The highs and lows of exploring Jakarta

So there I am in Jakarta with this irrational but convincing fear that I was going to get mugged, kidnapped by the police while also contracting the bubonic plague. I know, quite the cool, calm and collected traveller, huh?  Well, read this post to understand how I got to be in a taxi on my way to execute a well planned sight seeing trip of Jakarta.

I got out of the taxi to a wall of humid heat at Merdeka Square, or "Independence Square" as it translates in English, and looked down a long road towards the impressive National Monument or Monas as it’s more commonly called. The heat stayed with me for the rest of the day like a loyal companion.

Immediately I noticed a huddle of policemen at the entrance and the fear awoke inside me again as I recalled, almost word for word, the stories I'd read about corrupt officers asking “Westerners” for proof of ID and issuing illegal “fines” if appropriate documentation wasn’t produced.  Had I put my passport in my bag? How much money do I actually have on me? What if they don’t speak English? I wish I knew more Bahasa Indonesian!  The anxiety tornado-ed around inside.I needn’t have worried.

I was politely greeted with a handful of smiles, and was ushered through the entrance with a “Hello Missus” and a wink.

Two minutes later as I strolled towards the impressive Monas and admired the surprisingly pleasant park that surrounds the monument, one of the policemen appeared alongside me on a motorbike and offered me a lift with the broadest and cheekiest smile I’d seen since arriving in Jakarta.
I smiled back and politely declined not because I thought it was a kidnap attempt (I could have had 'im easily), I was just genuinely enjoying my walk and indeed I continued to enjoy my walk albeit an often dirty and smelly one around the hectic city for the remainder of that day.

Here is what I saw...

Monas was unfortunately closed so I couldn’t go inside or climb to the top, but I happened to be there on the day they were celebrating 40 years independence so there was plenty to see and do in the surrounding area and the park is a nice green break from the unrelenting traffic. The National History Museum of Indonesia sits within walking distance of Monas and boasts impressive collections and displays documenting the rather scattered history of Indonesia’s numerous islands and tribes. The first Buddhist temple to be built in Indonesia, Wihari Dharma Bhakti is still a focal point for Indonesia’s Buddhist population and is especially important to the Indonesian Chinese population and to Jakarta’s bustling China town where it can be found surrounded by busy, noisy (and smelly) street market and food stalls. Possibly due to providing respite from the outside world, it was an instantly calm place to spend a few minutes inhaling incense smoke and absorbing an atmosphere of prayer and quiet.


A walk away from the temple and through China town’s bustling street markets is an education to Western cities on what a real China town looks and smells like. Much to my naive disgust I saw snake blood being sold, the legs being pulled off frogs and even a live turtle being decapitated. As I turned away clutching my stomach I saw Chinese businessmen in suits gathering and watching in excitement on their lunch hour.
A risky ten minute walk away along and more frighteningly across some busy roads was Fatahillah Square and the old colonial city originally built and called Batavia by the Dutch. The poorly looked after old buildings, the familiar Dutch style sloping roofs and the lack of preservation or conservation of such a historic area left me with mixed emotions. A local man who tried to sell me postcards explained in surprisingly good English that the Indonesian government have no interest in preserving the buildings and heritage left by the Dutch. Understandable for a number of reasons, yet after seeing it being proudly acknowledged and maximised in Singapore and Melacca in Malaysia I couldn't help but feel sad for the people of Jakarta and disappointed as a tourist.


My spirits were lifted by a small group of school children who pounced on me as I was the "only Westerner in the old town" and they needed an English speaker to interview as tasked by a clearly imaginative English teacher. They were so polite, charming and enthusiastic I couldn't help but feel more positive about their home city.
Another risky walk further north took me to Sunda Kelapa. The risk this time was my internal physical health rather than an RTA as I followed the river, i.e. sewage system, to the sea to find this historic port. It has been strategically very important and symbolic for over 800 years from pre-colonial Jayakarta Chinese and Indonesian spice sellers, to the Dutch who burnt it to the ground to rebuild Batavia and finally to modern day Jakarta, where it now operates as more of a distribution point for goods to Indonesia's thousands of island territories.
Though there were more museums, more markets and more smells to encounter, I have to be honest and say that I couldn't stomach anymore. Quite literally. Less than two hours after returning from my hot, sweaty walk around Jakarta I was locked in the bathroom battling a fever, cold sweats and the other symptoms that come from an airborne stomach bug. I have no doubt that it was as a result of walking nearly a mile along a river overcome with a big city's sewage and other waste. I hate to end this post on such a negative but the smell of Jakarta's rivers, streams and sea is of a pungency I'd rather not experience again.

It was therefore heartbreaking as well as stomach turning to see a number of families living in self-made shacks under bridges and along the river bank. It was very evident from my walking around that there are a lot of shockingly poor, displaced and unemployed people in Jakarta and I felt deeply sad and uncomfortable as I noticed this. It seems therefore apt to conclude by say that sight-seeing in Jakarta isn't a comfortable or an easy experience. In addition to the uncomfortably sad sights and the discomfort caused by an inescapable stink weaving through the city, it is also disappointingly clear that the local and possibly national government isn't as focused on tourism and exploiting the city's fascinating history as it's neighbouring nations. This is a shame as I learnt a great deal about Jakarta, its people, its history and possibly its future from my day of sight-seeing and I would like to maybe one day learn more... after my stomach has recovered.

Frances M. Thompson

Londoner turned wanderer, Frankie is an author, freelance writer and blogger. Currently based in Amsterdam, Frankie was nomadic for two years before starting a family with her Australian partner. Frankie is the author of three short story collections, and is a freelance writer for travel and creative brands. In 2017, she launched WriteNOW Cards, affirmation cards for writers that help build a productive and positive writing practice. When not writing contemporary fiction, Frankie shops for vintage clothes, dances to 70s disco music and chases her two young sons around Amsterdam.
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