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Jakarta
At the junction of Jalan Mahakam and Jalan Melawai in Kebayoran Baru is a flower markets which is cheap and refreshing, set among the trees of a small park.
With the existing better road system within and surrounding it, Jakarta is now more accessible from the west side even as far as Sumatera. You can go by bus to Jakarta from Sumatera, since there are many ferries service crossing the Sunda Strait from Bakahuni in Lampung to Anyer, West Java.
From the south Jakarta is traditionally accessible from the east side. Even further from the Bali island. To cross Bali Strait, there are also ferries service which connect Java and Gilimanuk, in the western part of Bali. With around 40 International airlines serving Indonesia through Sukarno-Hatta international airport connecting Jakarta with practically the rest of the world. Through Priok harbor, Jakarta is the number one international sea gateway.
It is worth noting here, that Indonesia is also directly accessible from Malaysian Peninsula and Singapore, by ferry and hydrofoil services from Penang and Singapore. Through border crossing to Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, Indonesia is accessible from Sabah and Sarawak, both are eastern states of Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam.
THE CAPITAL OF INDONESIA
Jakarta, the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia, is drastically rising as one of Asia’s most sought after travel destination. Despite the economic regional challenges since the second half of 1997, Jakarta has shown steady annual increases in arrival of tourists since 1999.
With the dramatic devaluation of the Indonesian rupiah, freely floated against the US dollar, international travelers are enjoying terrific value for money with highly competitive price offerings by making purchases with their international currencies.
Boasting centuries of historical background and having served as a major port of trade to the region and the world Jakarta is the political, cultural, trade, business centre and capital of Indonesia. More than 70 percent of the money circulated in Indonesia is in Jakarta, where foreign and national banks have mushroomed, with many skyscrapers sprawling in almost every corner of the city.
Here in the Golden Triangle, banks, hotels, condominiums, apartments, plazas, restaurants, office buildings and foreign embassies are mushrooming almost overnight. Consequently the price of the land in the Golden Triangle is the most expensive in the capital.
Being a metropolis by any measure, however, Jakarta is still proud of its terracotta tile roofed traditional houses, though real estate with modern and sophisticated amenities are now surrounding the capital area. High rise housing is now becoming more popular among Jakarta as the price of land skyrockets.
Though its traffic jams, and heat are comparable to other tropical metropolis in Asia, Jakarta is rich with attractions for the tourists who love to visit museums, or other historical and cultural attractions. Her colonial architecture inherited from the Dutch era can be found downtown or in the older sections of the town.
The adventurous types will probably be easily lured by tales of traditional temples and bustling markets in obscure corners of the city.
To whet your appetite to travel to the rest of Indonesia, you better first go to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah or Beautiful Indonesia Mini Garden where you can enjoy samples of each and every province of the country show in different types of architecture, complete with a typical show case of cultural treasures from the whole country.
Taman Mini is designed to capture all of Indonesia’s local culture is on single complex. Stretching over 100 hectares the park provides the visitor with exciting insights into the complexity of this vast country.
All provinces of Indonesia are each represented by a pavilion. Each of these buildings, constructed in the distinctive style of the various region, presents the decorative skills and local art from each province, including textiles, carving, metalwork, traditional dress and panoramas depicting scenes of everyday live.
Each pavilion has its own program of cultural performances, ceremonies and dances, all of which are noted in the monthly Taman Mini Program, available free from most hotels.
Equally impressive are the various special purpose building at Taman Mini such as the new museum and the super performance centre facing the entranceway which is styled after the aristocratic Javanese pendopo or the main hall of the Taman Mini.
There are also buildings following the distinctive architecture of each of Indonesia’s five accepted religions: Islam, Protestant, Christianity, Catholic, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
There is even a wonderfully austere building with an exquisitely curbed interior for the adherents of the various forms of Kebatinan, a form of mystically inclined religious practice found chiefly in Java.
To cover the distances of Taman Mini one can choose for transport, horse drawn carts, a mini train, buses or a cable car that crosses the park and the artificial lake that is carved in the shape of a gigantic map of the archipelago.
There are restaurants and several shopping areas, even a miniature Borobudur temple. Next to the park stands the Keong Mas Imax Theater, which presents a wraparound sound film tour of the archipelago several times a day on one of the largest movies screen in the world.
Though Taman Mini is undoubtedly touristy it is also a superior attraction and well worth the visit.
