Life in Jakarta is hectic. With a population of almost 10 million, this sprawling metropolitan abuzz with life, day and night, is known as the Big Durian for many distinct reasons. A term of endearment cast against the infamous foul-smelling durian fruit, Jakarta is a city which you will either love to hate, or hate to love.
An uncommon tourist destination, if you dare attempt Jakarta’s exoticness, you will discover huge contrasts of almost half a century old world charm set against a metamorphosis of development.
Nestled in the northern area of the metropolitan is Old Batavia, or “Kota” to the locals, a landmark of Jakarta’s city established from Dutch rule. Crowned with colonial buildings modelled after the Amsterdam’s Stadthuys, these buildings today house the Historical and Modern Arts Museum, and the famous Café Batavia. This idyllic café still possesses some old world charm from its antique furniture and interior design. Enjoy a cuppa in the Grand Salon dining area upstairs beside the bay windows, and watch Jakarta’s inhabitants go by on Fatihillah Square. This could be your picture perfect setting of the city.
Further northwards from this historic square is Sunda Kelapa. Once a chaotic harbour town with majestically docked European trade ships and a hive of commerce activity in the 16th century, today it is a humble fisherman’s wharf and inter-island port lined with tall Bugis schooners which will definitely enrapture many a visitor with a photographic eye. Observing dock workers carry modern day sundries off the ships on narrow planks would make you feel warped back into time.
A stark contrast to these tranquil localities caught in time is the cosmopolitan districts scattered across greater Jakarta. Whether in Senayan, Cengkareng, Menteng or Kelapa Gading, you will come across modern day skyscrapers and apartment buildings, the imposing presence of commerce and capitalism, a circle of elevated freeways and smog-ridden streets constantly lined with people. All of which could easily daunt you into confusion. And upon closer inspection of these contemporary façade, you will discover that it is exactly that. Façades alongside incomplete high-rise buildings or development projects, and unkempt squatter homes built in between highway pylons. All a snapshot of Jakarta’s once booming economy of the 80’s and 90’s brought to a standstill during the 1997 Asian economic crisis.
Getting around Jakarta isn't easy. There aren't any MRT (mass rapid transit) facilities available like its neighbours’. Instead, uniquely Indonesian public transportation called the ojek (motorcycle pillion riders) and bajaj (three wheeled motorcycles similar to Thailand's tuk tuk) throng the city streets. A first look at them weaving in and out of the infamous Jakarta macet (traffic jam) can be quite scary, but this cost effective transportation is a staple for the locals. As for taxis, you will be forewarned even by affording locals or expatriates that only Bluebird and Silverbird taxi companies are reliable. Even then, be very cautious of rogue drivers.
The majority of Jakarta’s inhabitants, be it the upper middle class locals or the expatriates, have their own supir (driver) which is a necessity than a luxury. Jobs are scarce for Indonesians, so it's commonplace to hire a supir, whom most of the time come with their own Toyota Kijang (a pick-up van) and can be hired at daily rates.
Amid Jakarta’s run down superficiality and historic allure however, are the charisma of its people. With such a large population, you will instantly be inundated by its mannerisms and culture. And one such notable experience is how you’re addressed by the locals. Men of about the same adult age are addressed as mas, and women mbak. The general address for people slightly older, or rather out of respect ,is pak for men and ibu for women. Much like the Western address of ma’am and sir, you will easily discover the warm hospitality of the Jakartans by using them.
What you make of Jakarta at day’s end is your acquired taste. You may end up an inhabitant among their large expatriate population experiencing life in an Asian metropolis, or merely a passing tourist using Jakarta as a port of call to visit other parts of Java, Indonesia. Whichever it is, like the durian fruit, you need to try it at least once.
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