It was nice Saturday when I met Allegra and her two friends, Patrick and Lisa, from Germany.  Before meeting me, they often came to Indonesia, but they had no chance to explore wonderful part of Jakarta. So, as their request, I helped them plan a City Tour Jakarta and guided them while strolling around the city.

What I learned from them, they enjoyed to see how people do their daily works, as a fisherman, as a seller at local market, as a pork butcher, et cetera. Patrick, the only male guest who joined Jakarta Walking Tour, said he wants to know ‘the process’. For example, a fish which sold on the supermarket, he wanted to know where are the fish came from, how to catch the fish, how long fisherman sailing ship to catch the fish, and every process before the fish touch down the supermarket. He wanted to know from the very beginning.

He says, “When I know exactly from where and how the fish or the goods can be seen in front of me, I can start to appreciate small things. Because, then I realized that even the fish is so small, it comes from somebody hard works”.

So, he was very happy when I tailored him to go to North Jakarta to meet some fisherman and strolled around fish market. He finally can meet fisherman in person, not in whisper only. Hahaa.. It was something that he cannot found on his country, Germany.

They also felt happy when I took them to local market. I encouraged them to eat anything they never seen before. Guava, a tropical fruit, they do not know what it is like before. Patrick said, he had drink guava juice before, but he did not know what it is really like. Lisa and Allegra, do not know Guava at all, that was their first time taste Guava.

 

In city tour Jakarta, I also treated them with some local snack in the market, such as lemper ayam (chicken filled glutinous rice), gorengan (fried foods), candied orange, cakwe (fried breadstick), coconut milk popsicles, et cetera. They all felt happy to eat something that they never taste before. It was a surprise for their tongue! 😀

So, the day when they joined City Tour Jakarta, I as a local guide feel very grateful. I was happy to meet such humble friends from Germany who dare to face ‘the reality of Jakarta’ (got stuck in traffic, jostled in the public bus), want to try something new, and have a big curiosity about what happen in Jakarta. Lisa, Allegra, Patrick, I must thank you!