Can one judge a country by its capital?

Yes and no.

In Managua, Nicaragua for example, you immediately get a feeling of being in a country that does not care about its people. A government only interested in its own members rather than people as a whole.

A communist government not interested in fixing major traffic lights or beautifying its main points in any way. Run down police buildings donated by the people of China with typewriters older than dirt and when you need a report written of some sort, you have to make sure they put it on a piece of paper which at least looks like something official rather than a piece of homework a dog once ate and then got rid of.

On the same token the fact that when you go to a photo place to get passport pictures done, it is quite obvious that when you need a European or American size passport picture, you are required to pay around $35 for a set of photos compared to $4 for the ones that meet the requirements of central American nations.

In other words, you get the hint right away of what to expect in Nicaragua and even thought there are some nice spots in the country, you right away realize that you have to be aware of their rules and that you are in a country where the priviledged few make the rules and you are bound to be of benefit to them or else.

Even though in time you get to know people and realize the beauty of the people, you cannot stop recognizing that you are in a country where the government is simply bad for the lack of better words.

Panama and Costa Rica as well, you see their capitals and realize that there are issues. But neither of those two countries with its caps San Jose and Panama City is all the way run down, there are just very many indicators that when you are not going to work on making it, nobody will make it for you.

So let me just move right along as I am done comparing the upcoming with places I have seen in the past few years so the topic of this post is Jakarta, Indonesia.

Wow. I have not seen such pollution in ages. Not since being stuck in L.A. traffic during rush hour. Unbelievable. I have learned that Indonesia has oil and it’s good oil. That oil is being sold to richer countries while garbage oil is bought, which is cheaper. The balance of the oil trade is used for other more critical things such as food. The use of cheaper oil for fuel is one of the biggest reason why Jakarta is so polluted.

I have been told that Indonesian police is very corrupt, but that things have been getting better since the death of the last dictator Soeharto who after his 36 year rule in 1998 fell due to a peaceful revolution of demonstrations in which Indonesians made clear that enough was enough.

Indonesia is new to freedom. The old strongholds of dictatorship are still present as the dictator has died only last year.

The old dictator has made many decisions based on keeping the nation ignorant and their stomachs fulls enough to keep them from realizing that the nation’s economy and well being was going downhill.

After 37 years of debt and mismanagement of the country’s capital, the people woke up and realized that subsidizing gas prices is not the answer to fixed a failed economy.

From what I can tell Indonesia has long ways to go, but looking back at its history seems to be on the right track. The temperature here is hot and I was told that when it goes down to around 70 degrees Fahrenheit, people actually get sick because anything under 85 they are simply not used to.

I have been drinking more water than a camel after a marathon.

Around 2,000 motorcycles are being sold daily in Jakarta alone.

In Indonesia you cannot own land unless you are Indonesian, but American companies can partner with Indonesian companies in real estate projects and there is always the option of lease.

All in all I like where I am and am open to anything at this point.

The area where Obama grew up is 20 kilometers from here and I will be going there soon.

Here is what I have gathered so far about the religious makeup of Indonesia:

According to Wikipedia, 5 percent here are Christian. According to the Indonesian government 10 percent, but many Indonesians have not changed their ID card as the government requires you to put down your religion.

According to Christian churches here, at least 30 percent are Christians, and there are both, above ground and underground Christians.

This is a topic I will not yet be getting into any further as my information currently comes from 3rd hand data. I will be heading to Bali and Borneo next and see the beauty of the country which Jakarta does not capture.

Something I have been told before I came here.

I will be attending one of the Christian churches and am excited over being a part of an important movement going on down here.

Thank you everybody for reading our blog.

Mike Dammann
Indonesia to Go

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