Jakarta – gettting use to this place

Hi,

I am out of Jakarta and in Bogor. Everything is much more peaceful here, cooler and people not use to seeing tourists.

My time in Jakarta went by so fast. But i am glad i am out of there. The day after my relaxed day I decided to do more walking. However, crossing a road can be very freighting when there is no gap to take. I walked north to the old batavia area with beautiful dutch buildings. The buildings in the area date back almost 300 years ago. The area is Taman Fatahillah, that is surrounded by colonial buildings including the former town hall. Most of the buildings is now transformed into museums and cafes.

One beautiful restaurant in fatahillah square is the café batavia but prices are a bit steep.

After spending some time taking photos and being interviewed by a group of college students i walked a block west to Kali Basar, the great lake along Ciliwung River.

Along the lake is remains of houses of the once healthy from the 18th century. Finally i crossed the chicken market bridge north of kali basar, the dutch drawbridge dating 17th century. The bridge is not in use anymore and you have to cross the newer bridge next to it.

I realized rain is coming and head back to my hostel. I will have to come back for the harbour north of town. I went back home but later the day decided to go again for food at Djakarté Kedai Seni. It is well affordable and I ordered avo juice and  ayam goreng with nasi – fried chicken with rice.

After lunch i ordered a gojek (motorcycle taxi) and went to the old port of Sunda Kelapa (admission fee 2000). The dock scene here hasn’t changed from centuries with porters unloading cargo from sailing ships by hand or trolleys.  It was getting dark and I don’t have a lot of time left for photos. While taking some photos i was approached by a guy who indicated with his hands that he has boat to take me around the harbour. He charged me 100 000 rp for the trip but was well worth it.

After the harbour i went to my hostel. But it was quiet a mission since the motorcycle taxi find it difficult for some reason to get my location and I had to walk to find him. It also didn’t feel save in that area.

The next day I went to the national monument in Merdeka Square. You have to buy a card for 30 000rp and can then use the money on it to enter the monument and museum. Hope i can use the card again since i only entered once – another way of them to make money ?

It was getting late and i was building up quite an appetite. I decided to go to one of the big malls, Grand Indonesian Mall. I found a mall to be a good place to get a feel of the culture and how people behave. This mall is really big. It is 640 000 squared meters with 8 levels. The top 2 levels is all dedicated to food. Definitely the place to go when you hungry! And the best way to end my last day in Jakarta.

The next day i was off to the train station, Jakarta Kota. It is walking distance from my hostel. You buy a card deposit for 10 000 rp and the ticket that is 6000rp. You can then give the card back at your destination to receive the 10 000rp back. The drive to my next destination was about 1.5h and I arrived at about13h00 in the city of Bogor.

People were staring at me the whole time. I was the only bule on the train.