It’s now 7:00 PM Jakarta time.  I can now speak authoritatively on the subject of Qatar Airways economy class, and would argue that it’s fine, but not stellar.  The food is notably worse than Thai or Singapore or even United, which is peculiar given how cheap it should be to whip up some hummus or something.

It is a bit surreal to be back in Jakarta.  Partially because I haven’t slept in 40 hours, but also partially because it’s always surreal to go back to a place where you have very strong memories.  It’s also weird to come back and now have a different perspective on things here that you can only get with distance.  I noticed, for example, that the Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (Financial Oversight Organization, which is something like government bank regulator) inhabits a shabby building, while the Kementerian Pertahanan (Ministry of Defense) inhabits a gleaming white and very tasteful building.  I wonder if this communicates something.

On tap for tomorrow: what exactly I am doing here, and why such a short trip?