10 Reasons to Love Jakarta

Hello.

It is June 22nd. And, you know what day is it today? It's Jakarta's anniversary! Today Jakarta has reached its 482nd anniversary.

All Asian capital cities have problems. The problems in Jakarta like traffic jam and overpopulation are also found in cities like Manila, Bangkok, Beijing, etc. I have to admit Jakarta still has many problems. Jakarta has too many inhabitants because our former president Mr. Soeharto was very centralistic making Jakarta has everything to offer. Jakarta has many factories, offices, malls, shops, etc and that makes many people from other cities move to Jakarta to find a job here but they don't know life in Jakarta is much more harder than life in other cities in Indonesia. The next problem would be the traffic jam. This is actually very normal for 3rd world countries. Bangkok, Manila, and even Manhattan cannot solve this problem completely. And, the next problem can be found only in Jakarta. We have floods. And, that is so lame.

Despite all the problems, Jakarta is a loveable city. I love Jakarta so much. And this post is a tribute for Jakarta from me, a Jakartan who is now so far away and missing Jakarta so much.

Why do I love Jakarta?

1. Jakarta is multicultural
I told you earlier that many people from other cities move to Jakarta to work or I don't know. Many Indonesians dream to live in Jakarta I also don't know why. But that makes Jakarta a very very culturally diversed city. Not all people who live in Jakarta are actually Jakartan (I actually don't know if people really say Jakartan in English but you know what I mean with it :p ). I am one of the example. My father is from Pangkal Pinang, Bangka Belitung and my mother is from Purwokerto, Central Java. So I am in this case "biracial". I am a combination of Sumatra and Java. But I live in Jakarta and many other Jakartans are like that too. That is why I love Jakarta. You can always find different kinds of people with different backgrounds.

2. Jakarta has the greatest food ever
This is the effect of reason #1. Well, people from other cities come to Jakarta and then they want to work here. Many people open a restaurant or food stalls and sell their local foods. And to be honest the foods taste better than the foods sold in its original cities. For example, Mie Bangka (Bangka noodle) in Jakarta tastes better than Mie Bangka in Bangka. Seriously. And I have a friend from Bandung and he said that Siomay Bandung in Jakarta tasted better than Siomay Bandung in Bandung. And, there are so many street foods in Jakarta. And they're very great. Even there are some street vendors only open at night to fulfill the need of night food.

Source: Elyanigunadi.blogspot.com

3. Jakarta is religiously diversed
Yes, it is. Even Indonesian biggest mosque (Masjid Istiqlal) is located exactly across Indonesian biggest church (Katedral). And it is definitely diversed. Compared to city like Banda Aceh for example. Banda Aceh is definitely not diversed. Denpasar in Bali is not religiously diversed too.

Indonesian biggest mosque and Indonesian biggest church
Source: Jakarta Post

4. Jakarta has many shopping malls
LOL! And they are open from 10 AM to 10 PM everyday even on Sundays they are also open. Wait a minute. I'm from West Jakarta. And, I can mention hmmm 6 SHOPPING MALLS JUST IN WEST JAKARTA: Puri Mall, Taman Anggrek, Citraland, Central Park, one mall in Cengkareng but I forget the name, and ITC Roxy. And there are still many more. Even you can find 3 malls in Pluit. Pluit is just a small district in Jakarta but there are 3 malls there! Pluit Village, Pluit Junction, Emporium. And even there are 3 malls around Bunderan HI: Grand Indonesia, Plaza Indonesia, eX. And in Kelapa Gading there are I don't know more than 3? Artha Gading, Mall Kelapa Gading, Mall of Indonesia, and a mall with lots of cafes I forget the name. You see? That is crazy right? But that makes you always have somewhere to visit every weekends. And, even you can bargain in some malls like MANGGA DUA or Glodok. Oh that is heaven there. Am I right but Taman Anggrek is the largest mall in South East Asia? Or Grand Indonesia? Or Artha Gading? I don't know but one of them are the largest in South East Asia.