The mouth of Ciliwung River, where Jakarta is located has been settled since ages ago. Since the arrival of the Westerns, Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, during the 15th and 16th century it developed into major pepper port.
In 1618, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the architect of the Dutch empire in the Indies, subsequently attacked and razed the town of Jakarta and ordered construction of a new town, and dubbed Jakarta into Baatvia.
The fortunes of Batavia under the Dutch East India Company (VOC) between 1602-1799 rose and then fell, while Batavia grew rich during the 17th century as an enter pot trade of sugar, pepper, cloves, nutmegs, tea, textiles, porcelains, hardwoods and rice.
After 1700, a series of calamities wiped out the success of Batavia as a trading centre combined with the declining prices of its commodities, epidemics of malaria, cholera and typhoid fever and a massacre of the Batavia Chinese in 1740, with the frequent wars and corruption that plagued VOC since its inception.
Batavia was almost ruined until the beginning of the 19th century, when Governor General Willem Daendels gave a facelift to it.
Daendels demolished the old city to provide the building materials for a new one to the south, around what is now Medan Merdeka and Lapangan Banteng squares. Two architectural styles namely the French Empire and Neo Classical blended with many tree lined boulevards and extensive gardens laid out by Daendels imparted a certain grace and elegance to Batavia.
With the success of the exploitative Culture Stelsel or the Cultivation System on Java, the colony was once again extremely prosperous. As mentioned in the books on its history, Batavia’s homes, hotels and clubs at that time were in no way interior to those of Europe.
During the Japanese occupation (between 1942 and 1945) Batavia was renamed Jakarta and dramatically converted from a tidy Dutch colonial town of 200,000 to an Indonesian city with more than 1 million population.
Since 1945, the year of Indonesian independence, millions of people, as if magnetized, originating from every corner of the country increased its population, which now reaches its more than 11,000,000 mark.
Around 100 of the Bugis crafts daily arrive laden with sawn-timber from Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo) which is off loaded along the 2 km long wharf that has been continuously operated since 1817. By walking amidst this nautical bustle to the sea, to witness mammoth sails unfurling to the wind, is one of the most unforgettable experiences of Jakarta.
The surrounding area of Sunda Kelapa is very rich in history. Across the river stands a 19th century lookout Dutch tower (de Uitkjik), constructed upon the original customs house of Jayakarta. This is where the old traders rendered their gifts and tribute to the native ruler in return for the privilege of trading there. The tower is sometimes open and offers a panoramic view of Jakarta and the coast.
Two storey structure dating back to VOC times, now the Marine Museum (Museum Bahari) is located behind Sunda Kelapa. This warehouse was erected by the Dutch in 1652 and use for many years to store coffee, tea and Indian cloth. Inside you can see the display of traditional sailing draft from every corner of the Indonesian archipelago, complete with old maps of Batavia.
Down the narrow road behind the museum you can find the fish market (Pasar Ikan), with numerous stalls where you can purchase sailing and nautical gears, just few minute walk from Hotel Batavia.
Two town squares have been restored and renamed as the Garden of Fatahillah (Taman Fatahillah), with three of the old buildings from that time are now converted into museums: The Jakarta History Museum, the Fine Arts Museum and the Wayang (Puppet) Museum.
Jakarta History Museum formerly the city hall (Stadhuis) of Batavia, a solid structure completed in 1710 and used by successive government right up through the 1960s. It houses fascinating memorabilia from the colonial period, notably 18th century furnishings and portraits of the VOC governors, along with many prehistoric, classical and Portuguese period artifacts.
Dungeon, visible from the back of the building, were used as holding cells where prisoners were made to stand waist deep in sewage for weeks awaiting their trials. Public tortures and executions, commonplace during much of the Dutch period, were carried out daily in the town square.
The Museum Wayang displays puppets and masks from every part of Indonesia. Among the oldest are Wayang Kulit (buffalo hide shadow puppets), wayang golek (round stick puppets), wayang Klithik (flat stick puppets) and wayang potehi, Chinese hand puppets.
From the contemporary period is biblical shadow puppets or wayang wahyu. A display of the founder of Batavia, Jan Pieterszoon Coen is also represented in its puppets version. There are simple puppets made of rice straw and bamboo. A collection of masks or topeng, and tombstones of several early Dutch governors are on display.
