Adventures living as expats.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

6 Month Survival Guide

This week marks 6 months in Jakarta for Jeff and I!  It's been a bumpy road , but absolutely worth the journey in order to experience all that SE Asia has to offer.  Along the way we've learned few things that we're now deeming critical for survival and sanity.
  • Everything takes longer so keep your expectations realistic:  Whether it's multiple signatures to change a filter, a checkout process with 4 lines and 5 people to help, or a replacement light bulb requiring 3 different stores, just remember it's not you.
  • Take advantage of food delivery: Whether it's your favorite taco joint or Indian curry, many Jakarta restaurants deliver for just a few dollars via motorbike.  It's quick, hot, traffic free, and tasty!
  • Premiere movie theaters are the best: Huge recliner chair, blanket, food and beer service, cheap popcorn, all for less than a movie in the States.
  • Get out of Jakarta:  Indonesia is a beautiful, amazing country so exploring is imperative at least once per month.
  • Share menus at restaurants:  If you have a party of 4 for dinner, it's likely you'll get 1 dinner menu, 1 drink menu, and 1 breakfast menu.  You can ask for additional menus, they may come eventually, but honestly it's just easier to share.
  • Eat when your meal comes:  Don't wait for everyone to get their meal, delivery times will be random so dig in!
  • Learn to enjoy ice cold, red wine from restaurants:  It grows on you I promise, just overcome your ambitions to become a connoisseur of fine wine.
  • Don't take anything as a given:  If you like foam in your cappuccino, order it with extra foam.  
  • Massage or reflexology once a week:  There's nothing better than 60 minutes of bliss for $8 to help you forget about the Jakarta traffic.
I can't resist adding in a few pics.  Here's a weekend project of our favorite photos from Thailand.  I'm loving my new camera!

Our new plants on the balcony.  Hopefully we'll have better luck with these lime trees than we did in Oregon.  

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