Squatting in a six-by-six meter stall selling reptiles, a young woman carefully removed an orange baby corn snake from a glass display box.
Keeping a close eye on the 30-centimeter snake as it slithered over her hands, the woman bombarded the shopkeeper with questions on how to take care of her new friend.
"I used to have a pet snake like this but unfortunately it died a couple of years ago," 26-year-old Selvi told The Jakarta Post on Sunday.
"Now I want to buy a new snake, but I'm still looking for the cheapest one."
Selvi, a resident of Tebet, South Jakarta, was among the hundreds of people visiting the city's annual flora and fauna exhibition at Banteng Square in Central Jakarta over the long weekend.
Held from July 17 to August 20, the 2009 Flona (Flora and Fauna) Fair offers its visitors various collections of plants and animals from hundreds of participating tenants.
Rasidi, 70, another visitor, said although the city was in a frenzy following Friday's twin bombings on the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton hotels in Mega Kuningan, South Jakarta, he did not cancel his plans to visit the event.
"I'm coming *to the fair* because this is an interesting but rare event. Moreover, there is actually no reason to be afraid of terror attacks," said Rasidi, who came to the fair with his wife.
The Flona Fair was first held in 1984 by the city's park agency as an extension of the Flower Festival, which has been held since 1977.
Taking place between July and August, the fair is also aimed at celebrating the anniversary of Indonesia's independence, which falls on August 17, as well as the agency's August 3 anniversary.
This year, the fair organizers provided 400 booths, 100 less than last year.
"We reduced the number of booths to make it possible for visitors to look around the area more comfortably," Awang Darmawan, the event's field manager, said.
Among the participating vendors are flower and plants nurseries, pet shops as well as producers of fertilizers, seeds and fruit-based processed foods.
To achieve its target of attracting 100,000 visitors, organizers of the event will also hold a turtle race, an adenium (ornamental plant) contest and a reptile photo competition.
South Jakarta's Ragunan Zoo is also taking part in the fair by displaying members of their collection - including a komodo dragon, a pair of gibbons, a Javanese monkey and a seven-month old Bengal tiger cub - in a mini zoo.
Ati, an orchid vendor, said she had not seen a huge amount of sales in the first three days of the event.
Spending Rp 6.6 million (US$653) to rent a booth, Ati said many people had looked at her orchid collection, but only a few were seriously interested in buying.
"I hope more buyers will come in the following weekends," she said. (hwa)
