Although we had been up for 32 hours I guess my body was still on central time or some variation of that because I woke 3 hours later at 8:00am Jakarta time and was wide awake . . . and hungry again!

I decided to get up and go the the breakfast buffet and scout around to see what the placed looked like during daylight hours.

Our hotel. . .

. . . and lobby, quiet at this time of the morning.

. . . and very secure! Doorman there 24/7. At times we are were directed through the detector and sometimes not. Sort of depends on who is staffing it at the time or maybe how ‘dangerous’ we look!!!

If one did get hungry during the day there was a little café/coffee shop in the lobby where for about $2.50USD you could satisfied your hunger and sweet tooth in one stop!

After breakfast, I went back up to see if emJay was awake yet. She was . . . but decided to sleep ‘a little more’. At 1:00pm, Jakarta time, I jiggled her and said she might want to get up!!!! An hour later we were having a nice lunch, in the hotel restaurant, emJay Pad Thai and me a HUGE club sandwich. We were ready to do some exploring.

Right down the street was a familiar logo from Wisconsin, the local Harley Davidson store. We didn’t see one on the city streets today, just A LOT of small Honda scooters, sort of a cross between a moped and motorcycle. Haven’t really seen anything like it in WI. Judging from the looks of the way they operate, they might not pass US emission standards.

One of about a dozen urban malls in Jakarta was located a block away from our hotel so we ventured over to check it out, on the lookout for some batik and a SIM  card for my phone. Block M had something for everyone. We first ventured into the five story market that was PACKED with people and merchandise on every square inch. Each little shop had a store from of about 20 feet wide and maybe 20 feet deep. They reminded me of vendor booths at one of our state fairs. The first four stories were filled with clothing shops and each one appeared to be selling the same merchandise, at the same price. Not sure how the locals decide which one to visit.

Near one of the entrance’s was a Burger King which surprisingly had three scooters outside offering delivery service. Wow, in Indonesia . . . one  could really have it your way AND delivered too.

Shopping vertigo!!!! The place was mobbed and we soon moved on to what looked like a higher end 5 story building down the road. It looked very much like one of our Macy or Boston  Stores. Wide aisles, merchandise ‘professionally arranged’, smartly dressed sales staff and 20% SALE signs everywhere! The quality and prices of the merchandise seemed MUCH higher. We looked around a bit more on our ‘scouting mission’ and by 6:00pm we were wore out. We headed back to the hotel bar for a few vinos! The only thing I had purchased was a SIM car for my cell phone. The shop keeper helped me install it. He spoke ‘a little English’ which ended up being a lot more than the amount of Indonesian Bahasa I could speak (which was/is Zero!)!

A year or so ago I had purchased a Chinese ‘knock off’ of a Samsung, directly from Hong Kong, (that was interesting experience). It work fine until I dropped it off a night stand in a Czestothowa, Poland hotel room while on a biking trip. When we got to Zakopani, Poland, I purchased an unlocked Samsung Galaxy World phone which was the same model as my regular US cell phone. It is unlocked and GSM technology so can be used anywhere in the world, other than the US.

(Postscript for my  Chinese phone story: I thought it was dead but once we returned from Poland I put it in the closet and over time the battery completely discharged. After about 3 months I charged it up again and it now works fine!!!) Background photo on the Samsung World phone above, emJay enjoying a ‘fat pill’ at the bakery before heading out on a days adventure in Poland!)

The interesting thing about buying a SIM card overseas for a GSM phone is anyone can buy one without a long term contract. I purchased a simPATI card from Telkomsel  generally considered to have the broadest coverage over Indonesia for the best value. I bought a text, phone and 2.5gb data card for about $4USD. I pay about $70/month for the same thing! No question who is making money on that deal!!!!

As soon as I powered up the phone text messages started showing up including the one shown above between Gary and me from September of 2013. It was from our Poland trip the day my derailleur and axle disintegrated.  I took a taxi, with me and my bike, the forty miles to,  Rzeszow, our home for the night to get it fixed. I had a nice lunchy which I remember it was quite tasty, (see photo above)! Where the message has been floating around for the last year is anyone’s guess!!!

After a few glasses of wine in the bar, two each to be exact, we decided to regroup and stretch out for a minute or two on our bed to decide if we needed dinner or not, still being quite full from lunch. A minute or two stretched soon into 8 hours as we slept away our jet lag. Hopefully . . .