Maybe it's because I'm a Londoner that I feel somewhat sad that Routemaster buses are being replaced by boxes on wheels and those bendy things which were introduced in Jakarta a few years back. Has anyone spotted one of those recently? The first Routemaster was introduced 50 years ago. It's a sure bet that no other bus will be built with such reliability. Nostalgia fans can read and see more about them and
here and
here.
Any chance of Governor Sutiyoso buying a few for Jakarta's streets? Of course, he'd have to bring over some mechanics as well.
And now for something weird. Last week a psychotic Brit was found wandering in the upmarket enclave of Kemang. He had no documents and was, to say the very least, dishevelled. He couldn't say who he was. The picture of him that the embassy circulated made us all wonder how he'd survived here so long in such a condition. The last I heard was that he had been placed in the care of
SOS Medika, the clinic of choice for expats with generous company medical insurance.
Last night, I came across a site which is/was the travel diary of a backpacker. I say 'was' because he supposedly went missing a year or so ago on an island off Borneo. Shipwrecked, incarcerated, lived with communities of orangutans and Dayaks, survived a plane crash ~ you name it he did it,
The Diary of Marlowe Bidworth, all 20 or so pages of it, could be a Conradian spoof.
What I find very strange, and I makes me wish I could post photos to this blog, is that, spoof or not, the two gentlemen have the same plumpish face, hair colouring and drooping eyes.
Has a wanderer returned? I'll let you know.
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