On Thursday 1 February, we experienced the Full Moon in Leo; my zodiac sign. I couldn’t understand why I felt so edgy on its eve, unable to sit, stand, relax, meditate or unwind. In a word, I felt tentative. All was revealed when I awoke to the floods on Friday morning. It took me 3 hours to ATTEMPT to get to work, and then in the end, I surrendered to Nature’s havoc and returned home.
There is something eerie-ly calm and surreal about disasters inflicted by water. Unusually cool, Jakarta was a sight to behold. The rivers had burst their banks and flowed freely throughout the city, with no discrimination against those who normally enjoy the benefits of socio-economics. Even the ‘posh area’ of Kemang – ‘the expatriate ghetto’ – could not escape.
In some areas, water reached 7 metres high and actually went over the roof of some houses. The house across the street from me – the pool chairs were floating in the garden. The mariners had to be called in to fish people out of their homes with only a few ‘essentials’ like passports and a change of dry clothing. Just before hitching a ride with a truck to take me a few metres along Kemang Raya, I met an English couple while walking down the street – they watched all of their furnishings and appliances – washing machine, fridge, and sofa – float right through their front door.
Thankfully, my house is built on a slight incline so I suffered neither floods nor leakage. But places have been without electricity, water, telephone and cable. Again, I've been blessed with both water and electricity.
An empty house opposite mine was transformed into a 'safe haven' for those who'd been evacuated from their homes. Amir (my faithful gardener) had been up all of the previous night helping people to evacuate. We then sent out and bought provisions to make soup and to provide water. There are so many children running around and playing in dirty water that it's frightening. The flood is one thing. In a city like Jakarta, I shudder at the thought of potential diseases to follow.
On Saturday, determined to see and explore more, bravely I jumped on the back of my driver’s ‘ojek’ and headed towards our offices in the city. ‘No wonder the vast majority of the local community opt for this mode of transport,’ I thought. We were able to dodge and weave ourselves into the tiniest alternative routes, to avoid the cappuccino coloured water swirling around the city. Lake Thamrin (formally known as Jl. Thamrin) was virtually empty and impassable.
All shops were closed on Friday. When they managed to open their doors on Saturday, I witnessed likewise expatriates stocking their shopping carts only to arrive at the check out counters to greeted by signs screaming CASH ONLY! ATMs are also not working properly which only exacerbated an already desperate scenario. This just goes to show how much of an illusion we all live under with our credit cards, mobile phones, blackberries, blueberries and cherries, internet connections, etc. Luckily, I had enough cash in my wallet to pay for the few items I came to purchase – and even some left over to buy some of my favourite flowers – 'Sexy Pinks!'
At the end of the day, we've only got ourselves and our abilities to adapt and thrive in adversity to rely upon.
A few things have struck me through all of this: in spite of their plight, how the Indonesians continue to smile, to bear witness to the immediate formation of communities’ void of demographic divide unite and just support each other and lastly, how ALIVE I feel in the midst of all of this mayhem.
There is something eerie-ly calm and surreal about disasters inflicted by water. Unusually cool, Jakarta was a sight to behold. The rivers had burst their banks and flowed freely throughout the city, with no discrimination against those who normally enjoy the benefits of socio-economics. Even the ‘posh area’ of Kemang – ‘the expatriate ghetto’ – could not escape.
In some areas, water reached 7 metres high and actually went over the roof of some houses. The house across the street from me – the pool chairs were floating in the garden. The mariners had to be called in to fish people out of their homes with only a few ‘essentials’ like passports and a change of dry clothing. Just before hitching a ride with a truck to take me a few metres along Kemang Raya, I met an English couple while walking down the street – they watched all of their furnishings and appliances – washing machine, fridge, and sofa – float right through their front door.
Thankfully, my house is built on a slight incline so I suffered neither floods nor leakage. But places have been without electricity, water, telephone and cable. Again, I've been blessed with both water and electricity.
An empty house opposite mine was transformed into a 'safe haven' for those who'd been evacuated from their homes. Amir (my faithful gardener) had been up all of the previous night helping people to evacuate. We then sent out and bought provisions to make soup and to provide water. There are so many children running around and playing in dirty water that it's frightening. The flood is one thing. In a city like Jakarta, I shudder at the thought of potential diseases to follow.
On Saturday, determined to see and explore more, bravely I jumped on the back of my driver’s ‘ojek’ and headed towards our offices in the city. ‘No wonder the vast majority of the local community opt for this mode of transport,’ I thought. We were able to dodge and weave ourselves into the tiniest alternative routes, to avoid the cappuccino coloured water swirling around the city. Lake Thamrin (formally known as Jl. Thamrin) was virtually empty and impassable.
All shops were closed on Friday. When they managed to open their doors on Saturday, I witnessed likewise expatriates stocking their shopping carts only to arrive at the check out counters to greeted by signs screaming CASH ONLY! ATMs are also not working properly which only exacerbated an already desperate scenario. This just goes to show how much of an illusion we all live under with our credit cards, mobile phones, blackberries, blueberries and cherries, internet connections, etc. Luckily, I had enough cash in my wallet to pay for the few items I came to purchase – and even some left over to buy some of my favourite flowers – 'Sexy Pinks!'
At the end of the day, we've only got ourselves and our abilities to adapt and thrive in adversity to rely upon.
A few things have struck me through all of this: in spite of their plight, how the Indonesians continue to smile, to bear witness to the immediate formation of communities’ void of demographic divide unite and just support each other and lastly, how ALIVE I feel in the midst of all of this mayhem.
2 comments:
Wow! Colorful, descriptive, and beautifully woven together.
Beautifully written. A real treasure.
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