5. Everything in Jakarta is spesific
It's hard to tell but every mall, every restaurant and every parts of Jakarta has its own characteristic and specialties. If you ask someone "where can I buy a good handphone?" then everyone will answer "ITC ROXY MAS!" or if you want to buy Muslim clothes than go to Tanah Abang. And if you want to buy electronics than go to Glodok. If you want to buy antiquities, go to Jalan Surabaya. If you want to buy chinese medicines, go to Petak Sembilan. If you want to eat Pangsit Goreng (fried dumpling), go to Bakmi GM. If you want to eat the best porridge, go to Bubur Mangga Besar. You see, everything has its own specialties.

6. The songs~!
The songs! The songs of Jakarta are always HAPPY. That portrays the characteristic of the local people of Jakarta. Listen for example songs from Benyamin Sjuaib. The songs are always happy and cheerful. The songs always contain humor and the stories are always not that important! For example I know a song from Benyamin titled Roti Gambang. The song is about a woman wants to buy a bread from Benyamin but the bread is no longer good and the woman complains. That's so funny right pop songs are normally about love or something like that. But the topic of this song is so funny! Basically the music of Betawi is always happy. ALWAYS! Sundanese, Javanese and Balinese songs tend to have minor melodies making the songs a bit sad. But Gambang Kromong and Tanjidor (Jakarta music) have happy melodies played with lots of gendang and trumpets. Trust me you'll feel happy after listening to those music.


7. BAJAJ!
This can be found only in Jakarta. It is small but very noisy. But bajaj is a very good way to go around in Jakarta. It is small so it can avoid traffic jam sometimes. And it is relatively cheap and you can bargain of course. Bajajs are found everywhere in Jakarta. They are mostly in front of supermarkets, schools, etc. They are easy to find. Really easy. And, they are safe! Taking an ojek (motorcycle taxi) has dangers because you don't have helmets for protection. Taking a taxi is actually well there are some crimes happened in taxi. I often hear stories like the taxi driver forces you to give your wallet, you cannot shout for help because you can't open the window, etc. I guess many girls in Jakarta are not brave to take a taxi alone. Bajaj is the safest. If something happens, you can easily scream and ask for help or just get off from the bajaj.

source: Littlejakarta.blogspot.com

8. Cheap mass transports
Well, the transports in Jakarta are actually not enough. We haven't had any subways and we haven't had monorails or boats. But who says the buses are not good? Well they are good! TransJakarta for example they cost only 3500 (2000 before 7 AM) and you can go wherever there is Busway. You can go from Ancol to Ragunan just with 3500. And TransJakarta are all placed in important places of Jakarta like train stations, regional bus terminals, zoo, theme park, etc. And the Metro Mini is even cheaper. Good thing about it is you don't need to wait in bus shelter! You can just get out from your house, then raise your hand and the bus will stop and wait for you to get on it. And they are only 2000 rupiahs.

MetroMini
Source: Lovejakarta.blogspot.com

9. Very very diversed
So this is again the consequence of reason #1 and #3. It is like Jakarta is just a city divided into 5 kotamadya and 1 kabupaten (well 6 regions). And you every region has its own characters and styles. If you see a guy wearing Converse shoes, skinny jeans, funny printed tee and big framed glasses, then people will think "Ah this guy is from SOUTH JAKARTA!". Like seriously. Or you hear a girl speaks Hokkian very fluently and then people will think "Ah this girl is from PLUIT or MUARA KARANG or PANTAI INDAH KAPUK, NORTH JAKARTA!". That means we're very diversed. Even in one city our cultures, our behaviours, our ways of thinking are different.

10. Street musicians
Many people see it as a bad thing. But we have a high rate of unemployed people in Jakarta. So they have to beg for money and they play music for example. When the traffic light is red, lots of street musicians come. Some of them are children. I actually don't know whether we're allowed to give them money or not. But it is just great when you eat in a street vendor and then a street musician comes and sings with guitar. And some are actually quite talented. Well, some not many actually.


If you want to know more about Jakarta culture, I recommend you to watch BAJAJ BAJURI in Youtube. The stories and the people in this films are so Jakarta.

Once again Happy Anniversary Jakarta. I wish Jakarta would always go forward. I wish all projects like subway or Jakarta Tower or St. Moritz or Regatta would be done immediately. Love you forever.