Well, what can I say about Jakarta? I had the luck to spend three nights in Jakarta last month and I must say I wish the good people of Indonesia all the best and a lot of patience but most of all..mental health! I mean who can explain me why there are not thousands of roadkills, people going bezerk, furious madness in the streets of Jakarta? I swear to God, I needed one and a half hour just to leave the airport parking area because of the chaotic car situation..it took me 2 1/2 hours to get to the hotel..luckily I was picked up by our partner there but I really felt sorry for the poor guy. He said he was used to it but how can you get used to such a nightmare? Anyways, I had a reservation at the Double Tree Hilton, which turned out to be a splendid hotel. Service was top notch. Breakfast was great and the rooms were always tidy. The only minus point I could mention was the difficulty to find the entrance of the hotel. It was hidden in a side alley and a bit complicated for taxi drivers to find it. My customer took me to dinner in a fish restaurant and the food was extraordinary. I am not a big fish-fan (neither the band nor the food :-)) but the shrimps, different dishes in sauce they were all delicious.
I knew about the whole massage culture in Indonesia but I wasn't really comfortable because I didn't want to end up in happy-end massage parlour when my customer suggested to have a massage. But to my surprise the massage center was in a modern shopping mall and it was quite cheap. One hour massage for 25 USD was acceptable and the massage was very relaxing. And no happy ending by the way. It was a very clean and professional place so my worries were needless.
I have to say that I was disillusioned with Jakarta. There wasn't much to see. Tall buildings, shopping malls and crowded streets. But the food was great. So I caught my next plane to Ho Chi Minh-City curious to see what Vietnam was like.
I took an early flight from Istanbul to Bucarest choosing my favourite (attention: sarcasm!!) airline again: Turkish Airlines. Not that it renders excellent services or anything but it helps me to collect miles so I can fly for free (for free means that there are still plenty of taxes to be paid!!) By the way, they have once more proved what assholes they are....
I was going to go berserk over TK here but to be honest..I totally forgot what I was mad about in the first place because I am writing this Bucharest blog 2 months after my visit. It didn't stuck with me so it must have been nothing big..but that's typical me..getting mad over small things sometimes, but five minutes later I can't even remember what it was. not really a resentful person am I? Is that a good thing or a bad thing that I have a memory of an armchair?
So I stayed at the Z Executive Boutique Hotel, which is a small boutique hotel, as the name itself already says, situated in the city center but it is hard to find for taxi drivers since it is in a side-alley. However, the hotel itself was really nice, rooms were really clean and the city view was really beautiful, especially at night. Totally recomendable. Bucharest is really nice. They have a splendid old city. Nice big buildings. Some fake Arc de Triomphe. Cool parks. Endless massage parlours.
I guess prostitution is a big problem here. Oh no, all of them Romanian prostitutes are actually in Germany, so all is okay.
I was there for an exhibition and make some customer visits. The exhibition turned out to be a total joke. It was a one-hall event and it was only half full. Don't even let me start with the number of visitors because that was a jape too. However, people are totally friendly and I had a great time. I went to a casino with a colleague and I must say it was fun. You get yourself registered and then you can enjoy free meal. Hey, I even won a few bucks. I like Bucarest a lot. I think it is a great city with friendly people and nice things to see.
