It’s been a while since I last posted, but with my parents’ visit fast approaching, I figured I should dust off my writing skills and put up some new stuff. Internet connection permitting, I hope to do running posts while they’re here.
I also have a backlog of trips that I have photos and outlines for, but just haven’t got around to posting. If things go well, I’ll finish these off and have them up in the coming weeks.
My most recent outing was with my newly arrived colleague Alyssa and her husband Mark. We headed up to the Kota area of Jakarta to take a look around. Jen and I had previously wandered around Sunda Kelapa, but never took the time to see the surrounding area.
With the Idul Fitri holiday emptying Jakarta out, traffic has been blessedly forgiving for the last week. The cab ride to Kota would normally take an hour or more, but was less than a half-hour. The reduced traffic also noticeably cleared up Jakarta’s notoriously polluted air, making walking outside more enjoyable and less like chain-smoking unfiltered cigarettes than it normally is.
We started out our tour in the central square: Taman Fatahillah. The Dutch colonial architecture contrasts a bit with the bajajs and food stalls that are part of life in Jakarta. While some of the museums and other government-held buildings have been well kept-up, the area in general is fading fast. The upside of this is that it makes photographing the area far more interesting.
Most of the museums were closed, as was the famous Café Batavia, so we decided to leave the square to make our way north to see the port at Sunda Kelapa. Before we left the square though, we took a detour down a side alley, and saw a guy talking to some Japanese tourists; he was standing in front of a door market “Toilet” that led into a dilapidated building.
After some brief discussion and bargaining, he agreed to let us wander around inside. From what he told Alyssa, the place used to be a concert hall of some kind. Now though, it’s just an abandoned and graffitied, but still fascinating shell.
When we were done there, we made our way to the port. The ships were a lot like the buildings: run-down and rotting, but great for photos.
We’ve lived here for over a year, but still have a lot of Jakarta left to see. I’m looking forward to going back to Kota with Jen when Café Batavia is open again.
More to come in the next few days – I have a few more posts I want to take care of before my parents get here so that I can devote my time to covering their visit.
That’s all for now – more photos on Flickr.
