Gagabber: Organization in Jakarta

I've tried to be pretty positive so far on the blog, but I have to complain a bit. One quirk in Indonesia is the store organization and building layout. Most of the times we are able to laugh at it, but sometimes it just gets old. Everything takes way too long. We've decoded a few of the patterns.

1. The Brand Method: Common in home goods sections. If you want a blender don't go looking for the blender section. Instead you'll need to search through the Phillips shelf, the Kitchen Aid section, then it's on to the Cuisinarts, and well you get the point. Don't plan on a quick purchase or the ability to do a side by side comparison.

2. The Maze: Because of the pollution, traffic, and lack of sidewalks it's pretty hard to walk in Jakarta. People wander around the huge malls instead. These malls are laid out so you can walk for hours without passing the same place. For a quick errand it feels like your navigating through a maze while the crowd moves in slow motion. Out of the 10 malls we've been to, we've only able to find 1 map.

3. Just Find a Place For It: This one is pretty common. It seems like when a new item arrives, any open spot will do. Today I counted 5 places for spices at the grocery store I frequent. By now I've got it memorized, but at first I walked back and forth way too many times.