Traffic Jam - Macet

Jakarta is famous for its traffic jams, they even have their own word for it in Bahasa being 'Macet'.

With Jakarta's daytime population estimated to be over 12 million and with having a poor public transportation system you can understand the traffic is bad.

Journeys are not measured in distances but in estimated time and the time can be affected by the time of day you are travelling and even whether or not it is raining.

It is highly recommended that before setting off on any car journey that you have with you something to drink, that your mobile phone is fully charged, something to read and maybe even have something to eat.  You can expect to sit in a traffic jam for part of your journey wherever you are going, however short the distance.

One of the common sights to be seen whilst sitting in a queue on the motorway are vendors walking up and down in-between the tightly packed cars, trucks and buses.  They sell a variety of things such as water and snacks like tofu, nuts and fruit.  They continue selling their wares even when the traffic starts moving again.

Today, on a motorway journey of about 1 hour, I must have seen at least 20 of these men walking up and down between the vehicles, carrying their various snacks at shoulder height, knocking on windows, breathing in the noxious exhaust fumes and this in temperatures of 35°C.  Even when a sudden heavy shower of rain started, it did not deter them.