A new adventure begins

Jakarta. The Big Durian. The mega city that tourists love to hate. So what did this tourist think of it? I think it's the kind of place that could grow on you given time. But at a two day glance its mainly heat, noise, traffic and frustration. Not that i didn't see some interesting things. The first interesting thing i saw was on the way from the airport - the infamous Jakarta traffic. And it's all true. Peak hour Jakarta style starts at around 8am and doesn't abate until late in the evening. But get out and about before the chaos starts and you'll see lycra clad cyclists and joggers and street carts seling my favourite breakfast - bubur (rice porridge). After settling into my room at The Packer Lodge in Glodok (Chinatown) it had already been a long day so i only had the energy for an Indomaret (Indonesia's equivelant of 7/11) for provisions then food. The woman at reception suggested the warung a few doors away so I headed there and chose my dinner from the piles of plated goodness. Yellow coconut chicken curry, green beans and tofu on rice. Delicious, nutritious and only $2! I had dinner there all three nights i was in Jakarta. The next morning, after an ok nights sleep in my somewhat monastic but very clean room, I did the usual first day errands - ATM, SIM, onward travel. Then it was finally time to get out and about. Just north of my accommodation is Kota, the old town where a cluster of buildings from the Dutch occupation line a large square. its also home to a number of museums all of which I of course visted. Also when entry is 50c it's hard to refuse. I started at the Fine Art and Ceramic Museum. The collection didn't do much for me the the building itself with its wooden floors and iron spiral staircases did.

Hunger then drove me to Cafe Batavia, a meticulously renovated slice of old colonialism. Lazily turning ceiling fans, uniformed wait staff and a curved wooden bar made you feel like drinking cocktails and complaining about the  natives. And like all relics of a bygone era it served overpriced tourist food which seems to be the price of ambience (I'm looking at you Raffles).

Next was Museum Wayang - the puppet museum. I initially raced though it not really looking as the display methods were pretty underwhelming, not to mention a lack of meaningful interpretation. But I went through again and looked properly and the objects were really quite interesting. Along with puppets showing traditional stories, there were some that dealt with more recent history like treaties with the Dutch. There was also a set of Jesus and the disciples.

Next was the Jakarta City Museum with more up to date interp. Pity a fair amount of the 

lighting was not working. Again though, a fabulous building. The next day it was time to 

tackle the national monument and museum. With my handy bus pass I whizzed past the traffic jams in the dedicated bus lane and wandered through Merdeka Square to MONAS, a towering symbol of nationalist pride. The tower itself looks like the Washington Monument with the Statue of Liberty's flame on top

Once I'd finally found the entrance and negotiated not buying the tourist  would have had me essentailly paying double, I was then told it was a 2 hour wait. It turns out that Saturday is school children's excursion day. Not wanting to wait that long and remembering I'm not a big fan of lifts or heights, I wandered off to the National Museum across the road. More swarms of school kids but here I persevered, bought my ticket and fought my way through the door! I headed straight for the top floor where there was a facinating (and well interpreted) display on ceramics. The trade routes that came for spices also brought ceramics from China, India and Vietnam. All the Chinese dynasties were represented. Also of note was a huge collection of gold objects, some found as recently as 2000 and a display of examples of Old Javanese script carved into stone and on metal plates outlining the decrees of various kings.

Then I did what I often do when a city overwhelms me - went to the mall. And a mega mall at that - Grand Indonesia near Plaza Indonesia. After some retail therapy I thought I'd try MONAS again only to find the lift to the top was closed for the day. I guess its wasn't meant to be. On the bus back to the hostel I caught a glimpse of the catholic cathedral and grand mosque so all the sights I'd had on my list were all ticked off after a fashion. All that was left was a repack in preparation for my 6 hour train ride to Semarang the next day.