Editor’s Note:
This page features a poem and excerpt shared with permission from Pat Walsh and his book Stormy With a Chance of Fried Rice. The page reflects one foreign visitor’s observations and experiences living in Jakarta and offers a thoughtful and often humorous perspective on everyday life in Indonesia.
A poem fromStormy With a Chance of Fried Rice
Book in hand burningI take chicken soupThe colour of an outback damDrained to its dregsAnd a bowl of snow white riceFlecked with insect wings of onionBrowned on a gushing stoveAnd with my right handFeed my body and the leftMy hungry mind.
Eating at a warung in Tebet, Jakarta, after arriving by plane from Melbourne in 2014.
About the Book
Stormy With a Chance of Fried Rice: Twelve Months in Jakarta follows the experiences of Australian author Pat Walsh during his time living in Jakarta while editing a human rights report on Timor-Leste. Rather than remaining isolated within expatriate circles, Walsh immersed himself in everyday Indonesian life, finding meaning and fascination in the routines, food, streets, humour, and humanity of Jakarta.
Over two wet seasons in the city, he learned how to cross Jakarta streets, navigate local customs, appreciate the city’s overlooked colonial history, survive public toilets, enjoy cream baths, read the koran (newspaper), and embrace the unpredictable rhythm of life in one of the world’s largest megacities.
Both playful and reflective, the book captures the warmth, contradictions, frustrations, and humanity of Jakarta through the eyes of a curious outsider who genuinely engaged with the people around him.
A Celebration of Everyday Jakarta
What makes Stormy With a Chance of Fried Rice particularly memorable is its focus on ordinary experiences that many expatriates overlook. Rather than presenting Indonesia through luxury hotels or tourist destinations, Walsh writes about warungs, sidewalks, conversations, rainstorms, bureaucracy, newspapers, food stalls, and the daily improvisations required to live in Jakarta.
For long-term expatriates, the book may feel familiar and nostalgic. For newcomers, it offers insight into the quieter cultural moments that often become the most meaningful memories of living in Indonesia.
Thanks to Pat Walsh for his generous contribution of this poem and excerpt from his book Stormy With a Chance of Fried Rice: Twelve Months in Jakarta. The book has been available through Indonesian bookstores including Gramedia and specialty bookstores in Bali.
