Friday, November 30, 2012
Snakes alive!
One of the advantages of living in a gated community is that the management company performs various services alongside general maintenance. For example, we have just had a visit from the community "snake charmer", whose job is to check the yards of the neighbourhood for snakes. Wandering outside to watch, I see a man in rubber boots, jeans and a cowboy hat with a gently writhing sack at his feet - apparently today's haul. He gallantly offers a look inside, something our pembantu is quick to accept. Nochalantly unknotting the sack and rolling down the sides we can see a mass of squirming snakes, most about as thick as your finger, but a couple more than an inch in diameter. I mention cobras, and get a "yes, two cobras today". Noting a trail of blood on his hand, I say "aren't they poisonous?" and in the best traditions of Indiana Jones, receive the response "yes, very dangerous". Our security guard then returns from the backyard with 3 other men, presumably they've been beating about in the bushes. He states "kosong" - no snakes today in our yard. I reply "bagus (good), please come again...often" as they pick up the sack and wander on down the street to check the next house.
Wednesday, November 7, 2012
In the house - finally!
We're finally in our permanent (well, 3-yrs anyway) home!! After four months in the hotel, we have moved into a ridiculously large house in a lovely neighbourhood in South Jakarta. The boys are loving the space - Rory is having a great time crawling everywhere - and having a dedicated playroom for all the toys. Will be a shock moving back to Oz eventually, but for now, it's great.
While our initial intention of apartment life didn't pan out (after missing out on 4 apartments in a row we switched to looking at houses), we have managed to get most of the advantages of the apartment with the added bonus of plenty of space - across the street is a park, there are a mass of other kids in the area roughly the same ages for the boys to play with, and we still have access to a pool and tennis courts. The disadvantages of the house are the hassle of managing extra staff (now have gardener, pool guy, security guards), more local wildlife and the lovely aroma of the canal at the back!
Renting in Jakarta is a little different to Australia. Most landlords require rent in advance, usually for the entire period of tenancy! I'm not sure if this is just for expats, or for everyone, but handing over three years worth of rent up front is a bit daunting! It also provides little incentive for landlords to fix anything once you're in, so it's important to get everything done beforehand. They also seem quite content to renovate pretty much anything for you initially - we've had internal doors added, pool fence installed, exterior walls retrofitted and a number of minor things and I've heard of double glazing, even minor walls knocked out! Of course the standard of work can be a little haphazard - our pool fence was great except for one section (now remedied) that for some reason was a few inches further off the ground than the rest (just big enough for Rory to squirm under!), the exterior lights had no switch, you had to turn them off at the switchboard, and then none of the power points outside (or lights in a cupboard inside) would work either, and our bathroom lights still only come on when they feel like it! I also decided to hang pictures myself after the handymen did the first few by simply banging nails into the concrete - completely unconcerned by the big chips they were knocking off!
I haven't taken any photos yet, but we have 4 bedrooms, 4 toilets, 3 bathrooms, a huge playroom, large office, and massive open plan dining, lounge and family room areas! There is also a lovely pool, yard for the kids to play (although they found the first snake there yesterday - ~70cm long, about as thick as your thumb and no doubt quite deadly, I think cobras are common). For the staff there is an outside kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms (we're using one for storage). The security guards have also appropriated the cupboard in the garage and lined it with moving paper and bubble wrap - I think so they can grab a nap every now and again! We supply the basics - tea, coffee, sugar, milk powder and rice for our staff (and any roaming security personnel who happen to drop by!) Apparently they like their drinks sweet, as the four of them go through about 500g of sugar a week! It is common for drivers and guards to congregate outside the gates to chat, smoke, play chess or generally hang out waiting for someone to come or go. They thriftily construct seats out of tree stumps, old packing boxes and other bits of rubbish and all know everyone in the street, so the kids are welcomed by name wherever they go.
It's all very different to what we're used to, but (snakes aside) isn't a bad experience so far!
While our initial intention of apartment life didn't pan out (after missing out on 4 apartments in a row we switched to looking at houses), we have managed to get most of the advantages of the apartment with the added bonus of plenty of space - across the street is a park, there are a mass of other kids in the area roughly the same ages for the boys to play with, and we still have access to a pool and tennis courts. The disadvantages of the house are the hassle of managing extra staff (now have gardener, pool guy, security guards), more local wildlife and the lovely aroma of the canal at the back!
Renting in Jakarta is a little different to Australia. Most landlords require rent in advance, usually for the entire period of tenancy! I'm not sure if this is just for expats, or for everyone, but handing over three years worth of rent up front is a bit daunting! It also provides little incentive for landlords to fix anything once you're in, so it's important to get everything done beforehand. They also seem quite content to renovate pretty much anything for you initially - we've had internal doors added, pool fence installed, exterior walls retrofitted and a number of minor things and I've heard of double glazing, even minor walls knocked out! Of course the standard of work can be a little haphazard - our pool fence was great except for one section (now remedied) that for some reason was a few inches further off the ground than the rest (just big enough for Rory to squirm under!), the exterior lights had no switch, you had to turn them off at the switchboard, and then none of the power points outside (or lights in a cupboard inside) would work either, and our bathroom lights still only come on when they feel like it! I also decided to hang pictures myself after the handymen did the first few by simply banging nails into the concrete - completely unconcerned by the big chips they were knocking off!
I haven't taken any photos yet, but we have 4 bedrooms, 4 toilets, 3 bathrooms, a huge playroom, large office, and massive open plan dining, lounge and family room areas! There is also a lovely pool, yard for the kids to play (although they found the first snake there yesterday - ~70cm long, about as thick as your thumb and no doubt quite deadly, I think cobras are common). For the staff there is an outside kitchen, bathroom and three bedrooms (we're using one for storage). The security guards have also appropriated the cupboard in the garage and lined it with moving paper and bubble wrap - I think so they can grab a nap every now and again! We supply the basics - tea, coffee, sugar, milk powder and rice for our staff (and any roaming security personnel who happen to drop by!) Apparently they like their drinks sweet, as the four of them go through about 500g of sugar a week! It is common for drivers and guards to congregate outside the gates to chat, smoke, play chess or generally hang out waiting for someone to come or go. They thriftily construct seats out of tree stumps, old packing boxes and other bits of rubbish and all know everyone in the street, so the kids are welcomed by name wherever they go.
It's all very different to what we're used to, but (snakes aside) isn't a bad experience so far!
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