Green Kiddie Rides in Jakarta

Do you remember being a kid and being all excited about going to the supermarket because there were rides? These were stationary rides. You get on, pop in a 20 sen coin, the machine starts up and you rock back and forth merrily until the music stops. Remember?

Well, we have a more environmentally-friendly version here in Jakarta. Many poorer families cannot afford to go the supermarkets for the rides so the rides come to them! Brilliant. The machines are mounted on a cart and a guy cycles around housing areas hawking them. If you want a ride, just run out and yell out to him. He'll stop. You then pay him Rp2,000 (approx 60 sen) and you get three rides. What he does is he then pedals on a special erm.. pedal that generates electricity to power the rides. Lagi brilliant!

I waited a whole year living here in Jakarta before I finally got the chance to capture the pic. This was taken off my handphone sometime last week. They both looked very amused that I would actually stop to take a picture and like typical friendly Indonesians, they both waved and smiled.

This is one memory of Indonesia that I will always carry with me - the joy that simple things can bring to ordinary folk.

Go, go Gadget Kiddie Rides!