When you arrive in Jakarta a couple of things stand out:
-Horrific traffic jams
-Infrastructure that seems to have been designed by the orks of Mordor
-Crushing and heartbreaking poverty
-Polution
-Just dumb situations
-The smell of sewer, gasoline and sate combining into one hideous aroma
-Pretty bad service at hotels
-and ofcourse Polution
Why then, WHY is this tropical hellhole the coolest and funkiest city in SEA????? Let's give it up for Jakarta! Explain why you love JKT!!!
Full Version: the Jakartan thread
Last year I had an interesting trip throughout Southeast Asia, I visited the following cities in the following order:
Singapore-KL-Bangkok-Jakarta
It was like starting in Minas Tirith, and gradually descending into Mordor. Literally I saw the city around me getting a little bit dirtier every time I traveled to the next city. But of all the places I still liked Jakarta the most, with Singapore being a close second. Here's why I like it:
-Food
-Girls
-Nightlife
-Stadium (it can be incredibly fun if you feel brave enough), actually one of my fondest memories is visiting Stadium with my cousin and her boyfriend who happens to be a police detective. When her boyfriend identified himself as a police officer we actually got a discount getting in! And to top things, he bought XTC with discount!!!
-Easy sex
-Friendly people, especially when you compare it to KL or Bangkok
-Kota, one of the best places in SEA to take urban photos
-The staff @ the Akmani hotel @ Jln Wahid Hasyim
-The bardancing in the disco @ hotel malioboro
-The busway, the slowest rapid transport system in the entire world
-Jakartan SPG's, the sexiest girls alive
Singapore-KL-Bangkok-Jakarta
It was like starting in Minas Tirith, and gradually descending into Mordor. Literally I saw the city around me getting a little bit dirtier every time I traveled to the next city. But of all the places I still liked Jakarta the most, with Singapore being a close second. Here's why I like it:
-Food
-Girls
-Nightlife
-Stadium (it can be incredibly fun if you feel brave enough), actually one of my fondest memories is visiting Stadium with my cousin and her boyfriend who happens to be a police detective. When her boyfriend identified himself as a police officer we actually got a discount getting in! And to top things, he bought XTC with discount!!!
-Easy sex
-Friendly people, especially when you compare it to KL or Bangkok
-Kota, one of the best places in SEA to take urban photos
-The staff @ the Akmani hotel @ Jln Wahid Hasyim
-The bardancing in the disco @ hotel malioboro
-The busway, the slowest rapid transport system in the entire world
-Jakartan SPG's, the sexiest girls alive
I don't love JKT, can i join this thread anyways?
I much prefer other cities in Indonesia... like Bukit Tinggi, Yoghakarta, Ubud.....
I much prefer other cities in Indonesia... like Bukit Tinggi, Yoghakarta, Ubud.....
QUOTE (tangawizi @ Mar 29 2011, 12:14 PM) 
I don't love JKT, can i join this thread anyways?
I much prefer other cities in Indonesia... like Bukit Tinggi, Yoghakarta, Ubud.....
I much prefer other cities in Indonesia... like Bukit Tinggi, Yoghakarta, Ubud.....
I can se you sought serene, peaceful and natural atmosphere tanga..., I love those places too but for a short while for holidays.
Over two weeks I'll grew bored and kinda miss Jakarta traffic and hectic crowded city....
QUOTE (Kresna @ Mar 29 2011, 03:26 AM)
When you arrive in Jakarta a couple of things stand out:
-Horrific traffic jams
-Infrastructure that seems to have been designed by the orks of Mordor
-Crushing and heartbreaking poverty
-Polution
-Just dumb situations
-The smell of sewer, gasoline and sate combining into one hideous aroma
-Pretty bad service at hotels
-and ofcourse Polution
Why then, WHY is this tropical hellhole the coolest and funkiest city in SEA????? Let's give it up for Jakarta! Explain why you love JKT!!!
