Run-off elections in Peru

I'm in Lima, Peru for two weeks of reconaissance for an upcoming trade-related project. I was considering flying to Cusco for two days to see the Sacred Valley, the location of many Inca ruins and the setting off point for Machu Picchu--THE most famous place in Peru and arguably all of South America--butI wouldn't have had time to actually make it there. Instead, I'm hoping to explore Lima a bit and am holding out hope for a future trip on which I can hike the Inca trail.

Another reason for not flying to Cuzco this weekend is the run-off election taking place this Sunday between Ollanta Humala and Alan Garcia. It is highly fraught--with Humala crying that if he loses it will be the result of fraud, and some expectations that hired guns will try to make trouble in the streets. In addition, there has been some actual trouble in Cuzco in recent weeks (not clear if it was orchestrated or not) and people were shot.

Even though my last few days have been filled with discussions of the various positions and political manuvering of the candidates, as anyone familar with Peruvian politics is well aware, that doesn't mean I actually understand what is going on or can possibly predict what will happen on Sunday. This site at least tracks the news pretty well (http://weblogs.elearning.ubc.ca/peru/)--it's not all in Spanish either.

The major implications for my work here is that if Humala wins he has pledged to withdraw from the US-Peru FTA process altogether. This could mean cancellation, or at least revision of what we expect to be working on. Garcia is a bit friendlier to US interests--and has a platform that people can understand--so a win for him seems for many people to be the better of two bad choices.

In terms of Lima though, it has a wonderful familiarity to me after my months in Quito, with its mix of parks, colonial buildings, and the Latin American-style walls with intricate wood or metal grates snug up against the sidewalks. It is also human sized, in contrast to mega cities like Jakarta, with buildings in most of the city not much higher than 8 stories and neat and tidy streets filled with cars--both parked and driving. Against the odds of the "garua" season we're in, where a misty microclimate hangs over the city, today was also bright and shiny with a wonderful cool breeze, especially near the huge coast line.

Historic Jakarta

One of the incredibly generous women in my office invited me to come on a tour of historic Jakarta during my second weekend in Indonesia. She's a member of a history group and the event was a holiday related to Chinese New Year. The tour focused on Chinese parts of the city--the Chinese have seemingly always played a big part in the business world of Jakarta and have little gems of temples tucked away in corners of the city. Seeing these places was a treat, but even more amazing was the ability to walk around downtown Jakarta. The city is totally overwhelming in terms of heat and humidity, noise, smells from street vendors and the sewage and trash filled canals, and chaotic traffic on narrow, "organic" streets. It would be impossible to learn anything about it in the short time I'm here without having these guides--especilly Nelly from the office!
Busy downtown street filled with bajaj--rickety motorcycle taxis that I'm afraid I never tried...


Buidling wall--patched together like much of the old city


Street artist creating charcoal portraits from photos


Mending cans that are used to sell water--many people in Jakarta have no access to potable water or sewage systems


Chinese temple roof


Alter in the Chinese temple


Sejarah Jakarta or Jakarta history housed in the old Dutch town hall. This old colonial part of town is known as Kota (used to be Batavia)


Dragon dancing in the colonial plaza


Typical folk art from Jakarta

Yogyakarta

Almost immediately upon arrival in Jakarta a woman from the office offered to take me to her family home in Yogyakarta, Central Java. I almost couldn't believe that she would spend her whole weekend, not to mention the money, but she was happy to do it and we had a really wonderful time seeing the city and the amazing temples the area is known for. Yogya is a special Municipality in Indonesia in that it is still governed by a Sultan.
Candi Prambanan is a huge complex of ancient Hindu temples that used to be the capital of a kingdom in the Sanjaya dynasty
Driving up Merapi mountain
View from the mountain
Rice paddies surrounding town
Rice paddy near Wiga's house
Market in downtown Jogja
Women selling bananas

Call to prayer

Today I took a walk off the giant Sudirman through a lush garden with fountains spraying water in the wind to the alley way behind. I was hearing the call to prayer that rings through the air periodically throughout the day, but it seemed to be the same volume as it always is so I didn't realize there was a mosque right in front of me until I saw row upon row of men and boys kneeling and bowing. Some were on prayer rugs, but more were on newspaper with newspaper sheets covering their heads as well. They filled up the inside of the mosque--which was at least partially open air--and into the narow alleyway so that between them and a food cart there was only 1 narrow path for all of us walking in both directions. I wandered down and around some of the narrown crowded streets for awhile, fighting for space with cars, motorcyles, and lines of little motorcyle cabs.

Out and about

Today was a bit of a struggle after only 4 hours of sleep last night, but it was an ok frame of mind for editing the assessment I'm compiling. Much of it was written by non-native English speakers so editing on that level is an interesting challenge. My plan was to get some groceries at lunch time and I discovered that there was someplace I could actually walk to from work! It was my first real experience walking anywhere in Jakarta. It is really easy to get into the routine of hotel-taxi-office-taxi-mall-taxi... because everything is too far away from each other to walk, the sidewalks are often tiny or non-existent, and the traffic is constant and insane. However, there's a big mall across the 6 lane road in front of my building and a nearby overpass allows you to actually get across without having to take a taxi a few miles up the road and back.

Getting out of my air-conditioned, business-traveler bubble made me realize all the more what a city of contrasts Jakarta is. My desire not to stand out in a Muslim country means I always have long pants and long sleeved shirts on (even though I occasionally see women in short skirts or tight pants, many also have head scarves and long tunics over their slacks) so walking in the heat was overwhelming. The Indonesian women I was with from work also seemed to think it was hotter than usual and we all hoped for a crazy downpour, though none ever came. The number of people on this stretch of sidewalk and in the overpass, combined with tiny elderly women crouching shoeless by blankets spread with umbrellas and belts for sale, made walking a slow, almost intimate process. The smells in the street were intense in the heat as well, with sewage and car exhaust and food all combining.

Ultimately the grocery store wasn't much of a success as it seemed to be filled mostly with Ramen instant noodle packets or ingredients for complicated Indonesian dishes I can't make without a kitchen. The smells of the produce section were overwhelming again, making me wonder if jet lag is enhancing my sense of smell or if the plastic wrap on the durian wasn't really sealed. This is a grocery store and mall for "regular Indonesians" meaning it isn't full of the Prada, Ferragamo and Versace that some of the malls have (who is buying this stuff I wonder?) but even so the idea of regular Idnonesians can sometimes seem strange. On the way home tonight I went through a route of open shacks serving as homes and shops separating the roadways from the garbage filled rivers. And the open air streets off the main road near my office building seem a lot more accessible to the "regular" in a country with per capita income of and street corner restaurants where a meal can be had for Rp5000, or a little more than 50 cents.

Jakarta Part II

I arrived safe and sound in Jakarta this morning (returning February 24) after two days of travel from DC to Chicago, Hong Kong, Singapore (for an overnight) and on to Jakarta. Singapore to Jakarta is only about two hours but for some reason United doesn't fly direct--I wonder if Singapore is restricting travel in order to maintain its position as a "hub" in the region, but I need to confirm that...

It's nice to have a feeling of familiarity about everything here from my trip last November--the lines and processing to get a visa in the airport and the intense heavy heat and haze of the city. The traffic from the airport wasn't too bad this time either, as I arrived on the Muslim new year and most people took the day off from work. Jakarta is one of those cities that has become paralyzed by traffic and it can take over an hour to go the 18 miles from airport to hotel on a weekday. Everyone here wonders how long it can go on getting worse before it is wall to wall gridlock and no one can get anywhere at all...

Selected works