After a good part of a year, I am here again. As I mentioned in my earlier excuse of a post, life has suddenly changed a great deal. One of the biggest would be the move to Jakarta.

Its been over 8 months since I came here to settle down. Its been an unusual 8 months to put it mildly. Have started living alone after a long long time. And unlike Bombay, its been not too bad. A big factor would be the people of Indonesia. They smile a lot.

Indonesians are probably the most polite of all people in the world. I had never realised how a friendly smile from a stranger can make the difference between ‘a bad day’ and ‘a bad day, but tomorrow will be better’! What is astonishing is they are not just polite to foreigners, they are as polite to each other. And this in a country where life is hard to say the least, where most people are trying very very hard to make an honest and decent living. What source of joy or of eternal optimism have they discovered that prompts them to smile at strangers is a mystery that I plan to unearth during my time here!!

Jakarta is also a good place for music. I have heard the best live music here in my 8 months than I have ever heard in my entire life. Jazz seems to be a national favourite! Another reason why I love this place so much!

Well there will be more about Jakarta and Indonesia later. For now let me post about some interesting or plain touching stuff that I have discovered on the great World Wide Web…