Jakarta’s Soekarno-Hatta airport is nothing if not seedy. The claustophobic arrival halls and the spacious check-in areas betray budgetary profligacy along with an economy of planning not unexpected in Indonesia.
There is some merit to this unwitting state of affairs; unlike Singapore’s Changi International, there is no pretense of an insincere over-familiar welcoming hug. The passenger is assured that this is a mere hub, a point between destinations.
In such conditions, one needs to prepare for a quick, no-frills check-in and a ready departure. In such conditions, what one surely does not need is a 4 hour “lay-over” armed with little more than last month’s edition of “Esquire” - the British version, no less.
The false solace provided by the modem driven “internet” cafe is exacerbated by the deletion of a thought nourished email; such a loss is akin to a conversation that no-one listens to, as if Seneca’s speeches never survived, as if the purposeful sequence of words and diligently partnered letters were somehow never enjoined. This is the e-embodiment of unrequited love.
The ignominy of the deleted email is compounded by the lost zest that will never be recovered in the re-writing and re-telling of it.