To the east of the square is the Fine Arts Museum, formerly the Court of Justice building during the Dutch colonial period (1879). Here paintings and sculptures by modern and contemporary Indonesian Artists are displayed. Rare porcelains from Sung Dynasty, Javanese water jugs (kendhi) and behind the Wayang Museum are two old Dutch houses from the 18th century. Across the canal and to the left stands a solid red brick townhouse built around 1730 by the then soon to be Governor General Van Imhoff.
Glodok Jakarta’s Chinatown is adjacent to the old Europeans quarter. You need at least one or two hours on foot to explore this district of narrow lanes and busy shop fronts. You can find Jinde Yuan temple (1650) on Gand Petak Sembilan, being the oldest of Jakarta’s more than 70 Chinese temples. Numerous Buddhist, Taoist and popular deities are enshrined within, including several deified Chinese notable of Old Batavia.
On the northern side of the museums you can find the old harbor, Sunda Kelapa, with 2 km long wharf in use since 1817.
Facing the northern side the freedom Square of Medan Merdeka (where the monument is located) is the Freedom Palace or Istana Merdeka and State Palace (Istana Merdeka), originally two 19th century neoclassical mansions and adjoining executive office buildings. While President Soekarno resided in the palace and often threw lavish banquets in central courtyard, President Soeharto preferred to stay in his modest residence in Jalan Cendana, in the Menteng Area. Further east is Istiqlal Mosque, with its massive dome and minarets. It is the largest mosque in South East Asia. On the north east side of Monas is the Pertamina Oil Company.
The Lapangan Banteng (or Wild-Ox Square) lies farther east, bounded to the north by the neo Gothic Cathedral (1901), to the east by the Supreme Court (1848), and the Department of Finance (1982), and to the south by gigantic inter-continental Borobudur Hotel. A sculpture of a muscle bound giant bursting from his shackles is the Irian Jaya Freedom Monument place here in 1963 by Soekarno to commemorate the annexation of westerns part of New Guinea.
On the western side of Medan Merdeka lies the National Museum, originally opened in 1868 by the Batavian Society for Arts and Sciences. It houses an enormously valuable collection of antiquities, books and ethnographic artifacts acquired by the Dutch during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Negara Kertagama, an old manuscript (in lontar form) written by Empu Tantular during King Hayam Wuruk reign. It was formerly kept in the Dutch Museum in Leiden.
For those who love cultural programs, Gedung Kesenian near the main general post office, renovated after the colonial era, now is offering a mixture of local and imported cultural events. The revived glory of the building itself is worth a trip.
In Pasar Seni Ancol one can attend local and traditional performing arts, including the more contemporary ones like Lenong, and Ludrug. For wayang kulit performances Pasar Seni invites dalang from Central Java.
Bharata, a cinema style building on Jalan Kalilio No. 15 near Pasar Senen performs wayang wong (the Javanese live theater using actors). Although developed long after the puppet wayang from, wayang wong has adapted legends from the Indian cycles of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and mixed them with indigenous Javanese lore. The result, every for the non Javanese speaking, is enthralling, particularly the scenes of combat and country dance. Bharata is the best place of its kind, after the one in Taman Sriwedari in Solo, Central Java.
The Java Pavilion at the Taman Mini Indonesia also has wayang kulit demonstrations every other Sunday and lasting about 5 hours. Finally, the National Museum organizes wayang kulit performances every other Sunday they last the whole evening.
Jakarta boasts strong foreign cultural centers. The best among them are the German and Dutch institutes, located on Jalan Matraman Raya and Jalan Kuningan. Printed monthly programs are available on request, or from the respective embassies. They should be given the credit in fostering indigenous artistic expression by giving exhibition and stage space to local artists and performers.
Lingkar Mitra Budaya Jakarta, a group of well heeled persons, is also interested in the arts. A program of the lingkar monthly activities can be obtained from its pleasant office exhibition center at Jalan Tanjang 34, in Menteng.
Balai Budaya, an exhibition hall on Jalan Gereja Theresia 34, in Menteng, used almost exclusively for exhibitions of painting. Drop in and discover the arts scene in Indonesia.
The Jakarta Municipality in recent years has worked hard to upgrade basic services and the result in many areas is a closely settled but very charming kampung (village). One of the best examples of these Kampung Improvement Project is in the Menteng Sukabumi kampung, on the southeast side of Menteng, bordering a railway shuttle line.
Any cabdriver knows the area, and a wander through will add an extra dimension to your memories of the city. Have no fear the natives are especially friendly and it is easy to find your way in and out.
