Beef rendang, avocado juice, and black rice pudding from Murni’s Warung

Denpasar has one of the prettiest airports I’ve seen

Frankly, I’m surprised they made it through as many airports as they did

(thanks, Simba)

I put down 50k rupiah for a game of poker with some people at the hostel, and walked away with 125k, for a whopping $5.34 profit. Of course, that goes a long way in this country where a hot meal can cost less than a dollar.

…or maybe just warming up in Jakarta, with its 90° days.

I made some friends at the hostel and explored the city some more. Jakarta has a wealth of street food once you know where to look, and the nightlife is pretty bumping, although unlike most things in Jakarta, the price of alcohol is similar to what you’d find in America.

Some pictures I’ve taken:

View from Six Degrees Hostel’s rooftop bar

Bakso soup and es teler from Es Teler 77, an Indonesian fast food chain

Sate Padang with ketupat from a street vendor

National Monument (aka Soekarno’s final erection) with Lou

Independence Mosque with Lou

Jakarta Cathedral

Some pictures I took while walking around the city

Dragonfruit and banana smoothie from Historia restaurant

View from Lucy in the Sky bar, with Peter, Tommy, and Lou (left to right)

Obligatory picture of the nasi goreng I got delivered to my hostel for $2.50. I was starting to get worried about eating – there isn’t much in the area, and a lot of it isn’t very accessible without speaking the language – but Grab is a lifesaver.

Cheap food aside, Jakarta has yet to wow me. It’s not a great city for walking around — things are spread out, the infrastructure and traffic patterns aren’t friendly to pedestrians, and it feels grimy. I hear it has some good clubs though, so we’ll see.

In other news, a local told me that Surabaya isn’t worth visiting, so I may just skip it and spend some extra time in Bali.