#1 Jakarta – Indonesia’s “New York City”

Hello everyone!

Welcome to my first post or also our first destination of the Indonesia Tour. In this post, I will introduce my home city, Jakarta. As you all probably know, it is the capital city of Indonesia. Here, I will tell you the top five coolest places in Jakarta based on my experience.

First of all, let me start with a bit of geography. Jakarta is not just the capital city, but also the largest city in Indonesia. It is situated on the island of Java and the centre of economy, culture and politics. Because Indonesia lies on the equator, this makes the temperature in our country mostly hot, especially in Jakarta. Therefore, I suggest coming to Jakarta around June or September, where the temperature range from 24-32 Celsius. (see more about the weather here)

Now, let me start with the places in Jakarta. 

1. Kota Tua (Jakarta’s Old Town)

 Indonesia was colonized by the Dutch back in the 17th century. Kota Tua is a reminder of the Old Batavia, a place people used to trade their goods. It was, in fact, the trade centre for the Asian continent. I would discuss this more in the future post. In Kota Tua, people can see the old town hall, various museums, and artistic restaurants, where one can have good food.

I would suggest seeing the Wayang Museum too because they have the traditional puppets used for theatre. 

2. Monas (National Monument)

Whereas France has an Eiffel Tower, we have the Monas Tower located in the center of Jakarta. It is the national tower of Indonesia, built to commemorate the struggle for Indonesia’s independence. It is possible to go up to the top platform to have an lovely view of Jakarta’s city. The ticket to go up there is also cheap, costing only 5000 Rupiah for students (€0,31). The best time to go there is in the morning.

3. Dufan (Jakarta’s Amusement Park)

If one is a student, they are more likely looking for a bit of adventure. We have an amusement park located in North Jakarta near the beach. The ticket price for this amusement park is a bit expensive. It costs around €13 (200.000 Rupiah) on weekdays and €19 (295.000 Rupiah) at weekends. It is best to go there with friends and I suggest not to go on the weekend because the place will be crowded. 

4. Thousands Islands (Pulau Seribu)

After two-hour boat trip, we will arrive at Thousands Islands. There one can find a lot of small islands with a beautiful view. Honestly, I have never been there, but it is on my bucket list because I come from Jakarta and it will be a shame if I have never been there. To go there, one must go on a boat, because it is only reachable by boat. The ticket price depends on which island is visited. I will take Tidung Island as an example. The boat ticket costs around €3 (45.000 Rupiah).

5. Grand Indonesia Shopping Town

Because Jakarta is a metropolis, we have many malls. One of them is Grand Indonesia Shopping Town. It is one of the top five shopping malls in Jakarta. Which has hundreds of restaurants, a 12-screens cinema and also a huge children playground. Malls in Jakarta are actually where most of the people spend their weekends because it has everything. 

These are the places that I suggest you see. As you have probably noticed, we do not have that much nature in Jakarta, but in the next post I will suggest a town near Jakarta with a beautiful landscape.

I want to apologize for any grammar mistakes in this post or next post in the future. Please bear with me, since English is not my mother tongue. Therefore, I am waiting for your comments and see you in my next post.