The Glodog Chinese quarter sandwiched between Jalan Gajah Mada and jalan Mansyur, just south of the old Kota area, and the Tanjung Priok port area where first class sea food places, thought modest in appearance, rub shoulders with shady night spots and ubiquitous billiard balls.
You can enjoy Jakarta by sipping a cup of tea or coffee at any one of the seemingly thousands of warung, canvas stopped street stalls that can and often must, picked up and moved at a moment’s notice, to avoid a police sweep.
For souvenir hunter there are some other places to visit, like Jalan Kebon Sirih Timur Dalam (less than 1 km south of Lapangan Monas, running perpendicular to Kebon Sirih and ahid Hasyim) and Jalan Ciputat Raya in Jakarta Selatan.
Going further south to Kebayoran Baru you will enjoy the newly constructed and sophisticated Blok M Plaza as one of its most important focal points.
Batiks lover can find batik store scattered around town. Batik keris the country’s larger Batik Producer, has flashy multi storey shop on Jalan Cokroaminoto in Menteng. Batik Danarhadi, and excellent shop on Jalan Raden Saleh Raya, is just east of Menteng Area. In suburbs at Kebayoran Baru, Kemang and Menteng you can also find some Boutiques.
For buying some fabrics or ready met clothing’s (western styles or locals) you can roam Pasar Baru, Tanah Abang, and Mangga Dua and now mushrooming almost everywhere are Shopping Malls. Surely you will find your favorite brand names for your shirts or perfumes in so many shopping malls now mushrooming around the capital.
Ancol Dreamland (Taman Impian Jaya Ancol) about 10 km from downtown on the shores of Jakarta Bay, displaying Disneyland like area is Dunia Fantasi, with swimming pools, oceanarium, golf course, marina and now added with gigantic aquarium, Sea World.
Jakarta, the capital city of the Republic of Indonesia, is drastically rising as one of Asia’s most sought after travel destination. Despite the economic regional challenges since the second half of 1997, Jakarta has shown steady annual increases in arrival of tourists since 1999.
With the dramatic devaluation of the Indonesian rupiah, freely floated against the US dollar, international travelers are enjoying terrific value for money with highly competitive price offerings by making purchases with their international currencies.
Boasting centuries of historical background and having served as a major port of trade to the region and the world Jakarta is the political, cultural, trade, business centre and capital of Indonesia. More than 70 percent of the money circulated in Indonesia is in Jakarta, where foreign and national banks have mushroomed, with many skyscrapers sprawling in almost every corner of the city.
- THE GOLDEN TRIANGLE
Here in the Golden Triangle, banks, hotels, condominiums, apartments, plazas, restaurants, office buildings and foreign embassies are mushrooming almost overnight. Consequently the price of the land in the Golden Triangle is the most expensive in the capital.
Being a metropolis by any measure, however, Jakarta is still proud of its terracotta tile roofed traditional houses, though real estate with modern and sophisticated amenities are now surrounding the capital area. High rise housing is now becoming more popular among Jakarta as the price of land skyrockets.
- FAST FOOD
Though its traffic jams, and heat are comparable to other tropical metropolis in Asia, Jakarta is rich with attractions for the tourists who love to visit museums, or other historical and cultural attractions. Her colonial architecture inherited from the Dutch era can be found downtown or in the older sections of the town.
The adventurous types will probably be easily lured by tales of traditional temples and bustling markets in obscure corners of the city.
- BEAUTIFUL MINI INDONESIA GARDEN
To whet your appetite to travel to the rest of Indonesia, you better first go to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah or Beautiful Indonesia Mini Garden where you can enjoy samples of each and every province of the country show in different types of architecture, complete with a typical show case of cultural treasures from the whole country.Taman Mini is designed to capture all of Indonesia’s local culture is on single complex. Stretching over 100 hectares the park provides the visitor with exciting insights into the complexity of this vast country.
All provinces of Indonesia are each represented by a pavilion. Each of these buildings, constructed in the distinctive style of the various region, presents the decorative skills and local art from each province, including textiles, carving, metalwork, traditional dress and panoramas depicting scenes of everyday live.
Each pavilion has its own program of cultural performances, ceremonies and dances, all of which are noted in the monthly Taman Mini Program, available free from most hotels.
