Jakarta

The Republic of Indonesia is located in South East Asia and Oceania, but we thought a map or two would be helpful to show its exact location. This archipelagic (cluster of islands that are formed tectonically) nation contains approximately 18,000 islands (wow I never knew that). It is located on both sides of the equator and is therefore in both the northern & southern hemispheres as well as the eastern hemisphere. Hope you enjoy coming along for the ride on our fabulous trip to INDONESIA!

INDONESIA IN THE WORLD

ISLAND OF JAVA

Ahh! We just arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia’s big, busy and crowded capital city, located at the west end of the large island of Java. With a population of around 230 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country. Wow! I didn’t expect it to have so many huge buildings.

The exotic scents of this hugely populated city hit us smack in the face as soon as we opened the airport doors. We were told to beware of strangers trying to grab your bags and then take you for an overpriced cab ride. No … not us we won’t fall for their “broken meter” tricks. In Indonesia the name for meter is “rosak”. We opted to play it safe (or so we thought) and use our hotel’s shuttle service (107,798.59 IDR = $12 CAD). We couldn’t wait to drop our bags and freshen up and venture out into this massive city to grab a bite to eat and a beer. On our crazy ride to the hotel I ended up falling off my seat and landed right on the floor (no seat belts). I can’t believe how many of these drivers have near-suicidal driving habits. Help! We were almost run off the road so many times. What’s the hurry! Who needs amusement parks!

We chose a hotel in the city centre because we wanted to be close to the action. It’s hard to decide where we should start because there are so many places to see here on the island of JAVA where we’ll be for the next few days, before we move on to the next smaller islands of BALI and LOMBAK located east of Java.

A little history, in case you didn’t know, the name Jakarta was adopted as a short form of Jayakara (when conquered by Japan in 1942). That war was followed by the Indonesian war of independence, with the capital being shifted to Yogyakarta after the Dutch attacked. When that war ended in 1949, the Dutch accepted Indonesian independence and Jakarta became Indonesia’s capital again. Enough about history, let’s talk about now. We’re here! Yeah!

Did you know that that Indonesia is located in the “Ring of Fire” – and has some of the planet’s highest seismic and volcanic activity, so natural disasters such as volcanic eruptions, tsunamis and earthquakes are always a constant threat. Most recent disasters include the tsunami and large earthquake that hit South East Asia in December 2004, and another earthquake disaster occurred in Yogyakarta in May of 2006. I can’t believe there are still hundreds of active volcanoes here in Indonesia.

Currently, the Mt. Merapi volcano on the island of Java, is exhibiting a lot of activity. An eruption may come at any time, so we’d better be prepared for an evacuation. Gee, I sure hope the Volcano Gods don’t feel like acting up while we’re here. Yikes!

If we had more time we would have booked an excursion over to the island of Rataka (a volcanic island made of lava in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra) which is where the famous KRAKATOA VOLCANO is located just WEST of Jakarta. It erupted in 1883, and destroyed many nearby villages and caused a sonic boom that was heard as far away as Mauritius off the coast of Africa.

Made famous by an American movie in 1969, it is probably the most well-known of volcano eruptions. Interesting to note though - Hollywood called it “Krakatoa, East of Java” when in fact it is geographically WEST of Java. Apparently they realized their error while in production but decided it sounded more exotic title to say “EAST OF JAVA”.

Tonight we are staying at the Somerset Citadel Hotel centrally located in what’s known as the “Golden Triangle”. It even has a pool and looks pretty fancy.

Somerset Citadel Hotel & Serviced Residence

We thought it was a great deal for $104/night for the three of us. We’ll take it. Check out the view from our room. We weren’t interested in looking for unique accommodations or the cheapest room we could find when we first arrived. We’ll save those types of “finds” for later….once we know more about Indonesia that is… after all, we just got here and hope to find some great spots for everyone’s future travels... so don’t stop reading yet!

We quickly dropped off our luggage and as we couldn't wait to hit the town. Let’s eat! It’s so hard to walk in this city let alone try to cross the street. Traffic here is chaotic. Cars don’t respect pedestrian crossings so make sure you make a hand signal to make your intentions clear to avoid getting hit. So many people and food stands and people trying to sell you something you don’t need. We were sooooo hungry and the fool that I am insisted on eating at the first street vendor we came across. What was that …fried gecko’s – no thanks!

Let’s keep walking. Oh another street vendor. Yum …that smells good! I can’t tell what it is maybe a local vegetable … it smells like fresh spices and looked some exotic dish covered in coconut gravy. Maybe I’ll be adventurous and try it. I love trying new foods … don’t I? Just as I was about to take my first bite these Australian guys (Cindy and Sue were flirting with) asked what I was eating, as he laughed (knowing quite well I had absolutely no idea). “Oh so you like fried cow skin,” he said. WHAT!!!!! I was told it was some kind of Padang dish. He said, “Oh it may be …but it’s definitely from the cow’s hide.” I must have thanked him 10 million times for stopping me from eating that horrible so-called food, as I know I would have puked all the way back to the hotel.

Lucky for us, those guys also told us about an app I needed to get for my i-phone called “The Jakarta Good Food Guide” which tells you ALL the good places to eat in Jakarta. I bought it immediately for $5.99 CAD. LOVE MY i-PHONE!!!! We decided to stick to the recommendations listed in the JGFG and soon found a great place to eat. Let’s see .... What should we have? Check out our menu!

MENU
Sop iga sapi, beef spare rib soup that takes a simple Dutch dish and piles on Indonesian spices.
Soto betawi, coconut milk broth with beef tendons, intestines, tripe.
Kerak telor, omelette from egg cooked with glutinous rice and served with shredded coconut and a dried shrimp topping.
Ketoprak, rice roll, tofu, bean sprout, crackers in peanut sauce.
Bubur Dingin, lit. Cold Pouridge with beef sweet soup
Nasi Ulam, rice cooked in coconut milk served with fried minced beef, sweet fried tempe, many other toppings, cucumber, and sambal (chilli sauce).