Jakarta - Java - Indonesia

July 6th - 9th, 2016

After a day spent flying from Siem Reap to Kuala Lumpur and then onwards to Jakarta, we were relieved to find that there was a bus we could take into town and from there a 2km walk to our hotel. Walking along the street by the side of the main road we were struck by how many buildings were boarded up and in various states of disrepair. It seems Jakarta is well past it's heyday, with gaping holes in the pavement, abandoned structures everywhere and little street lighting, it wasn't a pleasant walk to take at night, let alone with our packs on our backs making us feel a bit like easy targets! Luckily we encountered no problems and were able to check in to our hotel where we dumped our bags, turned the aircon on to cool the room then ventured out to find dinner. It turned out there was a handy little 'hole in the wall' type place just opposite the hotel and we ate here each night, there not being many other choices around and the food being simple, freshly cooked and cheap!

Heading out to see the sights we were once again struck by how dilapidated the North of the city was, it looking little better in daylight than it had the previous evening. The big difference however was the people, whereas the place was almost deserted before, now the streets were thronged with people, food stands and tuk tuks. An overwhelming celebratory atmosphere was in the air, but it wasn't until we reached the Taman Fatahillah, the large cobbled square in the middle of Kota (Old Batavia), that we found out why....there was a huge festival for the end of Ramadam taking place. This proved to make our lives difficult for the next week as many shops and businesses were closed, such as banks and tourist information centres, also all the public transport was booked up and there was a 3 day traffic jam that reported 5 deaths due to carbon monoxide poisoning and heat stroke! However, the scene in the square was a picture, hundreds of people out with their families, enjoying the celebrations, eating, laughing, taking selfies....this seems to be a huge occupation over here and we are frequently asked if they can have a picture with us like we're famous or something...it's really weird!! Around the edge of the square, in front of several museums that hem it in, there were many people dressed in exotic looking costumes and brightly coloured bicycles to rent which were then ridden somewhat recklessly among the crowd, creating quite a spectacle.

After taking in our fill of this sight, we fought our way through the packed streets and on towards the historic 800 year old harbour, Sunda Kelapa which was the most important port of the Dutch empire at one time. It was quite a long walk, especially with the sun beating down overhead and when we finally got to the end of the harbour we were very happy to enjoy the sea breeze for a while before turning back the way we had come. There wasn't really a lot to see as no one was working due to the festival, but some of the boats were quite pretty, mostly wooden schooners, with the odd person washing the decks or doing some repairs, the time afforded by the holiday period. O n our way back we stopped in to the Maritime Museum which is housed in some well preserved wooden warehouses dating back to the 1600's and showcasing many different kinds of traditional vessels as well as models showing the old Dutch fort and buildings, a display on sea legends from many countries, history of the area and the Dutch occupation and a breezy Watch Tower which gave fabulous views.

Lastly before returning to the square, we came upon the Jembatan Pasar Ayam, an ornate wooden drawbridge in perfect condition crossing the Kali Besar Canal, surrounded by streets of grand Dutch terraced houses which were once the smartest addresses in Batavia. Back at the square we indulged in some Indonesian style Takoyaki for lunch and then worked our way to the bus station where we were able to buy a 14 trip pass card for A$5. We quickly established that their bus system was really good, covering vast areas of the city and having dedicated lanes that meant they never got stuck in traffic! Once back at the hotel we were able to cool off before dinner and a night in the hotel lobby (the only place the wifi worked) organising further parts of our trip and listening to someone murder a few songs really really loudly on an electric keyboard.

Having sussed out the bus system already, we availed ourselves of its services to take us to Medan Merdeka, a square kilometre of concrete, scorched grass and tree lined gardens in the middle of the city, in the centre of which proudly rises the Monas Tower. This Tower is said to represent the indomitable spirit of the Indonesian people, standing 137m high, the marble, bronze and gold torch is quite an impressive sight, the only problem was getting to it! For some reason we cannot fathom, all but 1 of the gates around the Medan Merdeka were closed and locked, meaning we had to walk along 2 sides to get in, 2km!! En route we diverted to go and take a look at the Lapangan Banteng (freedom monument) and the Mesjid Istiqlal, the largest mosque in South East Asia, capable of holding 250,000 people which frankly we thought was hideous and looked like a multi storey car park. On the opposite side of the road however was St Mary's Cathedral which was absolutely stunning! The usual handsome stonework body that you would expect to see but with spires that were white and looked like latticework, we'd never seen anything like it and weren't the only ones staring skywards, there being a number of Indonesian tourists doing the same. We decided to go inside and have a look and found there was a wedding taking place, so we quietly sat at the back relishing the cool interior while they finished up, clearly the ceremony was over as they were at the picture taking stage so we didn't have to wait long. The inside of the cathedral was nice but nothing special, the most interesting thing being the pews, instead of being solid, hard wood, instead had bamboo lattice seats making them much more comfortable and cooler than traditional ones. Leaving the sanctuary of St Mary's (it was nice to not feel like an outsider or intruder for a change) we walked back to the Medan Merdeka and finally found the open gate to get inside. Hot and bothered by this point we quickly ate some lunch from a foodcourt stand and continued walking across the vast square to the Monas Tower where we took a few pictures before retreating to the shade of the trees and making our way back to the bus stop and on to our hotel.