A new Birthday has gone

One more and one more birthday has passed...so what?? Well a mixed feeling of becoming more mature???or just older but no problem, as far as another heavy, shattering, tense tourist season is gonna finish in a positive way, as far as God gives us a good health we must be happy and grateful and enjoy every second and every breath of this wonderful life. So what better way to celebrate it if not having a birthday lunch to Caffè Roma where a perfect and professional host like Walter and his marvellous cook Ramona prepared for a delicious fish meal with Tagliolini allo scoglio, mixed salad, fried fish, good white wine, caffè and a strong and scented mirto flavoured grappa.
I received so many lovely presents(T-shirts, shorts, books, after shave, and so on) but the very best one was the presence of my friends and my family. Pity that my aunt, cousins and daddy were not there, anyway these are really those moments which makes life worth to be lived ;-)

Return to Jakarta

After more than one year I was craving a return to Indonesia and finally, alone this time, I returned.
When you move from one area to a different one, in a huge metropolis like Jakarta, it's like to make a travel inside a travel, thus Pancoran was a real new experience in a real new "world" compared to Sudirman. As usual I gradually started to roam around the alleys and roads of the area, discovering small mosques, tiny eateries, high standard kindegarten and luxurious villas.
Pancoran is not a charming place but has its good sides maybe negligible but made my walks very nice: a couple fruit seller with delicious guava, sweet rambutan, tasty red dragon fruit or amazing dukuh who made my breakfast just a dream of healthy morning meal or thanks to a buttery avocadoes a great ingredient for my dinner salads.
But above all, in Jalan Raya Kalibata, an easy 30 minute walk from my place, from 7pm there was not only a small area with good and cheap food vendors but also so many Durian vendors, selling so many types of this stinky but delicious fruit coming from every corner of Indonesia but also from Thailand.
Another good reason to appreciate Pancoran, was the Duren Kalibata train station which allowed me to travel around Jakarta in a very fast, safe and efficient way but also to meet so many locals, from students to english teachers, from lawyers to housewives, all of the extremely friendly toward this solo bule traveller. It was so relaxing to travel by train, crossing the city in a different way, stopping at unknown stations, mingling in this huge warm humanity, no matter how crowded it could be, every trip was fine, every station a nice stop, even if a rain downpouring was ravaging outside.
What else made living in Panchoran fine??? maybe the small Kalibata Mall  despite I am not a fan of Mall lifestyle, or even  the poor, modest but cheap and genuine PGC.
Let's see where I will stay next time, because there will be a next time in Jakarta...insy-Allah.