Those of you who have been to Jakarta know how chaotic and messed up the city is. I've never had much love much for the city though I've been there a gazillion times. It's dirty, polluted, completely unorganized, crowded, almost green-less and devoid of charms (except the old city). Plus it gets severely flooded every year without failed, which I once had the misfortune of experiencing in 2008. While I do sympathize with many of my Indonesian friends (and some Malaysians) who are currently living in the city and have to endure this hellhole, in a way I feel really vindicated by the massive flood that inundated Jakarta last Monday. When my former Indonesian l'amour unceremoniously dumped me one of the reasons she gave was that Jakarta is her city, where she works and socializes with her friends. It's unimaginable for her to ever leave the city. I responded that it's a city beyond redemption, an overcrowded wasteland of glitzy malls amidst teeming slums and snarling gridlock. It's not a very conducive place to live, and it boggles the mind why people would want to live there if they have the option of living in a much better environs somewhere else. So, when the flood happened part of me felt great and completely redeemed, which almost led me wanting to post gloating, in-your-face remarks on Facebook and Twitter (common sense and empathy took over at the last minute). Anyway, here's an article in the Jakarta Globe about the flood and its attendant traffic jam last Monday.
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