Review: Indonesia 2014 (Part 1)

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.

Road side "gas station" for Scooters

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...

 

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