needs to be some way to limit the exponential growth of the number of vehicles on the road. I heard somewhere that traffic in Jakarta will come to a gridlock by 2014. I hope I'm not around to see that. I find sitting in current traffic frustrating enough.
I have to say that the traffic is probably the number one thing that I dislike about living here in Jakarta. My driver makes having to go from one place to another a bit more bearable. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, he is sick today Thursdays are my worse days in terms of having places that I need to go.
Last Thursday, the first taxi I pre-ordered never showed. The second taxi was running extremely late. By the time the dispatcher said it would arrive, it would have been over an hour late. I jumped into the first available taxi I could find, but it didn't help me get to my destination any faster. The driver took me on a 1/2 hour ride only to end up just across the street from my apartment. Then it took another hour to get to my destination. To say that I was frustrated is putting it mildly.
Today I've pre-ordered 2 taxis. I sure hope they come and that I will make it to my destinations in less time than it took me the last time. I'm crossing my fingers that today will be a better day than the last. Traffic in Jakarta is bad. Sometimes it is worse. And, once in a blue moon, I am pleasantly surprised. Such is life in the Big Durian.
In the article, it was reported that on a daily basis, some 230+ cars and almost 900 motorcycles are added to the roads each day! No wonder I kept thinking that traffic seemed alot worse than when I first moved here almost 1 year ago. It is! Major roads and intersections are terrible. The article said that in one particular area, the road could accomodate 3500 cars per hour. Well, there are 4500 cars that pass through there each hour. I'm thinking that by the time the flyways are finished, there will be too many cars and motorcycles on the road to make a real difference. I think that there needs to be some way to limit the exponential growth of the number of vehicles on the road. I heard somewhere that traffic in Jakarta will come to a gridlock by 2014. I hope I'm not around to see that. I find sitting in current traffic frustrating enough.
I have to say that the traffic is probably the number one thing that I dislike about living here in Jakarta. My driver makes having to go from one place to another a bit more bearable. Unfortunately, as fate would have it, he is sick today Thursdays are my worse days in terms of having places that I need to go.
Last Thursday, the first taxi I pre-ordered never showed. The second taxi was running extremely late. By the time the dispatcher said it would arrive, it would have been over an hour late. I jumped into the first available taxi I could find, but it didn't help me get to my destination any faster. The driver took me on a 1/2 hour ride only to end up just across the street from my apartment. Then it took another hour to get to my destination. To say that I was frustrated is putting it mildly.
Today I've pre-ordered 2 taxis. I sure hope they come and that I will make it to my destinations in less time than it took me the last time. I'm crossing my fingers that today will be a better day than the last. Traffic in Jakarta is bad. Sometimes it is worse. And, once in a blue moon, I am pleasantly surprised. Such is life in the Big Durian.
Friday, February 3, 2012
Taxis
So I remembered another reason why we are glad to have a car and driver. Yesterday, because my driver was unavailable, I had planned on taking the taxi wherever I needed to go. I thought I would call ahead for a taxi instead of trying to hail one off the streets. Well, the taxi never showed up the first time.
My son and I walked to the nearby hotel and got a Silverbird Taxi. We made it to his Mandarin class in time. Since the cost of the Silverbird Taxi is rather pricey...at least double the rate of a Bluebird Taxi, I decided I would walk home. Well, I got caught in the rain so I was soaking wet by the time I arrived home. That was not too fun. My son was able to get a ride back with a friend who is in the same class and happens to live in our complex.
The second time I called for a taxi in advance, the taxi was running about 45 minutes late. I was able to jump in a different taxi when I saw one pull up to the apartment. This taxi driver took me on some crazy round-about loop to avoid waiting the 15-minutes or so it would have taken to go up the street, make a loop, and go the other direction off of Jalan Sudirman. If I would have known what he was going to do, I would have objected. About 1/2 an hour later, I found myself in front of my apartment again albeit going the other direction. I was pretty frustrated.
So 1.5 hours later, I made it to my destination. Traffic is always terrible in Jakarta, but yesterday evening was particularly bad. The total cost of taking taxis yesterday was around US $17. I didn't even go a couple of other places I had originally planned on. It would have been an even more expensive and frustrating day.
So, my driver is back at work today. I missed him alot yesterday. The funny thing is I don't think I'm going anywhere today...lol. I'm just glad he's here.
My son and I walked to the nearby hotel and got a Silverbird Taxi. We made it to his Mandarin class in time. Since the cost of the Silverbird Taxi is rather pricey...at least double the rate of a Bluebird Taxi, I decided I would walk home. Well, I got caught in the rain so I was soaking wet by the time I arrived home. That was not too fun. My son was able to get a ride back with a friend who is in the same class and happens to live in our complex.
The second time I called for a taxi in advance, the taxi was running about 45 minutes late. I was able to jump in a different taxi when I saw one pull up to the apartment. This taxi driver took me on some crazy round-about loop to avoid waiting the 15-minutes or so it would have taken to go up the street, make a loop, and go the other direction off of Jalan Sudirman. If I would have known what he was going to do, I would have objected. About 1/2 an hour later, I found myself in front of my apartment again albeit going the other direction. I was pretty frustrated.
