Sometimes when you are traveling in a car in another country and you came across the unfamiliar and do not know what it is and there is no one to ask. Often you were also moving through so fast that you would not even have time for a shot even though you may have your camera ready. Of course I could not have my camera ready on this trip with my boss in the front seat.
However, when the car stopped after the toll to wait for the others to catch and my boss was engrossed in a conversation, I saw a few scenes that I could not help shooting to share with you. They raised more questions than answers really, so make your best guess.
Saw this advertisement for toilet by the highway but it is all fenced up and inaccessible from the road. Perplexing?
Okay. There is a sign further up pointing the direction. That is the way to go, right?
Except it is over a rickety wooden bridge, and then through a hole not higher than 3 feet. You have to bend more than double to squeeze through under a W.C. sign. You can see steps leading up to…? Make your own conclusion.
Further ahead is a T-junction but with all the signs pointing in one direction. A street child was dragging his feet across the road heading towards the signs and against the directions. He is in the middle of a busy of a highway. Wonder where he is going? Somehow this scene evoked in me a deep sympathy.
This is another confusing scene. A tilting large umbrella with an attached plastic table and a bottle of mineral water on top. There is a red plastic chair and a couple of carton at the foot but nobody around. What is it doing there? The umbrella and chair is in a most dangerous corner of the highway. Surely it cannot be selling mineral water to speeding trucks at dangerous corner? Anyone want to try guessing?
On the way back from the ground breaking ceremony, we stopped over to a Chinese restaurant in Cilegon named “Kartika”. It is not decorated like any Chinese restaurant you’ll come across, though there is a “Fu” (prosperity) calendar in the picture below. I really like the wall bricks with hollowed patterns that let in air and sunlight as well as giving it an unusual atmosphere. Note the beautiful ceiling which is reed patterned mat. I loved them but they were spoilt by hanging plastic balloons and airships – an incongruous blend of classic design and modern kitsch.
This table was taken up by the four drivers that drove us from Jakarta. The Chinese food served was watered down and not very authentic or rather had been modified to suit local taste. However, they were quite palatable. One interesting dish I remembered was small round thin beef patties that had been deep fried. It went very well with the sauce.
After the heavy lunch, we parted company and made our own ways back to Jakarta. In our case, it is straight back to the airport. Next year, I will probably be traveling more often there for this project and hopefully more stories.
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