Phnom Penh Traffic

Driving in Phnom Penh is an exciting experience...

Tuk-tuks and motorbikes rule the road, serving as pick-up and delivery trucks as well as buses.

Traffic lights are few and far between, leading to a phenomenon in which, at intersections, people just inch out until they are in the middle of the road and oncoming traffic can do nothing but yield.

Here's a quick taste, on our way back from our cooking class past one of the city's big markets:

Frequently Spotted in Jakarta

Frequently seen on the roads in Jakarta:  

Hundreds of motorbikes weaving through traffic, then inching forward at a red light, ready to jump the gun (usually approximately 6 seconds before the light turns green).  The occasional bajaj scoots in there, too. 

This is right in front of Tim's office building.

Construction... so much construction.  This 10-meter high elevated flyover road is being built in order to alleviate traffic in the future (we'll see about that), but is currently wreaking havoc on traffic throughout the city.  And also looking mighty precarious in the meantime.

This makes me nervous... notice how it is seemingly floating, unconnected on either end?

Not a lot of cones, ropes or other protective equipment to warn passersby of the construction overhead.

Old dirty buses, burping bajaj... I know I've mentioned these before, but they really are omnipresent and unforgettable for several reasons: 1) the fumes... the fumes!  2) the fact that they are always trying to either pick you up or run you over.

Sorry for the blur... took this photo as I crossed the street on foot.  Stop for a second and you will be roadkill.

Jakarta's Car Free Day

Jakarta is a notoriously traffic-laden city.  The major streets are total gridlock most of the time, even on weekends.  For example, last night (Saturday) we took a cab to one of the major malls, Grand Indonesia, to grab dinner and catch a viewing of the Muppet movie (which just came out here, so I am a little late to chime in, but it was really cute. Go see it!), and although it's only 6.1 km away from our apartment (3.7ish miles), it took us about an hour to get there due to the horrendous traffic on the major road, Jalan Sudirman.  

Ben and Erin biking out of our neighborhood, past the place where we do yoga.

Tim, cruising down Jalan Sudirman.

However, every Sunday morning Jakarta has a great event: Car Free Day.  Although it doesn't really last the whole day, at least for several hours in the morning, no cars, buses or motorbikes are allowed on Jalan Sudirman, so the huge 6-8 lane road is open for bikers, walkers, joggers and rollerbladers.  It's pretty awesome...  

This Sunday morning we got up early and took our bikes out for a spin, riding all the way from our apartment, past Grand Indonesia Mall to Monas, which is Indonesia's national monument/obligatory phallic symbol (see also, Washington Monument).  

Monas on Car Free Day

Meg and Tim marvel at Monas.

The road was packed, but with thousands of people cruising on all varieties of non-motorized vehicles...  lots of colorful fixies, Cali-style low riders, vintage bikes, a couple double-decker bikes, trick bikes, tricycles...  the whole lot.  There were also large groups of people walking in matching outfits, marching and singing songs.  I think it may have been a fundraiser walk of some sort.

It felt good to be going fast with the less-polluted-than-usual air breezing past me, rather than sitting in a taxi, inching along at a snail's pace.  Car Free Sundays may be my new favorite weekend activity here in Jakarta.