Demonstrasi

Well, that was interesting…we were headed to Bandung this weekend on the 12:45 pm train.  We left our apartment at 11:00 for the “15-20 minute” cab ride to the train station.  The driver told us there was a ‘demonstrasi’ near Gambir (the Jakarta train station) but he would find another route.  No problem.

Until it was….the taxi took us right into the middle of the demonstration – several tens of thousands of Muslims protesting the upcoming election – they are upset at Ahok, the Jakarta Governor and have accused him of blasphemy.  Ahok is VERY popular with the majority of Jakartans, so he is expected to win, but not without some opposition.

So, we were completely stuck and the taxi moved about 100 yards in about an hour.  We didn’t dare get out and walk, so we just stayed put and watched.  Needless to say, we missed our train and when we finally broke free, we just had the tax take us back to our apartment.  We had left about 11:oo am and got back to our apartment about 2:30 pm.

Yes – the street vendors were out trying to sell their goods!

The flag reads ‘Allahuh Akbar’…..

The guys on the curb in the dark shirts (behind the lady) are gathering for a group foto! 

While we really didn’t fear for our safety, we also don’t want to do this again anytime soon!