STREET vendors selling trumpets - made out of used magazines and calendar papers - have flocked to the shoulders of Jakarta streets. They are reminders that New Year's eve is around the corner.  

For most Jakartans, New Year's eve means driving around the capital city's streets blowing trumpets around midnight. Some would climb on top of public buses and dance away while the vehicle cruises at a snail's pace in the heavy traffic while police officers on duty look on. Others who are not so daring would hire pick-up trucks and throw themselves into the back for their very own mobile celebrations.

The irony is that newspapers on the first paper day the following year (Jan 2) would report how various traffic accidents have happened at the change of the year.

Strangely, this doesn't seem to scare away anyone as every year the streets are packed more and more with such fun seekers who seemed to put safety at the bottom of their priority list.

As for the middle, upper-class Jakartans, their scene is somewhat different. They don't like to stay on the streets. Instead, they shuffle off to five-star hotels to either hang out in the lobby with friends or indulge themselves in expensive gastronomic delights to the sweet serenade of some of the nation's top singers.