The very first attraction on my tour of Indonesia was a walk through a local market to a mosque in Jakarta.
1. The entrance to the area.
2. The front side to most of the shops.
3. With the help of our guide I bought one of these hats. It was self defense because both of my other hats were in the lost suitcase and I was desperate for sun protection. Then, for the rest of the trip the locals laughed at the American tourist in a peasant’s hat. They may have been laughing at me, but I was grinning, too.
4. Lunch wagon.
5. We then left the main street and went through a “dirty, smell, and wet” area which had not light even if it wasn’t strictly speaking underground. Here, and herbalist.
6. Eggs, which they were candling when we arrived.
7. Everything from noodles to tree bark.
8. No Not ostrich eggs. Coconuts which he is stripping the outside off of in preparation for making coconut “milk” which is their primary source of cooking oil.
9. The generic version of coconut milk. You can buy it in bottles under brand names, but it’ll cost more.
10. They sell more modern stuff, too.
11. We came out in a back alley, then followed it around so we could see…
12. … the back sides of the shops where we started off. Notice the boat? Their backyard is a river close to the ocean. The second floors are their homes.
13. The don’t line the boats up to look pretty. They are simply parked.
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