And how about getting into an old but newly refurbished tax cab with Jl. Pejambon as your destination only to be astonished by the stalk reality that the man behind the steering wheel happens to have heard about the road somewhere but not so sure where exactly. Getting that tax cab by the way takes you almost an hour as most good ones have lights off an indication that they are either responding to some call or are indeed carrying passengers. Do you get out of the taxi and wait for another half hour or so or get the bull by the horns and try out your lack with the oldie! Against all odds you head to your destination, which nether you nor the driver knows for certain, having been convinced by the tax driver, who as the odyssey unravels informs you that … “I have been in this business for now almost two weeks, I stay in West Jakarta and that is where work, I know the nooks and crannies of the place. I couldn’t refuse the offer to come this way ( around Sekip area, by that lady who has just got out, for I knew I would eventually get there if not by asking the people along the way, then the police, who as luck would have it are now positioned in many locations! Well everything has its bad and good side to it, you know”, and so on and on, as if he was on a talking mission. You have little time because the business you are pursuing has to be accomplished with in the remaining two working days of Thursday and Friday before the long holiday sets in. After a series of detours and misinformation by the too busy folks along the way, it happened that not all locations had police officers to help out, you finally zero in to your destination. The time, it is twenty minutes to four, which leaves you with just that much time on one of the two days to do your priceless work in the Capital. Well remember you were in hurry and didn’t bother to check whether the meter , call it the Argo, was on, so the moment the long awaiting destination comes into view the first thing you is to read the meter to know how much it has cost you. Surprise again, the upstart driver did not switch it on. The twenty minutes you have to do your business has to be reduced further by haggling over the charge. You realize that the driver is as sincere a person you have ever met, which is discernible from accepting a lower rate than possibly it would take you from your embarkation point to the destination. You give him ten thousand for the fare and three additional thousands for pure honesty. For surely you know in your heart of hearts that one-and- half journey could not cost that little. He gives you some amusement by telling you that “you see I told you we would get here, haven’t we!”, he speeds up to what destination only God knows for by the look of things he is not conversant with the place. You use the remaining ten minutes to make an appointment for the next day, which is the last working day before the long holiday begins. Luckily enough you arrive in the very nick of time for the appointment, and you begin to feel some invigorating evening breeze freshening you up, after all Jakarta is not as hot as it often is. Vivacious, you head for the road again to engage another taxicab. This time you are somewhat choosy, you avoid the oldies as much as you can, and then pulled over one seemingly nice one, with a young stylish person at the helm. You tell him to head for Pejompongan, which he knows very well, judging by the direction he takes and composure in his face, which was in much contrast with the driver that took you to what is now your embarkation point. Hardly has he joined kebun sirih when congestion slowly but surely crystallizes into major hurdle. It is already four some thing, and as you cruise along, worrying how much it would cost you by the time you reach the destination at that pace, the driver’s cell phone 'siren' busts off. He seems edgy from then on, and you begin to wonder why the hitherto composed person is rapidly growing contortions around his temples. Having nothing to do he play- acts the dire straights he is in by feigning business as usual. However, before ten minutes elapse, another call, from who he tells you is his friend. From then on things, he begins to fidget, trying to look for any leeway to push through the dense traffic, to of course no avail. When the traffic eventually reaches HI round about, he tries what most conversant drivers do to cut short the distance by heading toward what to you is a dingy suburb. Unfortunately, such knowledge not being only a monopoly of his, congestion there too was intense, far slower than on Jl.Sudirman. The pace of his breath quickens an indication perhaps that things are not O.K. somewhere! The heavily breathing driver tells you that he wants to strike a deal with you, the details of which you wait with anticipation. “You disembark here, and you pay half the Argo reading ( Rp.12, 000,” Having become wary of the cost you would have to dip into your pocket by the time the tax cab reaches your destination at such a snail’s pace, you do not need much convincing! You tell the driver to reverse the cab toward Jl. Sudirman to enable you stampede your self into any of those Biskotas that heads to Ragunan and Blok M, a proposal the young driver accepts without a qualm. You reach SOGO, pay off the Rp.6000, and you head off to the nearest pedestrian ‘flyover’ to join the queue of anxious passengers-to be. It doesn’t take you that long before one bus pulls over, you push yourself in , and within about half an hour or so you disembark at Benhill, just in front of the newly go public peoples bank headquarters. From then on, you have wide choice: you can take the Bemo, the minibus, the Mikrolet; or how dare forget the Bajaj, toward Pejompongan. How on earth can you stop your mind from recasting the day’s events! The impact that lebaran has on all aspects of life in the Capital, social, economic, and possibly cultural! You reminisce over the professed as distinct from the real motives behind the antics displayed by the seemingly young, clean-shaven, erratic driver. Was the call from the real owner of the vehicle, who had to report to office at the earliest opportunity as, had possibly been instructed by his boss, which was why the lad had to bear part of the cost! Remember this is Mudik time, when the tendency is to ask for more not less, and often the charge is determined before you embark, no Argo on most occasions is what you hear! What if the call came from a girl friend, who wanted to go somewhere! Well which ever was the case, you cannot help but wonder at the complexity of Jakarta: its size, people, and practicalities. You also learn a lot from the drivers about their feelings on social life, for taxi drivers in the Capital are not the taciturn type, they air out their views, because this is democracy and reformasi, they tell you. You become surprised at the way they keep in touch with the banning issues of the day such as the forthcoming elections, the evictions, and most dominant in their conversations is the seething undercurrent-the growing divide between the haves and have-nots. They relate the hardship of sustaining families, with bosses ever raising setoran whenever the prospects for more passengers surfaces. You also get to know that as human beings they sometimes deliberately or inadvertently mix up things in their conversations perhaps because of the high motivation to ventilate as much as possible in the shortest time possible. You wonder whether some engage in ‘gridlock’ to lengthen the time for the chat! You have to head for home at the very peak of Mudik, which is why you take nine-sitter Colt 500 back home. Barely do you countenance that a 650 km journey, would take you more than 28 hours, without any tidbits of information from either fellow passengers or driver perhaps because of fatigue and concentration. It dawns on you on arrival that the 100 percent increase in fare is not enough as you are asked to cough up more thousands ostensibly because your destination lies beyond the designated area for the fare you paid. All said and done, you oblige, not because you acquiesce but you want the guy to revel in the forthcoming festivities, which are so important to him, but he has to delay even forego some in order offer traveling services to you regardless!