-Horrific traffic jams
-Infrastructure that seems to have been designed by the orks of Mordor
-Crushing and heartbreaking poverty
-Polution
-Just dumb situations
-The smell of sewer, gasoline and sate combining into one hideous aroma
-Pretty bad service at hotels
-and ofcourse Polution
Why then, WHY is this tropical hellhole the coolest and funkiest city in SEA????? Let's give it up for Jakarta! Explain why you love JKT!!!
I've read Jakarta is analogued as Big Durian (by expats temself). Thorny, pungent and uninviting from outside but sweet and succulent from inside.
Jakarta is acquired taste and mostly categorized into: Love to hate or hate to love. If you hate it you will never love JKT ever, but if you love it you will see beyond those unperfection and ugliness lies the primal energy to live and survive. I find this Frenchman writings about my city is interesting.
QUOTE
From virtual tourist
Wonderful people in a hectic, polluted megalopolis
by kokoryko - last update: Jan 4, 2010
Twenty tree million inhabitants
Twenty tree million inhabitants,. . . . and still growing. . . . or thirteen million, depends the sources and the definition of the urban area; whatever it a big, very big city, the biggest of South East Asia and second urbanised area of the planet. . . . . And a city which has grown from 1 million inhabitants in 1948 to 6.5 in 1980 to 13 in 2004. could not do else than have serious development and environmental problems; Water and air pollution, traffic jams, deadly floods, and in the past (and probably in the future) earthquakes, tsunamis, . . . no, not an idyllic picture! But Jakarta is incredible, this city lives day and night, there is an energy here, a “primal energy”, a “will to life” I did not see in other places; people are exceptional here, I mean the people who commute, who are on the markets, live in the city districts, in the kampungs (kampungs are villages, and many quarters of Jakarta are like villages. . . ), who make food, who eat, work, learn, live. . . . . . .
Not a dream destination, few foreign tourists, not many “attractions”, but a bit recent history and wonderful people. Only for people, and the megalopolis atmosphere, Jakarta is worth a visit.
Indonesia, before being a united country (tanks the Dutch, in some way. . . ) was an archipelago with many regencies, sultanates, principalities, and politician tried to develop a “national feeling” among the population, and the spectacular Monas (Monumen Nasional) participates to the development of this feeling.
Old Batavia.
When the Dutch arrived at the mouth of the Ciliwung river, Jayakarta was a small village, but it is there that Jan Pieterszoon Coen decided to establish the base of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (United East Indies company), and founded Batavia.
Very few is left from old Batavia, and also is was so small, compared to the city which grew after the sixties; in the North, (Jakarta Utara) are a few remains of the old city and there are a few museums recalling the history of Jakarta, and Indonesia in general, some specialised museums (puppets, ceramics. . . ) and there is a lot to learn about that city.
Jakarta is huge, very huge, and with the traffic jams it may take hours to go from one place to the other; so here, in North Jakarta are a few interesting places and luckily, they are in a small perimeter. Myself, I enjoy(ed) walking in North Jakarta, in the old harbour, look at the old houses, and have a break at Taman Fatahillah and have a drink in Café Batavia.
The Jakarta museums may not have the “western standards”, but they have a great personality, I spent (and could spend more) hours in the maritime museum, and the history museum has a few surprises for the visitors. . . .
Where is the city centre?
Where is the heart of the city? This city, like may be some dinosaurs, has several hearts. There are several shopping areas, with giant malls, great commercial centres where everyday thousands and thousands of shoppers shop, workers work, vendors sell, thieves rob, beggars beg. . . . . . I know big shopping centres like Block M, the Sarina mall, or Pondok Indah luxury mall, and this time, I just kept far from there, I even did not go to Pasar Raya, a very good mall on a few levels where it is possible to buy products and handicraft from all over Indonesia. Jakarta was my base for tours in Central Java and North Sumatra and I just spent a few days in the city, walking in the streets, dreaming at the harbour, enjoying. . . . . . Jakarta is not a “dream destination”, not a resort, but it is an incredibly interesting city, there is so much to see and to learn; it is a vey rich city, rich of history and rich of wonderful people.