Equally impressive are the various special purpose building at Taman Mini such as the new museum and the super performance centre facing the entranceway which is styled after the aristocratic Javanese pendopo or the main hall of the Taman Mini.
There are also buildings following the distinctive architecture of each of Indonesia’s five accepted religions: Islam, Protestant, Christianity, Catholic, Hinduism, and Buddhism.
There is even a wonderfully austere building with an exquisitely curbed interior for the adherents of the various forms of Kebatinan, a form of mystically inclined religious practice found chiefly in Java.
To cover the distances of Taman Mini one can choose for transport, horse drawn carts, a mini train, buses or a cable car that crosses the park and the artificial lake that is carved in the shape of a gigantic map of the archipelago.
There are restaurants and several shopping areas, even a miniature Borobudur temple. Next to the park stands the Keong Mas Imax Theater, which presents a wraparound sound film tour of the archipelago several times a day on one of the largest movies screen in the world.
Though Taman Mini is undoubtedly touristy it is also a superior attraction and well worth the visit.
- THE RAGUNAN ZOO
- OLD JAKARTA
The mouth of Ciliwung River, where Jakarta is located has been settled since ages ago. Since the arrival of the Westerns, Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, during the 15th and 16th century it developed into major pepper port.
In 1618, Jan Pieterszoon Coen, the architect of the Dutch empire in the Indies, subsequently attacked and razed the town of Jakarta and ordered construction of a new town, and dubbed Jakarta into Baatvia.
The fortunes of Batavia under the Dutch East India Company (VOC) between 1602-1799 rose and then fell, while Batavia grew rich during the 17th century as an enter pot trade of sugar, pepper, cloves, nutmegs, tea, textiles, porcelains, hardwoods and rice.
After 1700, a series of calamities wiped out the success of Batavia as a trading centre combined with the declining prices of its commodities, epidemics of malaria, cholera and typhoid fever and a massacre of the Batavia Chinese in 1740, with the frequent wars and corruption that plagued VOC since its inception.
Batavia was almost ruined until the beginning of the 19th century, when Governor General Willem Daendels gave a facelift to it.
Daendels demolished the old city to provide the building materials for a new one to the south, around what is now Medan Merdeka and Lapangan Banteng squares. Two architectural styles namely the French Empire and Neo Classical blended with many tree lined boulevards and extensive gardens laid out by Daendels imparted a certain grace and elegance to Batavia.
With the success of the exploitative Culture Stelsel or the Cultivation System on Java, the colony was once again extremely prosperous. As mentioned in the books on its history, Batavia’s homes, hotels and clubs at that time were in no way interior to those of Europe.
During the Japanese occupation (between 1942 and 1945) Batavia was renamed Jakarta and dramatically converted from a tidy Dutch colonial town of 200,000 to an Indonesian city with more than 1 million population.
Since 1945, the year of Indonesian independence, millions of people, as if magnetized, originating from every corner of the country increased its population, which now reaches its more than 11,000,000 mark.
- SUNDA KELAPA
Around 100 of the Bugis crafts daily arrive laden with sawn-timber from Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of Borneo) which is off loaded along the 2 km long wharf that has been continuously operated since 1817. By walking amidst this nautical bustle to the sea, to witness mammoth sails unfurling to the wind, is one of the most unforgettable experiences of Jakarta.
The surrounding area of Sunda Kelapa is very rich in history. Across the river stands a 19th century lookout Dutch tower (de Uitkjik), constructed upon the original customs house of Jayakarta. This is where the old traders rendered their gifts and tribute to the native ruler in return for the privilege of trading there. The tower is sometimes open and offers a panoramic view of Jakarta and the coast.
Two storey structure dating back to VOC times, now the Marine Museum (Museum Bahari) is located behind Sunda Kelapa. This warehouse was erected by the Dutch in 1652 and use for many years to store coffee, tea and Indian cloth. Inside you can see the display of traditional sailing draft from every corner of the Indonesian archipelago, complete with old maps of Batavia.
Down the narrow road behind the museum you can find the fish market (Pasar Ikan), with numerous stalls where you can purchase sailing and nautical gears, just few minute walk from Hotel Batavia.
Two town squares have been restored and renamed as the Garden of Fatahillah (Taman Fatahillah), with three of the old buildings from that time are now converted into museums: The Jakarta History Museum, the Fine Arts Museum and the Wayang (Puppet) Museum.
