Outbound

So I had a fantastic day in Jakarta! It is so nice to be in a city where there is so much to do and see. Our good friend Morgan tried to set up a hiking trip for our weekend, but unfortunately due to the holiday (lebaron) the trains were all booked and it would have cost us a fortune to rent a car, so we opted to cut our losses and stay in the city. Luckily Morgan had something up his sleeve that was almost as good as the great outdoors. We headed to an obstacle course in Ancol to complete some serious exercise. We opted  to complete the highest obstacle course first (since I made the mistake of telling Morgan I was afraid of heights.) The men at outbound tightened our harnesses for us as they flirted, asked if we were single, and mentioned they were cute, and we were beautiful. I also learned that apparently in Indonesia they wear wedding rings on the right hand, which would mean that I've had a wedding ring on since I arrived. The men did a bit of safety training, and we climbed onto the climbing wall. Once we reached the top we zip lined across to the next obstacle. I was a bit nervous about the zip-lining to begin with, but by the time the day was over I was zip-lining pro. What an adrenaline rush of pure joy! After climbing the cargo net to the highest point (I wasn't even nervous) we had the longest zip line. While the first worker went he said "Tiara, I love yoooooooouuuuuuu!" I laughed and laughed, and once I was left with the other worker he reminded me that his friend was single and liked me and thought I was beautiful. Thank you, but I already knew that. Not interested.

Once we completed the first course, consisting of a tight rope walk, a ladder climb over the street (the worst part) and a final zip line, we took a quick water break before deciding which course to complete next. We wanted to do the extreme one, but after Angie and Morgan attempted the first portion of it and were in severe pain we opted to do a different course instead. This one we were allowed to go on by ourselves with the workers screaming directions at us from down below. I was very nervous for the stand zip line, and I'm not sure why because it wasn't even a big deal. After we had finished the 2nd course we were getting hungry, but we really wanted to take the gondola ride around the park, which we were told would be quick. We fed some crazy large fish, got to pet and feed some deer, and we got to see chimps eating bananas. There is nature in this city, and I am planning on enjoying it as much as I can! Our afternoon concluded with lunch at A&W on the boardwalk, which included my first viewing of the Java sea and a milkshake. I'm never going to keep this weight off....

Wish I had pictures but I was unwilling to take the camera on the obstacle course with me.