Spent five (5) days in JAKARTA alone and tried different hotels every night whichever’s near to where my last stop of the day was. As I arrived the airport, the hot and humid air of the city straightly hit me!
I had an Indonesian breakfast to start – usually noodles, eggs, bread with butter, and coffee/orange juice. Had amazing food and it had been fun learning to eat the Indonesian way. And the famous “nasi goreng” (fried rice) is served everywhere. There are obviously regional variations accross the vast island populations that comprise Indonesia. Influences come from China, Malaya, Singapore and of course the western world. But food in Jakarta are mostly spicy and sweet. Jakarta has its own distinctive qualities that anyone can appreciate and I can say that their country and culture are also very rich and has so much to develop.
I had some time in the strangest but fantastic cinema complex I’ve ever been into, they have actual beds, duvets, pillows, and different kinds of wine were served. It was very relaxing.
Since I work for a TV network, I enjoyed the opportunity to see how they shoot their TV materials and film. I saw them shooting a local film, of course, there you can see how their culture and traditions are still abounding and rich despite of all kinds of development happening around the globe.
Jakarta is a real bustling city, busy people, transportations were so active with too crazy traffic on some specific hours where you see jam-packed of cars and motorcycles, the daily life movement were lively. Along with it are other varieties of transportation – Trains, buses, andong and becak (pronounced “bay check”). Andongs are horse drawn calesas and becaks are man pushed cycles. They are great vehicles for sightseeing. The city was full of go!
There is quite a contrast here between the rich and the poor. When you drive around you really feel it with the fancy skyscrapers together with slums next to rubbish filled rivers.
Of course, how can we forget Batik, the traditional javanese textile (Javanese for “wax painting”). Designs are first painted on both sides of a cloth in melted wax, traditionally poured from a copper pot with several spouts. The cloth is then dipped in dye, which is absorbed by the uncovered areas but resisted by the waxed areas; the result is a light pattern on a dark ground. After the wax is removed (by boiling or dissolving), the process may be repeated many times with other colored dyes to achieve great intricacy of design and richness of color. Batik, known to the ancient Sumerians, was developed into an art of great beauty by the Javanese and other Indonesian people. They used traditional geometric or floral motifs, often symbols of religion or social status, most frequently in blue and brown tones. Batik was introduced to Europe by Dutch merchants in the 17th century. The batik process has become commercialized in Indonesia.
Everyone here has a cigarette in their hands. I had a headache the entire time. I decided to have an hour of Thai massage for about $6. Be careful! It was not the same Thai massage I had in Thailand. I went to see the National Monument and Taman Mini, a miniature park that replicates a sampling of about 250 cultures in one big compound. I got to see other amazing sights and experience some fun and leisure around the city – Gondola Cable Car in Danau Beach Ancol Jakarta Bay City, saw Atlantis Water Adventure was built on the former site of Gelanggang Renang (Swimming Courtyard) and owned by Indosat Group & MNC Group. Occupying over five hectares of land, this water park is themed on the mythological underwater world of Atlantis. Its facilities include a wave pool, continuous flowing river pool, rainbow ball pool, waterfall pool, several slides, two children’s pools, five restaurants, and a food court that was imported from India, Brazil, Spain, Bangladesh, saw Istana Anak Anak (The Castle of Indonesian Children), tried Badjai Pasar Baru (Trike) in Jakarta.
I had the chance to see the Istana Merdeka (Freedom Palace), a palace in Central Jakarta, Indonesia, used as the official residence of the President of the Republic of Indonesia. The palace is located directly in front of Merdeka square and Indonesian National Monument. The palace previously served as a residence for the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies during the colonial era and up to the first president of Indonesia. In 1949 the palace was renamed to Merdeka Palace, “merdeka” is an Indonesian word for “freedom”. Merdeka Palace together with Negara Palace, along with a few structures in the complex, such as Wisma Negara, State Secretariat, and Bina Graha make up the State Palace complex; the center of Indonesian executive authority.