Wonderful people in a hectic, polluted megalopolis
by kokoryko - last update: Jan 4, 2010
Twenty tree million inhabitants
Twenty tree million inhabitants,. . . . and still growing. . . . or thirteen million, depends the sources and the definition of the urban area; whatever it a big, very big city, the biggest of South East Asia and second urbanised area of the planet. . . . . And a city which has grown from 1 million inhabitants in 1948 to 6.5 in 1980 to 13 in 2004. could not do else than have serious development and environmental problems; Water and air pollution, traffic jams, deadly floods, and in the past (and probably in the future) earthquakes, tsunamis, . . . no, not an idyllic picture! But Jakarta is incredible, this city lives day and night, there is an energy here, a “primal energy”, a “will to life” I did not see in other places; people are exceptional here, I mean the people who commute, who are on the markets, live in the city districts, in the kampungs (kampungs are villages, and many quarters of Jakarta are like villages. . . ), who make food, who eat, work, learn, live. . . . . . .
Not a dream destination, few foreign tourists, not many “attractions”, but a bit recent history and wonderful people. Only for people, and the megalopolis atmosphere, Jakarta is worth a visit.
Indonesia, before being a united country (tanks the Dutch, in some way. . . ) was an archipelago with many regencies, sultanates, principalities, and politician tried to develop a “national feeling” among the population, and the spectacular Monas (Monumen Nasional) participates to the development of this feeling.
Old Batavia.
When the Dutch arrived at the mouth of the Ciliwung river, Jayakarta was a small village, but it is there that Jan Pieterszoon Coen decided to establish the base of the Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie (United East Indies company), and founded Batavia.
Very few is left from old Batavia, and also is was so small, compared to the city which grew after the sixties; in the North, (Jakarta Utara) are a few remains of the old city and there are a few museums recalling the history of Jakarta, and Indonesia in general, some specialised museums (puppets, ceramics. . . ) and there is a lot to learn about that city.
Jakarta is huge, very huge, and with the traffic jams it may take hours to go from one place to the other; so here, in North Jakarta are a few interesting places and luckily, they are in a small perimeter. Myself, I enjoy(ed) walking in North Jakarta, in the old harbour, look at the old houses, and have a break at Taman Fatahillah and have a drink in Café Batavia.
The Jakarta museums may not have the “western standards”, but they have a great personality, I spent (and could spend more) hours in the maritime museum, and the history museum has a few surprises for the visitors. . . .
Where is the city centre?
Where is the heart of the city? This city, like may be some dinosaurs, has several hearts. There are several shopping areas, with giant malls, great commercial centres where everyday thousands and thousands of shoppers shop, workers work, vendors sell, thieves rob, beggars beg. . . . . . I know big shopping centres like Block M, the Sarina mall, or Pondok Indah luxury mall, and this time, I just kept far from there, I even did not go to Pasar Raya, a very good mall on a few levels where it is possible to buy products and handicraft from all over Indonesia. Jakarta was my base for tours in Central Java and North Sumatra and I just spent a few days in the city, walking in the streets, dreaming at the harbour, enjoying. . . . . . Jakarta is not a “dream destination”, not a resort, but it is an incredibly interesting city, there is so much to see and to learn; it is a vey rich city, rich of history and rich of wonderful people.
For me Jakarta means reliable food that bule can stomache, Mira Lesmana & Miles Film HQ, and a great source of all the new and old Indonesian film DVDs.
QUOTE (tangawizi @ Mar 29 2011, 07:14 AM)
I don't love JKT, can i join this thread anyways?
I much prefer other cities in Indonesia... like Bukit Tinggi, Yoghakarta, Ubud.....
I much prefer other cities in Indonesia... like Bukit Tinggi, Yoghakarta, Ubud.....
I like yogya too. The Javanese r so cute.
the gap between the poor and rich is very wide there 
i think it's common in the cities of developing countries (or the countries with middle-lower income) like Indonesia, Philippines, India etc...
i think it's common in the cities of developing countries (or the countries with middle-lower income) like Indonesia, Philippines, India etc...