So 1.5 hours later, I made it to my destination. Traffic is always terrible in Jakarta, but yesterday evening was particularly bad. The total cost of taking taxis yesterday was around US $17. I didn't even go a couple of other places I had originally planned on. It would have been an even more expensive and frustrating day.
So, my driver is back at work today. I missed him alot yesterday. The funny thing is I don't think I'm going anywhere today...lol. I'm just glad he's here.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Dependency
When we first moved to Jakarta, DH and I had decided that we were just going to "taxi" it everywhere. DH was supposed to be working at a client location that was not too far from where we live. He thought he could easily walk or it would be just a short taxi ride in the morning. The kids would take the bus to and from school. If we wanted to go anywhere other than to school or work, then we would hail a cab. It seemed like taxis were everywhere and readily available.
Well, as it turns out, our plan to take taxis everywhere didn't last very long. We quickly found out that when it's raining or if it's a friday afternoon, then it is very difficult to hail a cab. If it's raining and a friday, just forget it. We found ourselves walking home one evening from Plaza Semanggi in the rain with all 3 of our kids because there was a super long line of people waiting for non-existent taxis.
DH found himself on the back of an ojek (motorcycle taxi) a couple of times because he couldn't get a taxi late on a friday afternoon. A couple of times, I got calls from the school for some emergency or another and it took me awhile to grab my youngest child, walk to the street, hail a cab, and then try and get the cab driver to get me to the school. I found out that most of them don't speak English and they don't automatically know where the school is. The cab drivers also will not tell you that they do not know where something is located. I was proud of myself for learning the phrase for asking do you know where something is (Anda tahu dimana...). I finally stopped using that phrase because every last taxi driver would say "tahu" or I know even when they didn't know. That was rather frustrating.
In short, it didn't take us very long to realize that we really needed a car and driver. We met some friends that were leaving Jakarta and they sold us their Toyota Kijang. We also hired their driver. I would have to say that getting our own personal vehicle and driver was the best decision we could have made for our family.
Well, I hate to feel like I am overly dependent on anyone or anything, but I am seriously dependernt on my driver. On days when he is sick or unavailable, I am seriously in a slump. Our driver gets us everywhere we need to go, and usually in a very reasonable amount of time. That is a miracle considering how bad traffic can be in Jakarta.
Tomorrow my driver has to take care of some personal business so he is unavailable for work. I am dreading tomorrow. I have to take my youngest in a taxi to a friend's house for a birthday party. Then I have to take a taxi home, hopefully in time to meet my daughter when she gets off the bus. Then when my son gets home from school, I will have to take a cab to take him to his bi-weekly Mandarin class. After I get home from that, I will have to get in another cab to go to a Church function.
A day like tomorrow is actually pretty normal. And usually, my driver will take me all those different places. I just sit back and read or text DH until I arrive at my desination. No big deal on those days. On those driverless days, I realize just how dependent I am on my driver. I am really gonna miss him tomorrow.
Well, as it turns out, our plan to take taxis everywhere didn't last very long. We quickly found out that when it's raining or if it's a friday afternoon, then it is very difficult to hail a cab. If it's raining and a friday, just forget it. We found ourselves walking home one evening from Plaza Semanggi in the rain with all 3 of our kids because there was a super long line of people waiting for non-existent taxis.
DH found himself on the back of an ojek (motorcycle taxi) a couple of times because he couldn't get a taxi late on a friday afternoon. A couple of times, I got calls from the school for some emergency or another and it took me awhile to grab my youngest child, walk to the street, hail a cab, and then try and get the cab driver to get me to the school. I found out that most of them don't speak English and they don't automatically know where the school is. The cab drivers also will not tell you that they do not know where something is located. I was proud of myself for learning the phrase for asking do you know where something is (Anda tahu dimana...). I finally stopped using that phrase because every last taxi driver would say "tahu" or I know even when they didn't know. That was rather frustrating.
In short, it didn't take us very long to realize that we really needed a car and driver. We met some friends that were leaving Jakarta and they sold us their Toyota Kijang. We also hired their driver. I would have to say that getting our own personal vehicle and driver was the best decision we could have made for our family.
Well, I hate to feel like I am overly dependent on anyone or anything, but I am seriously dependernt on my driver. On days when he is sick or unavailable, I am seriously in a slump. Our driver gets us everywhere we need to go, and usually in a very reasonable amount of time. That is a miracle considering how bad traffic can be in Jakarta.
Tomorrow my driver has to take care of some personal business so he is unavailable for work. I am dreading tomorrow. I have to take my youngest in a taxi to a friend's house for a birthday party. Then I have to take a taxi home, hopefully in time to meet my daughter when she gets off the bus. Then when my son gets home from school, I will have to take a cab to take him to his bi-weekly Mandarin class. After I get home from that, I will have to get in another cab to go to a Church function.
A day like tomorrow is actually pretty normal. And usually, my driver will take me all those different places. I just sit back and read or text DH until I arrive at my desination. No big deal on those days. On those driverless days, I realize just how dependent I am on my driver. I am really gonna miss him tomorrow.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)