© 2015 Arnaldo Pellini

It can happen: to find tranquility in the streets of Jakarta. A couple fo weeks ago I was without my bicycle. Left the office at 6pm in the middle fo the rush hour. Waited for 30 minutes to get a taxi in vain.  I decided to walk. With my antismog mask on I headed towards Senopati. Walked along the tree-lined streets of the embassy areas. Got  close to Kebayoran in Jl. Aditiawarman. Few more blocks. I walked under the Antasari elevated route. Juggled the paralised traffic headed down south. The air filled with exhaust fumes. One more block and I turned right in Jl. Darmanwangsa. Few steps away from Antasari the regular sound of jam-traffic-engines in neutral gear disappeared. The trees were shadows. The light from street lamps touched the leaves of and leaf a soft aura underneath over parked cars. island of light in the dark of the evening. A couple of hundred meters of tranquility on the way home.