QUOTE (Kresna @ Mar 28 2011, 04:44 PM)
Last year I had an interesting trip throughout Southeast Asia, I visited the following cities in the following order:
Singapore-KL-Bangkok-Jakarta
It was like starting in Minas Tirith, and gradually descending into Mordor. Literally I saw the city around me getting a little bit dirtier every time I traveled to the next city. But of all the places I still liked Jakarta the most, with Singapore being a close second. Here's why I like it:
-Food
-Girls
-Nightlife
-Stadium (it can be incredibly fun if you feel brave enough), actually one of my fondest memories is visiting Stadium with my cousin and her boyfriend who happens to be a police detective. When her boyfriend identified himself as a police officer we actually got a discount getting in! And to top things, he bought XTC with discount!!!
-Easy sex
-Friendly people, especially when you compare it to KL or Bangkok
-Kota, one of the best places in SEA to take urban photos
-The staff @ the Akmani hotel @ Jln Wahid Hasyim
-The bardancing in the disco @ hotel malioboro
-The busway, the slowest rapid transport system in the entire world
-Jakartan SPG's, the sexiest girls alive
Singapore-KL-Bangkok-Jakarta
It was like starting in Minas Tirith, and gradually descending into Mordor. Literally I saw the city around me getting a little bit dirtier every time I traveled to the next city. But of all the places I still liked Jakarta the most, with Singapore being a close second. Here's why I like it:
-Food
-Girls
-Nightlife
-Stadium (it can be incredibly fun if you feel brave enough), actually one of my fondest memories is visiting Stadium with my cousin and her boyfriend who happens to be a police detective. When her boyfriend identified himself as a police officer we actually got a discount getting in! And to top things, he bought XTC with discount!!!
-Easy sex
-Friendly people, especially when you compare it to KL or Bangkok
-Kota, one of the best places in SEA to take urban photos
-The staff @ the Akmani hotel @ Jln Wahid Hasyim
-The bardancing in the disco @ hotel malioboro
-The busway, the slowest rapid transport system in the entire world
-Jakartan SPG's, the sexiest girls alive
Easy Sex???? You got laid there Kresna
I hope to return visit there soon despite the traffic and pollution.
Anybody know why Kresna was banned?
Jakarta, why is it so enjoyable?
Because it is a metropolis and anything is possible there.
In the Netherlands we have towns too, but even combined they aren't as big as Jakarta. The skyline of the business district is also amazing and i enjoy everytime when i drive on jalan sudirman or any tollroad that enters the city. It is overwhelming when you come from a small town. But any metropolis has that effect on you. I felt the same when i lived in San Jose, Costa Rica and when i spend a holiday in Tokyo. Seoul was less, but also interesting. I never been to Bangkok, but i think it has the same effect as Jakarta.
Also overwhelming, the traffic jams, dirty conditions and the pollution. But after you lived there for a time, you will get used to it and start to appreciate the good and fun things of Jakarta. Also, the Netherlands dont have shopping malls and Jakarta has too many. Clubs are way better and there are lots of friendly (Also annoying assholes) people that live in the town that come from anywhere of Indonesia and the world. Phenomenons you only find in Jakarta are also funny. Examples being, tante girang, public transport and crazy food.
Because it is a metropolis and anything is possible there.
In the Netherlands we have towns too, but even combined they aren't as big as Jakarta. The skyline of the business district is also amazing and i enjoy everytime when i drive on jalan sudirman or any tollroad that enters the city. It is overwhelming when you come from a small town. But any metropolis has that effect on you. I felt the same when i lived in San Jose, Costa Rica and when i spend a holiday in Tokyo. Seoul was less, but also interesting. I never been to Bangkok, but i think it has the same effect as Jakarta.
Also overwhelming, the traffic jams, dirty conditions and the pollution. But after you lived there for a time, you will get used to it and start to appreciate the good and fun things of Jakarta. Also, the Netherlands dont have shopping malls and Jakarta has too many. Clubs are way better and there are lots of friendly (Also annoying assholes) people that live in the town that come from anywhere of Indonesia and the world. Phenomenons you only find in Jakarta are also funny. Examples being, tante girang, public transport and crazy food.
Del, you juz like my cousin Tukiyem Van Ndeso with his posse who loves to go to the malls
riding escalators up and down back and forth until satpam chased 'em away.