I enjoyed DUNIA FANTASI (Dufan – Fantasy World) Dunia Fantasi is Jakarta’s own theme park complete with over forty rides and attractions and owned by Indosat Group. The theme park is divided into eight regions which are Jakarta, Indonesia, Asia, Africa, America, Europe, and Fantasi Hikayat (Legendary Fantasy) region featuring Ancient Greece and Ancient Egypt architecture. Among its most popular attractions are the Halilintar twisted roller coaster ride, Niagara flume ride, Istana Boneka (a local version of Disney’s It’s a Small World) and Balada Kera (Monkey Parody – animatronics show) Theater show. Other attractions include Bianglala (ferris wheel), Kora-Kora (swinging ship), Poci-Poci (spinning cups ride), and Hysteria.
Watched a short puppet skit at The Shadow Puppets Museum (Museum Wayang) – The world of Indonesian shadow puppet got characteristically influence especially in term of story, like the Ramayana (the Story of Rama) and Mahabharata (the Great Bharata), making the form of presentation keep on changing and with wider range in performance and in the theme of the story. In its later development the Indonesian shadow puppet had become a such tradition, that it has been capable to hold out in the supporting community consisting of various elements. This Museum also displays various collections of wayang and dolls from friendly countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Suriname, China, Vietnam, France, India and Cambodia.
Feel the Jakarta air in Taman Mini Indonesia Indah literally means “beautiful miniature park of Indonesia”.The park is basically a culture recreational area seeing the total Indonesian culture.
Looked inside Theater Keong Emas (Golden Snail Theater) in East Jakarta, the Imax Theater presents “Beautiful Indonesia” on a gigantic screen using the latest Imax system. The theater was first open to the public on April 20, 1984 and it’s enormous screen, using the latest Imax System, has been listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest screen in the world.
I had a wonderful moment in Ocean Dream Samudra features several animal shows, a small aquarium, and a 4D theater and owned by PT Global Informasi Bermutu. The trained animal shows include a dolphin show and sea lion show. The 4D theater projects 3D image movies with sensations such as cool breezes and water sprays located inside a large building with Mesoamerican pyramid theme.
And there are so much to learn about the country at The Purna Bhakti Pertiwi Museum, is a history museum specialized on the life of Suharto, the former second president of Indonesia and a powerful political figure in modern Indonesian history.
I went to see (MONAS) Jakarta National Museum – The National Monuments one of the many monuments built during the Sukarno era of fierce nationalism. The 137-metre tall marble obelisk is topped with a flame coated with 35 kgs. of gold, and represents the people’s determination to achieve the freedom. This monument, symbolizing the nation’s independence, is situated at the center of Taman Medan Merdeka (Medan Merdeka Square). Its architecture is designed as a Lingga and Yoni, The Hindu symbol of fertility. The basement houses a museum depicting the nation’s history. In the Hall of Silence visitors can hear the original voice of Soekarno reading Indonesia’s Proclamation of Independence. Near the monument is a statue of Prince Diponegoro on horseback. This hero fought the Dutch in the Java War (1925-1930). After his capture he was jailed in the town hall of Batavia before being banished to North Sulawesi.
And even I’m allergic to be near any plant, I went to see The Orchid Garden in East Jakarta and The Taman Anggrek Indonesian Permai – Orchids of Indonesia! Indonesia has more than 4,000 species of Orchid. Some famous Indonesian Orchids are Vanda, Phalaenopsis, Phapiopedilum, Dendrobium, and other popular genera like Coelogyne, Cymbidium that have been used extensively in the production of incredible number of hybrids.
I also went around inside the Fine Arts and Ceramic Museum in West Jakarta.
Jakarta, on the island of Java, is the capital city of Indonesia. During the Dutch colonial era, it was called Batavia, and a restaurant was named after it, tasted some great dishes in here.
Selamat Datang di Indonesia JAKARTA, the capital city of Indonesia!