Jakarta History Museum formerly the city hall (Stadhuis) of Batavia, a solid structure completed in 1710 and used by successive government right up through the 1960s. It houses fascinating memorabilia from the colonial period, notably 18th century furnishings and portraits of the VOC governors, along with many prehistoric, classical and Portuguese period artifacts.
Dungeon, visible from the back of the building, were used as holding cells where prisoners were made to stand waist deep in sewage for weeks awaiting their trials. Public tortures and executions, commonplace during much of the Dutch period, were carried out daily in the town square.
The Museum Wayang displays puppets and masks from every part of Indonesia. Among the oldest are Wayang Kulit (buffalo hide shadow puppets), wayang golek (round stick puppets), wayang Klithik (flat stick puppets) and wayang potehi, Chinese hand puppets.
From the contemporary period is biblical shadow puppets or wayang wahyu. A display of the founder of Batavia, Jan Pieterszoon Coen is also represented in its puppets version. There are simple puppets made of rice straw and bamboo. A collection of masks or topeng, and tombstones of several early Dutch governors are on display.
To the east of the square is the Fine Arts Museum, formerly the Court of Justice building during the Dutch colonial period (1879). Here paintings and sculptures by modern and contemporary Indonesian Artists are displayed. Rare porcelains from Sung Dynasty, Javanese water jugs (kendhi) and behind the Wayang Museum are two old Dutch houses from the 18th century. Across the canal and to the left stands a solid red brick townhouse built around 1730 by the then soon to be Governor General Van Imhoff.
Glodok Jakarta’s Chinatown is adjacent to the old Europeans quarter. You need at least one or two hours on foot to explore this district of narrow lanes and busy shop fronts. You can find Jinde Yuan temple (1650) on Gand Petak Sembilan, being the oldest of Jakarta’s more than 70 Chinese temples. Numerous Buddhist, Taoist and popular deities are enshrined within, including several deified Chinese notable of Old Batavia.
On the northern side of the museums you can find the old harbor, Sunda Kelapa, with 2 km long wharf in use since 1817.
- THE NATIONAL MONUMENT
Facing the northern side the freedom Square of Medan Merdeka (where the monument is located) is the Freedom Palace or Istana Merdeka and State Palace (Istana Merdeka), originally two 19th century neoclassical mansions and adjoining executive office buildings. While President Soekarno resided in the palace and often threw lavish banquets in central courtyard, President Soeharto preferred to stay in his modest residence in Jalan Cendana, in the Menteng Area. Further east is Istiqlal Mosque, with its massive dome and minarets. It is the largest mosque in South East Asia. On the north east side of Monas is the Pertamina Oil Company.
The Lapangan Banteng (or Wild-Ox Square) lies farther east, bounded to the north by the neo Gothic Cathedral (1901), to the east by the Supreme Court (1848), and the Department of Finance (1982), and to the south by gigantic inter-continental Borobudur Hotel. A sculpture of a muscle bound giant bursting from his shackles is the Irian Jaya Freedom Monument place here in 1963 by Soekarno to commemorate the annexation of westerns part of New Guinea.
On the western side of Medan Merdeka lies the National Museum, originally opened in 1868 by the Batavian Society for Arts and Sciences. It houses an enormously valuable collection of antiquities, books and ethnographic artifacts acquired by the Dutch during the 19th and early 20th centuries, including the Negara Kertagama, an old manuscript (in lontar form) written by Empu Tantular during King Hayam Wuruk reign. It was formerly kept in the Dutch Museum in Leiden.
- CULTURE CENTERS
For those who love cultural programs, Gedung Kesenian near the main general post office, renovated after the colonial era, now is offering a mixture of local and imported cultural events. The revived glory of the building itself is worth a trip.
In Pasar Seni Ancol one can attend local and traditional performing arts, including the more contemporary ones like Lenong, and Ludrug. For wayang kulit performances Pasar Seni invites dalang from Central Java.
Bharata, a cinema style building on Jalan Kalilio No. 15 near Pasar Senen performs wayang wong (the Javanese live theater using actors). Although developed long after the puppet wayang from, wayang wong has adapted legends from the Indian cycles of the Ramayana and Mahabharata, and mixed them with indigenous Javanese lore. The result, every for the non Javanese speaking, is enthralling, particularly the scenes of combat and country dance. Bharata is the best place of its kind, after the one in Taman Sriwedari in Solo, Central Java.
