Hard Rock Cafe Jakarta

12 hour days are currently getting on my nerves but I do know that I have to do it and that it will be over very soon and things can get back to comparatively normal as the morning classes will have ended and we can go back to just the afternoon and evening classes.
I have all week been trying to get the bike serviced but the only day I could do it (Thursday) I had to be at the school for a meeting and I also wanted to help out some of my teachers so will try again this week.
On Tuesday I went into the city for a meeting with English First to learn and be introduced too a new set of text books and processes to ensure the transition goes well and without too many hitches. Heres to hoping so.
Getting into the middle of the city was easy as we left at 7.00 and an hour later we were at our destination. I forget the name of the hotel but it is opposite Jaya Pub and the Ibis, just up from Sarinah and it is a very posh 4 star affair.
Food for lunch was good and plentyful and there was lots of things to eat and drink through the morning although the coffee was bad and not to my liking thats for sure.
Getting there 1.5 hours early never really cheers me and knowing I was working until 9pm kinda made it worse.
The long days have been hellish and made even more so by the fact that my migraines and insomnia has crept back. 3 migraines in a week has cleared me out of Bodrex and that is worrying. However, I will say that Bodrex is simply the best thing I have ever had to cure my headaches, although the gas after must be a side effect. You dont hear of that on the TV ads!!!!

England, Brazil, Argentina have crashed out of the world cup then, all kinda lost in a humiliating way and so that makes for a more exciting conclusion to this world cup which I think will be an all European affair, maybe Germany and Spain. However all the games are now on at 1.30am here so  I want be watching any more matches as I will be trying to sleep.

The weather finally seems to be changing and the days are drier and dustier and the ozone / pollution is getting really bad. I am going to have to buy a mask I think. It was pleasing to have very heavy rain yesterday to clear the skies somewhat as the air was getting very bad. A good thunder storm is what is needed really. And Jakarta does that very very well.

The weekend was the Summer Academy party and this was a chance for the students who have attended the morning classes to get together and do things. It happens every year and is always a success.
This year was no different. It was held for 8 schools and there were about 120 kids, parents, staff and a few teachers. The event was held in the Hard Rock Cafe in EX plaza next to Plaza Indonesia near Thamrin.

Hard Rock Cafes bore me. They are the same the world over and have wooden tables and chairs and on the walls are Guitars from musicians and 'rock stars' some I have heard of and others I have not. They are also over priced. Saying that I have visited a few in the states and now 2 in Indonesia, Jakarta and Bali. However the food is always good but there are so many better places to eat here.

The man himself Hardrock

So, this party was for the kids and as I said it was very well organised. It was chaired by the one and only 'Take me Out' host - Chocky Sitohang much to the delight of the Mums and female staff and also the girlfriend who had a crazed grin on her face for 3 hours (like the rest of the women!).
It would be fair to say he was very pleasant and friendly and happy to go along with it, although individual photos were not part of the package never the less there are some group photos and once I have them, maybe I will post them in this blog.

After lunch,we headed out from the Cafe and head off in a taxi to FX mall in search of beer. The Bluebird managed to drive around one of the biggest roundabouts twice and go down so strange alleys to get us to somewhere close to where we needed to go and half the cost was getting out from Thamrin. The Saturday afternoon traffic as usual, awful.
We ended up in a bar in FX mall and despite the big signs saying all you can drink for 198,000 (for 3 hours), the all you can drink for 198,000 was not valid during the world cup. Thank you Bloeming. The bar is quite nice and the beer almost cheap and they do a range of flavoured beers which are ok for girls but thats about it. It is more pricey than Minus 2 though.
They have 3 or 4 beers and they are served in boot shaped glasses.

Moving on from there in the traffic to Aphrodite's (yes again) for a few more beers and some food. Always nice in there and food is normally good. This time was better than normal as we never had to pay for my meal as it was left off the bill, so we paid in cash and left!!!! The best way. Saved me 100,000 rupiah and I wont argue with that.
It took over an hour to get back to the apartment just in time to watch Germany beat Argentina. It had clearly been raining hard and the city had cooled down.

Back in the apartments, some bright spark has decided blood red mats are needed in the elevators, this makes them look darker and also smaller. I am certain getting them to work more reliably and faster would be a better way to spend money on them but hey what do I know?
The best thing about the elevators is when they jump up and down or the lights flicker or the doors refuse to close; 80% of the people in the elevator get out and wait for another, which means you get to travel sometimes a lot less a like a sardine.

Finally, something to smile about. The other week whilst out with friends we saw this.... It was something rare here, even rarer than seeing the mountains, Enjoy this for another week,

Taken at Batavia Marina