Jakarta
Of course I
got scammed. Actually I read the tips of fellow travelers in Thorn Tree forum
and also in Lonely Planet quite well and watched out for a (metered) cab (preferably
of Blue Bird Taxi Company) and trusted a
guy who showed me his „Blue Bird“ ID. In the end I paid three times the price I
would have paid for a metered cab (~370,000 Rupiah instead of 140,000). Just
keep in mind, those taxis are really blue and do not follow someone at the
pick-up area. Nevertheless, the driver was quite nice and gave me some
indications on what to see and what is interesting about Jakarta.
Traffic
Traffic in
Jakarta is horrible. I am now used to heavy traffic from former trips to Asia,
but streets in Jakarta are worse. I arrived on a Sunday night which gave me the
feeling of "It’s not that bad" but was corrected the next morning.
Estimating the time needed to cross distances can become quite tough under
these conditions so be sure to plan ahead and chose wisely. Public transport (I
used the metro bus for 3,500 Rupiah one way is crowded but ok and very limited
in reachability.
I leveled
up my street crossing skills I got from Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand.
Crossing streets in Jakarta brought it to new dimensions.
Pollution
With the
traffic comes the air pollution. In some situations it feels like you can
barely breath. Though this effect seems to be quite common in Asian metropolis
it is always a very bad experience.
Even worse
than the air pollution is the obvious pollution of the rivers and canals in central
Jakarta. I saw a few and all of them very heavily polluted. Plastic on the
surface makes it obvious and from the smell and color of the water one could
guess it is even more polluted by chemicals, oil, and dump.
The general
smell in Jakarta is an orchestra of jasmine, clove, benzol, cured meat, pee, and
fustiness
For me it
is quite hard to get the happy-holiday feeling under those conditions, but that
was clearly not the goal for my Jakarta visit. Of course I also visited some of
the primary tourist spots to feel the vibe of Indonesia’s capital.
People
Indonesian
people are obviously very friendly. In nearly every situation I might have
looked a bit puzzled people came to me and helped me out. Most of the people I
chatted with where quite good in English which made it very easy to get around
in Jakarta. It is also very nice to see that those people were helpful without
any monetary intentions but out of empathy. Just be open-minded and ask the
people around you if you need help.
Sights
Monas
The central
square (you can’t miss it since it is massive) is decorated with a central
monument which is an obelisk topped by a golden flame. I learned that they
melted a remarkable amount of gold to form it. Sadly it was closed on Monday
and I couldn’t go up.
Mesjid
Istiqlal
This place
is amazing. One of the biggest mosques in Asia and for sure the biggest I have
ever visited it gives room for about 200,000 prayers during Ramadan (according
to the guide). On weekdays it is free to enter the mosque (also for non-Muslims)
and a friendly guide shows you around the place (about 15 minute tour). You are
not allowed to walk on your own. Pictures are allowed so be sure to prepare the
camera (since time is limited). Most fascinating for me is the huge dome of
more than 40 meters in diameter, picture will follow on my photo blog).
Glodok
After I visited
the catholic cathedral next to Mesjid Istiqlal (it always feels awkward to see
churches in Asia) I took a cab to Glodok and visited Petak Semblian Street
Market (at Jalan Pancoran). Basically you can get anything here from street
food to mangas and sweets. In the end nothing special, just a street market like
in every other Asian town I have visited. Yet, the level of pollution and smell
is above average.
Kota
I hired a
friendly guide at Taman Fatahillah in front of the old “Gouverneurskantoor“. I
paid around 100,000 Rupiah for a tour of about an hour. The guide spoke barely
German, Dutch and fluently English so it was quite a good bargain. Furthermore
he had access rights to some of the ruins which gave the tour an extraordinary
touch.
First I
learned that thousands of Dutch people were hanged on Taman Fatahillah during
the Indonesia uprising. That is how they put an end to their colonalization. We
went over to an old Portuguese canon, forged in Macau, improved in Malacca and
finally installed here in Jakarta to reign the colony. What a delicious
coincidence that I visited all of those three cities in the last months. We
went on passing by the Batavia Cafe to the ruins of the old Bank „Kas“ and the
shipping administration of the Dutch rulers. Wonderful colonial style buildings
nowadays being ruins. As mentioned before we were able to enter the ruins and
even went up the attic to see the oldest air conditioning I have ever seen
(from beginning of the 20th century) and disturbing the sleep of countless bats
living there.
Ruins in the centre of Kota / Batavia (Old Town of Jakarta) |
From
Jakarta to Bogor
By local
train from Sudirman Station (2 minutes walk from my hotel). Non-stop (1 hr) and
at a ridiculous rate of 4,000 Rupiah. I didn’t book in advance; I simply bought
the white top-up card at the station office.
Bogor
Getting
around in Bogor was a challenge for me. To be honest I underestimated the
traffic and the challenge of picking the right Angkot (Green Mini Busses). Angkot’s
are quite comparable to Sorng•Taa•Ou you probably know from Thailand. Don’t be afraid that you could miss it;
there are literally hundreds or thousands of them. Basically there is a
circular main road (4 lanes, 2 in each direction) around the botanical garden.
At first sight it might be easy, you just ho on one of the Angkot and step out
at the right location (flat price of 3,000 Rupiah) but there are several main roads
leaving the circle which make it more complicated.
By the way,
I found out that taxis are very rare (yes, Blue Bird exists also here) and that
the taxi drivers (3 out of 3) do not know English and are very poorly informed
about the place.
I arrived
at about 3 PM and walked all the way to the hostel since I wanted to get a
better picture of the transportation before I get scammed again.
Botanical Garden
I have
visited countless botanical gardens in the past years (Naples Florida,
Barcelona, Kyoto, and Okayama) and every garden has its charme. Bogor Botanical
Garden is a wonderful noise from the trouble surrounding it. With plenty Asian
plants and flowers it is worth a stroll. Big con are the scooters and cars
driving through the park for whatever reasons. Furthermore the beautiful river
running through the park isn’t that beautiful anymore when looking at it n
detail (-> Pollution). If you go there, do not miss the secret Dutch
graveyard in the Bamboo section.
Famous Café
de Daunan was unfortunately under construction during the time being.
To be continued...
-----------------------
-Found a typing error?
-Feedback?
-Need further Info?
-All pictures shot by me.
Please feel free to contact me!
-Found a typing error?
-Feedback?
-Need further Info?
-All pictures shot by me.
Please feel free to contact me!
My name is Mrs Sharon Sim. I live in singapore and i am a happy woman today? and i told my self that any lender that rescue my family from our poor situation, i will refer any person that is looking for loan to him, he gave me happiness to me and my family, i was in need of a loan of S$250,000.00 to start my life all over as i am a single mother with 3 kids I met this honest and GOD fearing man loan lender that help me with a loan of S$250,000.00 SG. Dollar, he is a GOD fearing man, if you are in need of loan and you will pay back the loan please contact him tell him that is Mrs Sharon, that refer you to him. contact Dr Purva Pius,via email:(urgentloan22@gmail.com) +918376918351 Thank you.
ReplyDelete