We asked the best way to get to Singapore from Jakarta, and it turns out they are only ninety minutes by air, or as the crow flies, but we we not riding crows, instead one of excellent jet liners widely available these days. Since we had heard Jakarta is all about the shopping and the food, we were keen to get there and start. We had yet to make a reservation at one the Jakarta hotels and looked forward to doing so when a fellow from the area of Jakarta asked if he could offer some assistance. We told him we were all about the food and shopping blah blah blah and this Mr. Kumas wore a slightly faded blue ruffled shirt and greased back hair and had an unlit Camel cigarette between his teeth. “Best place for you,” he said slowly and with some significance, “is to try the market on Surabaya Street You have heard?” We had not heard, and we had to leave for the airport toot sweet, so we of course invited him for a pre bon voyage drinky-poo so we could pump him for info. Turns out a quick wi-fi scan of Surabaya Street reveals a half mile long lane of crowded overstuffed sellers selling stuff like you wouldn’t believe, from jade green Buddhas to humidors to whatever may have washed ashore that day. “Ah, very good,” said Mr. Kumas (is that an Indonesian name?) as I handed him the little screen on my Internet device. He nodded at the little scene and said we should go there and see and, more importantly, buy, buy, buy. We had just about finished out julep like minty drinks when it was time to part ways with our Mr. Kumas, who shook our hands warmly and gave us the name of a restaurant we should try when we got to Jakarta. Armed with this knowledge and slightly buzzed to boot, I was ready to hit the skies and get busy.

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