If you came to visit...

The Asian Section of the food Court

I would take you to the mall.  Don't worry, it would not be the only place I would take you, it goes without saying that I would show you the coolest monkeys ever, but the mall would be a stop that we would need to make.  There are many reasons why I make this statement.  First, mall life is such a part of the Jakarta culture.  It is what people do here... they go to the mall.  Secondly, I spent the entire afternoon at the mall in complete awe... hence I want to share it with other people.  There are many things spectacular about the malls here. They have all the designers, Gucci, Armani, Mark Jacobs... the list goes on and on.  I have never seen these stores before yet they are in the Indonesian Malls.  Secondly, they are designed in a way that is unbelievable.  At the mall I was at yesterday, each food type area had its own decoration, the Japanese cuisine had bamboo and cherry trees, the French Cuisine area was done in the motif of Baroque architecture, the American area was set up like Central Park.  I had such a good time just walking through the different areas.  It was amazing.  Thirdly, the malls are such a strong contrast to a lot of the rest of Jakarta.  They are always the same cool temperature compared to the hot humid air outside, they are clean compared to the pollution and litter, they are quiet compared to the noises of traffic and people calling to you for a taxi...they are just so different.  It is the ying and the yang of Jakarta culture... and something I think everyone who comes to Indonesia should experience.  

The transition from the American to Chinese Section.