Thus begins my Southeast Asia adventure. Having been in Jakarta, Indonesia for a few days at my cousin's place I took some time to rest and adjust from the jet lag before looking around. And for my first foray my cousin and I took a guided tour. Not to see famous landmarks or normal sightseeing fare, no, we went for a tour of the Indonesian slums, to see the life of a typical Indonesian migrant worker; those who come in from the countryside to find whatever work they can, and send back their earnings to their families. I was always more interested in seeing and interacting with local people anyhow; if I wanted to see a famous landmark I'd just google an image of it.
First picture is from the slums we visited along the train tracks, which you can see in the foreground. As you can imagine, it's pretty dangerous to live right next to train tracks(in fact I was nearly hit by one when I took this photo).
The slums were to found all over; along train tracks, in the city, along the river, under bridges like you can see below(zoom in to the center to see).
One of the slum neighborhoods we visited. They stretch out for miles, with families of 7 - 8 people per room.
Group photo at the end. Our guide is in the center; apart from giving guided tours, he also tries to build schooling huts for the children in the slums, to provide whatever education he could so that one day maybe they could make something better for their lives. It's too big for one person though, so he relies on volunteers and goodwill to continue.
And that is all! I didn't want to take more photos inside the slums themselves as that seemed kind of rude, but still, I saw a lot of things that really makes you appreciate what you have. Until next time, then.