When will I learn?

"The rainy season is over" I said to Chad when we walked out the front door yesterday. It felt like someone had turned on the giant oven that is Jakarta, and it was going to slowly heat up to the melting point from now until August.

Wet graffiti, wet plant

Then I went Menteng Dalam to do some man-on-the-street interviews. As soon as I stepped out of the cab, the skies opened. It rained with great force for over an hour. I had to take refuge in a little noodles, eggs, photocopies, detergent, softdrinks and medicine store. The woman there was nice and gave me water but wouldn't let me take her picture.

Your one-stop everything store

The rain totally snarled the roads and the 4-mile trip home took an hour and a half. The taxi guy even drove over the concrete dividers into the busway lane - KATHUNK KATHUNK KATHUNK KATHUNK, with an extra, ominous bang on the undercarriage - to escape total gridlock.

My new rule: never say "The rainy season is over" unless you have an umbrella handy.