May 14, 2026

May 14, 2026

We had a late start this morning in Kuala Lumpur because we have a flight scheduled in the early afternoon. After another big breakfast we used Grab to get a car to the airport. This was the most dangerous part of our travels, a long high speed journey to a faraway airport with a driver who thinks he is an Indy speed trial.

With the Strait of Hormuz closed and jet fuel shortages looming, I was a little worried about all the plane flights we are taking. I was relieved when I realized that Petronas is the national oil company of Malaysia and is an oil exporter. Singapore is the refining capital of southeast asia so we will probably not have an issue getting home.

Our flight leaves on time at 1:45 pm. We follow the path Dutch East Indies traders would have followed centuries ago down the Strait of Malacca across the equator to the island of Java.

This route is still filled with trading ships of all kinds, including container ships and bulk carriers (eg LNG). They are hugging the Malay side as the Sumatra shore is visibly shallow.

We land in the Dutch Indies capital of Batavia, named after the German tribe that settled Holland. After Independence, the name reverted back to the original name of Jakarta. Unlike Kuala Lumpur, immigration is fully automated and we make it through in seconds. The fun ends there as we have trouble linking up with our driver. In the end it works out and he drives us to our hotel downtown. Indonesia though is much poorer than Malaysia. The air seems very smoggy and we pass lots of shantytowns. We share the road with thousands of motorcycles. Jakarta is now probably the largest metropolitan area in the world with a population of 42 million. Wow!

Aimee is happy to find our hotel is like a colonial palace. After settling in, we go to the bar for a drink. We both have a glass of Bordeaux wine. It cost us the princely sum of 479,000 Rupiahs.