He went of his own accord

In Jakarta for a day or two lecturing. Just a year since the Oz embassy was bombed, two years since the Jakarta Marriott (where I was staying) and three years since Bali. Spring is peak season for bombs, as the Jakarta Post kindly pointed out. Must be something about a young man's (apocalyptic) fancy. Couple of new cases of bird flu, then there's the dengue epidemic. Actually none of those little risks troubled me as much as the grinding traffic and the air pollution, sufficiently savage to reduce the voice to a rasp within 15 minutes of stepping outside

But there are always good things, of course, and I particularly liked this handcarved phone booth - right next to the departure lounge...