The Java Pavilion at the Taman Mini Indonesia also has wayang kulit demonstrations every other Sunday and lasting about 5 hours. Finally, the National Museum organizes wayang kulit performances every other Sunday they last the whole evening.
Jakarta boasts strong foreign cultural centers. The best among them are the German and Dutch institutes, located on Jalan Matraman Raya and Jalan Kuningan. Printed monthly programs are available on request, or from the respective embassies. They should be given the credit in fostering indigenous artistic expression by giving exhibition and stage space to local artists and performers.
Lingkar Mitra Budaya Jakarta, a group of well heeled persons, is also interested in the arts. A program of the lingkar monthly activities can be obtained from its pleasant office exhibition center at Jalan Tanjang 34, in Menteng.
Balai Budaya, an exhibition hall on Jalan Gereja Theresia 34, in Menteng, used almost exclusively for exhibitions of painting. Drop in and discover the arts scene in Indonesia.
- THE KAMPUNGS
The Jakarta Municipality in recent years has worked hard to upgrade basic services and the result in many areas is a closely settled but very charming kampung (village). One of the best examples of these Kampung Improvement Project is in the Menteng Sukabumi kampung, on the southeast side of Menteng, bordering a railway shuttle line.
Any cabdriver knows the area, and a wander through will add an extra dimension to your memories of the city. Have no fear the natives are especially friendly and it is easy to find your way in and out.
- NIGHTS LIFE’S
The Glodog Chinese quarter sandwiched between Jalan Gajah Mada and jalan Mansyur, just south of the old Kota area, and the Tanjung Priok port area where first class sea food places, thought modest in appearance, rub shoulders with shady night spots and ubiquitous billiard balls.
You can enjoy Jakarta by sipping a cup of tea or coffee at any one of the seemingly thousands of warung, canvas stopped street stalls that can and often must, picked up and moved at a moment’s notice, to avoid a police sweep.
- SOUVENIR HUNTING
For souvenir hunter there are some other places to visit, like Jalan Kebon Sirih Timur Dalam (less than 1 km south of Lapangan Monas, running perpendicular to Kebon Sirih and ahid Hasyim) and Jalan Ciputat Raya in Jakarta Selatan.
Going further south to Kebayoran Baru you will enjoy the newly constructed and sophisticated Blok M Plaza as one of its most important focal points.
Batiks lover can find batik store scattered around town. Batik keris the country’s larger Batik Producer, has flashy multi storey shop on Jalan Cokroaminoto in Menteng. Batik Danarhadi, and excellent shop on Jalan Raden Saleh Raya, is just east of Menteng Area. In suburbs at Kebayoran Baru, Kemang and Menteng you can also find some Boutiques.
For buying some fabrics or ready met clothing’s (western styles or locals) you can roam Pasar Baru, Tanah Abang, and Mangga Dua and now mushrooming almost everywhere are Shopping Malls. Surely you will find your favorite brand names for your shirts or perfumes in so many shopping malls now mushrooming around the capital.
Ancol Dreamland (Taman Impian Jaya Ancol) about 10 km from downtown on the shores of Jakarta Bay, displaying Disneyland like area is Dunia Fantasi, with swimming pools, oceanarium, golf course, marina and now added with gigantic aquarium, Sea World.
- THOUSAND ISLAND
Lying just off the coast of Jakarta, in the Jakarta Bay, amid the turquoise waters of the Java Sea a cluster of 600 isles known collectively as the Thousand Island (Pulau Seribu), many of them are easy to reach by ferry or chartered boat from Pasar Ikan or Priok harbor.
Expect some of the islands privately owned, you can enjoy yourself (usually very heavily booked during the week-end days) in Pulau Putri, Pulau Anyer and Pulau Bidadari which have been developed as tourist resorts with air conditioned cottages and bungalows. Pulau Seribu is very popular for its aquatic sport like snorkeling, scuba diving, water skiing, windsurfing, fishing and sailing.
Close to the Jakarta port, the islands of Pulau Onrust and Pulau Anyer are popular for day outing, both have coral shores abound with shells. The nearby islands of Kelor, Kahyangan and Damar also feature ih Jakarta’s history. Pulau Bidadari’s name, which means ‘Heavenly Nymph Island’ was cruelly ironic considering originally was the site of Jakarta’s leper colony. This island, like many others, is now a resort.
Several larger islands have developed as up market tourist resorts. Pantara Timur and Pantara Barat, developed in cooperation with Japan Air Lines, complete with marble bathrooms and beaches swept clean every morning.
