Jakarta

A long, very long, intercontinental flight with Ethiopian Airlines took us from Cape Town via a layover in the old and pretty dirty airport of Addis Ababa and an intermediate stop in Bangkok to the bustling city of Jakarta. Having been there some five years ago, I expected another busy, old and overcrowded airport. So, I was pleasantly surprised that in the meantime a new terminal had been inaugurated and the arrival formalities went pretty smooth. For ease of mind, we took a Blue Bird Silver taxi towards the Pinx’s hostel we had pre-booked for the coming three nights. Three nights because we expected we’d need to adapt to the humid heat and jetlag. Although Jakarta is only visited by less than 20% of tourists coming to Indonesia, we planned to get the most of it.

We checked into our tiny little but clean room (what a difference with the spacious ones in Africa) and went out on the street to check where we could score some food. It turned out just across the street. We were too tired to venture much farther. So, we ended up with some chicken, tempeh, nasi goreng and tofu from the local warung, thanks to Google Translate. Njummie! Unfortunately, even that cheap delicious meal couldn’t fend off the jetlag and went to bed only to lay awake till 2 AM. And not be able to get out of bed before 9 AM. One of us a bit grumpier than the other. We finished our last adventure story of Africa in the lounge area in the hostel before heading out to Kota Tua by bus. Conveniently, there was a Transjakarta bus stop just a short walk away. Figuring out the schedule was not that easy, but luckily there is Uncle Google (Maps) whom helped us out. We got out at the right stop, but then we still had to cross the street to get to the pedestrian area… Which was our first small adventure. The traffic. Oh, that traffic. Yes, there are pedestrian crossings. No, there are no pedestrian traffic lights. No, the cars did not stop voluntarily. The hordes and hordes of motorcycles were even less inclined to stop. After studying the locals crossing for about fifteen minutes and scraping together our courage, we crossed too (and prayed and maybe even shitted our pants a little). Safely on the other side, wiping off the first trickles of sweat, we continued to our first intended stop: the Wayang museum. We roamed the dusty, ill-illuminated and chaotically thrown-together rooms, enjoying some very intricately painted and carved puppets.

Since it was already quite late, we decided to keep it easy – that jetlag – and took our lunch in Café Batavia on the corner of the enormous square. It still breaths the old colonial era, which makes it a tourist hotspot, pricing accordingly… We walked further north towards the harbour but not before we gave interviews to local students and posed for pictures. Eventually we made our entry into the Bahari / maritime museum. Very quiet and more pleasant than the Wayang museum, it has some older and newer forms of maritime transport on display. It explains Java’s and Indonesia’s very important maritime history. For the price (5000 IDR or 0.30 EUR) it’s certainly worth a visit. It also includes entrance to the old harbour master’s watchtower, which provides a partial view over the smog-clouded skyline of Jakarta. Exhausted, we found ourselves the nearest coffee shop. Experiencing first-handed the much-heard-about emerging coffee scene. It was decent enough, on a decent enough location: just across the street from the old Dutch drawbridge. Unfortunately, currently under maintenance, otherwise the setting, drinks and company would have been perfect!

After another strange night’s rest, we decided to opt for the central part of Jakarta the next day. Again, at the same bus stop, we were confronted the first time with the limitations of Google Maps and the outdated public transport maps… We spent nearly 1.5 hrs to travel a mere 4 km. OK, it was weekend. OK, we were still jetlagged. OK, I failed to follow Véro’s well-intended advice. Not once. Not twice. In fact, not the whole morning. But hey, we got at least to the general vicinity of Museum Nasional by getting off at Harmoni bus stop. We took lunch first, trying to regain some of the energy we spent studying transport maps. We opted for a Padang, a type of restaurant also recommended by our hostel host. However, since we were still getting into Indonesian culture, we didn’t really know how it worked, so we ended up with a meagre bowl of rice and two chicken bones in a – admitted – deliciously spicy sauce. For those whom want to try it too: everything is cold, and it’s customary to request several dishes, eating largely with your hands.

OK, so Museum Nasional, the endpoint of our Saturday morning struggle. We had heard that earlier this week quite some big protests were held in Jakarta and other cities, and while standing on the bus to Harmoni bus station we also noticed that the main road leading towards the museum and the Merdeka square in front of it, was closed off with barbed wire. According to a receptionist of the hotel next to the Padang-restaurant, the museum was closed for the day due to protest being held at the square. After a small but heated discussion, Véro followed my lead and we walked anyhow towards the fenced-off street. 

And hozee, miraculously the barbed wire was removed! So woehoew, small victory. We decided – since busses were not travelling yet – to walk to the museum, following Google Maps in the quite oppressive heat on the street paralleling the square. Only to be turned back by a massive riot-geared-outfitted police regiment which was blocking off entry to the square. So, we walked back, in the meantime soaking wet with perspiration, towards the corner, where we could take the correct turn and just walk through another regiment, and another. And another. Whom were all demobilising from, what we assume, was a protest or manifestation held that morning. So more or less four hours after leaving for it, we arrived. Woehoew! Only to find it closed. Big bummer! The receptionist was right after all, it was due to the manifestation… Since we were soaking already anyhow, we crossed into the blissfully quiet park. It seems as it was only just reopened for public again, since once more we saw a massive police and army presence just packing up… Have to say, never felt so safe though! So, we crossed the empty central square to try to gain access to the Monas, or Monument Nasional, a 132-meter tall obelisk, depicting the fight for Indonesia. We skipped the queues for the ride up (it was ridiculously expensive compared to other musea) and walked around the diaphragms in the basement, depicting important events leading to Indonesia today. It started quite logically and comprehensible, but the last part – for which most information should be known nonetheless – was lost in too short descriptions and unclear significance to make it understandable for non-Indonesians like us, trying to learn some more about its history. Since we had still plenty daylight left, we took bus north again to Glodok’s chinatown market. Nice enough to walk through, but nothing spectacular or really worthwhile. After shopping some groceries for the next day, we took a delicious take-away from a small warung nearby the hostel and ate it in the hostel’s lounge, before retiring to bed…