I love trains. Take a metro system, and you’ll be whisked to other parts of a city much faster than if you drive a car. Hop aboard an intercity train. In many cases, you’ll get to your destination reasonably fast. Taking the train induces less […]
All posts tagged: Jakarta
Sarinah: A Compelling Restoration
Until three weeks ago, if you asked me if I would ever write a blog post about a mall, I would have certainly said no, or highly unlikely at best. That was also what I had in mind when I decided to revisit a decades-old […]
Jakarta, Three Ways
Next month, the Indonesian capital will turn 495. Its position as the business and economic hub of the nation will likely stay for many years to come, although it will soon be stripped of its special status as the country’s seat of government. The administration, […]
Reminiscing the Old Normal
Covid-19 is continuing to take its toll. Not only has the disease claimed more than 520,000 lives, but it has also brought the world’s economy to a standstill. As countries across the globe begin to publish the latest figures of their economic indicators, it becomes […]
Embracing the Southern Lifestyle
If you think this post is about the American South or Southern Europe, it is not since I have never been to those parts of the world. Rather, this is a story about the southern part of Jakarta, a city I have called home for […]
Ancol: Dreaming of Blue Skies
Rainy season has officially arrived in Jakarta, after a prolonged dry season which rendered a lot of parks and gardens in the city brown and barren. Those which received a regular watering schedule, either from the city government or from local community associations, fared slightly […]
10 Years in Jakarta
How much can a city change in ten years? If it’s physical appearance we’re talking about, unless it is Dubai, Singapore or places in China, the changes – notably the skyline – in most cities are usually not too palpable. But how much can a […]
A Tale of Three Cities: Jakarta
What is there to love about Jakarta? That was a question I asked myself when I first moved to the city back in 2008. The city’s traffic has been consistently ranked among the worst in the world for many years. In my first few years […]
Jakarta’s Focal Points: A Historical Perspective
“The atmosphere and interior of this cafe fit perfectly my imagination of Nanyang.” Dong Mei could not hide her excitement upon learning how well Cafe Batavia met her expectation: the imagination of an exotic restaurant in the South Ocean, or Nanyang – a term loosely […]
Anniversary of the Big Durian
“I don’t want to work in Jakarta. Living there seems very stressful.” Those were the words I said to my friends back when we were still in college in Bandung, a big city with temperate climate surrounded by mountains and hills in West Java. At […]
Tracing Jakarta’s History
Horrendous traffic. Gray sky. Choking air. It is not a surprise why Lonely Planet says Jakarta is a city many find it hard to love. With more than 10 million people sprawling over narrow streets, dense neighborhoods and filthy riverbanks, many struggle for a […]
Jakarta on A Sunday
“Is there any skyscraper in Jakarta?”. That question still resounds in my head until now even though it has been almost five years since my cousin’s friend, Daniel, posed us that question on our way from the airport to the city center. Since I don’t […]
What an Amazing World! 