Pulau Putri and Pulau Pelangi are the most popular island, with simple cottages and live entertainment on week end. Pulau sepa has simple cottage with shared Indonesian style bathrooms, though shopping facilities here are very limited to basic necessities. Please bring along your own supplies including food, if you are reluctant to enter its expensive restaurant.
A better deal is the island popular with the snorkeling and diving set. Despite the tourism development, the island’s coral reefs remain suitable for diving and snorkeling, though they cannot compare to other areas in the archipelago. Snorkeling gear is widely available, and several companies offer diving packages for qualified diver.
Marine life includes turtle, pelagic and reef fish, anemones, giant clams, soft and hard corals. Reef sharks are more curious than aggressive. Dolphins and flying fish can often be seen during the boat trip from Jakarta. To reach Pulau Seribu there are scheduled ferries leave form the Ancol marine daily at 7 am, taking 2 ½ hours. The ferry leaves the island at 2.30 pm.
More expensive alternatives are speedboats, a hydrofoil and charter flight to the trip at Pulau Panjang. Any travel agent in Jakarta will be able to give details on accommodations and transportation.
Expect some of the islands privately owned, you can enjoy yourself (usually very heavily booked during the week-end days) in Pulau Putri, Pulau Anyer and Pulau Bidadari which have been developed as tourist resorts with air conditioned cottages and bungalows. Pulau Seribu is very popular for its aquatic sport like snorkeling, scuba diving, water skiing, windsurfing, fishing and sailing.
Close to the Jakarta port, the islands of Pulau Onrust and Pulau Anyer are popular for day outing, both have coral shores abound with shells. The nearby islands of Kelor, Kahyangan and Damar also feature ih Jakarta’s history. Pulau Bidadari’s name, which means ‘Heavenly Nymph Island’ was cruelly ironic considering originally was the site of Jakarta’s leper colony. This island, like many others, is now a resort.
Several larger islands have developed as up market tourist resorts. Pantara Timur and Pantara Barat, developed in cooperation with Japan Air Lines, complete with marble bathrooms and beaches swept clean every morning.
Pulau Putri and Pulau Pelangi are the most popular island, with simple cottages and live entertainment on week end. Pulau sepa has simple cottage with shared Indonesian style bathrooms, though shopping facilities here are very limited to basic necessities. Please bring along your own supplies including food, if you are reluctant to enter its expensive restaurant.
A better deal is the island popular with the snorkeling and diving set. Despite the tourism development, the island’s coral reefs remain suitable for diving and snorkeling, though they cannot compare to other areas in the archipelago. Snorkeling gear is widely available, and several companies offer diving packages for qualified diver.
Marine life includes turtle, pelagic and reef fish, anemones, giant clams, soft and hard corals. Reef sharks are more curious than aggressive. Dolphins and flying fish can often be seen during the boat trip from Jakarta. To reach Pulau Seribu there are scheduled ferries leave form the Ancol marine daily at 7 am, taking 2 ½ hours. The ferry leaves the island at 2.30 pm.
More expensive alternatives are speedboats, a hydrofoil and charter flight to the trip at Pulau Panjang. Any travel agent in Jakarta will be able to give details on accommodations and transportation.
- BIRD MARKETS
At the junction of Jalan Mahakam and Jalan Melawai in Kebayoran Baru is a flower markets which is cheap and refreshing, set among the trees of a small park.
- JABOTABEK
With the existing better road system within and surrounding it, Jakarta is now more accessible from the west side even as far as Sumatera. You can go by bus to Jakarta from Sumatera, since there are many ferries service crossing the Sunda Strait from Bakahuni in Lampung to Anyer, West Java.
From the south Jakarta is traditionally accessible from the east side. Even further from the Bali island. To cross Bali Strait, there are also ferries service which connect Java and Gilimanuk, in the western part of Bali. With around 40 International airlines serving Indonesia through Sukarno-Hatta international airport connecting Jakarta with practically the rest of the world. Through Priok harbor, Jakarta is the number one international sea gateway.
It is worth noting here, that Indonesia is also directly accessible from Malaysian Peninsula and Singapore, by ferry and hydrofoil services from Penang and Singapore. Through border crossing to Kalimantan, the Indonesian part of Borneo, Indonesia is accessible from Sabah and Sarawak, both are eastern states of Malaysia, and Brunei Darussalam.