The man was sleeping well in a stall in Glodok district in Jakarta

Man sleeping well in Glodok district in Jakarta — Man sleeping soundly in an alley

I found an alleyway during walking around Glodok district and went inside. It was a dim alley, like a tunnel. Small stalls lined the sides of the alleyway, with shoppers coming and going. But not all the stalls were doing business. Some of the stalls were just sitting there.

In one of those stalls, a man was sleeping. He slept soundly with his hands outstretched on a large table. Even when I passed by, there was no sign of getting up. There was a plastic cup lying on the end of the table.

Watching him sleeping on the corner of the town, the man looked as if he has fallen asleep with a hangover. It's as if he drank too much last night and still had some booze left over. But Indonesia is a Muslim-majority country. Unlike in Japan, drinking alcohol is not common. The man probably didn't drink too much either, just got tired of it.

Even though freedom of religion is guaranteed in the constitution, there are not many places selling alcohol in Indonesia, perhaps out of consideration for the overwhelming majority of Muslims. Even beer with less than 5 percent alcohol content is prohibited by law throughout the country from being sold in convenience stores. Islam is not tolerant of drinking, the same is true in Jakarta.

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