Yea Bro, he protested Ralfie's resignation with a bang
posted pix even Taman Lawang regulars would blush.
So go easy now with those seksi cewe K?
riding escalators up and down back and forth until satpam chased 'em away.
QUOTE (FutureMan @ Jun 8 2011, 09:24 PM)
Anybody know why Kresna was banned? [/color][/i]
[/color][/i]Yea Bro, he protested Ralfie's resignation with a bang
posted pix even Taman Lawang regulars would blush.
So go easy now with those seksi cewe K?
QUOTE (DEL @ Jun 9 2011, 07:10 PM)
tante girang
hahahahahhhhahhh
Source: http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/bisindonesi...ter-city/447858
Jakarta Named World’s Least Enjoyable Commuter City
Shirley Christie & Dion Bisara | June 19, 2011
In what should not come as a big surprise for its residents, a global survey has shown that Jakarta has the world’s worst transportation system in the eyes of users.
The capital ranked the lowest of 23 cities worldwide surveyed by global research firm Frost & Sullivan for its Journey Experience Index survey from September 2010 to February 2011.
Traffic congestion has long been a major complaint by companies in the city, as it hampers productivity and reduces competitiveness due to increased logistics costs.
The two cities rounding out the basement with the Big Durian were Seoul in South Korea and Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.
“Commuters in these three cities were mainly dissatisfied due to traffic congestion for individual transport and over-crowding in public transportation,” Vivek Vaidya, Frost & Sullivan’s vice president for automotive and transportation practice in Asia Pacific, said in a press statement.
The firm tracked the mobility of 27,600 commuters and inner-city residents all over the world. Jakarta scored an average of 30.5 points, compared to 36.5 for Seoul, 45.5 for Rio de Janeiro and 61 for the global benchmark.
Vaidya said that 73.5 percent of private commuters surveyed in Jakarta cited speed and traffic congestion as their main frustrations. He added that the research firm had surveyed 394 public commuters and 1,007 private commuters here.
“Congestion has made our employees less productive and efficient,” said Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).
He added that workers had to spend considerable amounts of time and money just to get to work.
“Our logistics costs are also high — 14 percent to 15 percent of our total costs,” he said.
The Jakarta administration has predicted total gridlock in the city by 2012 without drastic action, as the population grows and car sales soar by about 15 percent annually.
The consultancy’s Vaidya said that 87.5 percent of commuters relying on Jakarta’s public transportation were dissatisfied with their experience due to “overcrowding, [slow] speed and traffic congestion.”
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur ranked 14th, while Singapore was 18th.
Public and private transport users in Copenhagen (Denmark), Seattle (United States) and Sydney (Australia) felt the most satisfied with their daily commuting experience, according to the survey.
Copenhagen topped the index with an average score of 81.5 points in overall journey experience, due to its high usage of non-motorized transport such as bicycles and its integrated public transportation system.
Vaidya explained that a fourth of the Danish capital’s population either cycled or walked to reach their destinations, compared with the global average of less than 10 percent.
Copenhagen, which hosted the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in 2009, has an extensive and well-maintained cycling-lane network of 350 kilometer.
The research firm based its calculation on speed, cost of travel and overall comfort and experience. The findings of the survey were released last month.
Jakarta Named World’s Least Enjoyable Commuter City
Shirley Christie & Dion Bisara | June 19, 2011
In what should not come as a big surprise for its residents, a global survey has shown that Jakarta has the world’s worst transportation system in the eyes of users.
The capital ranked the lowest of 23 cities worldwide surveyed by global research firm Frost & Sullivan for its Journey Experience Index survey from September 2010 to February 2011.
Traffic congestion has long been a major complaint by companies in the city, as it hampers productivity and reduces competitiveness due to increased logistics costs.
The two cities rounding out the basement with the Big Durian were Seoul in South Korea and Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro.
“Commuters in these three cities were mainly dissatisfied due to traffic congestion for individual transport and over-crowding in public transportation,” Vivek Vaidya, Frost & Sullivan’s vice president for automotive and transportation practice in Asia Pacific, said in a press statement.
The firm tracked the mobility of 27,600 commuters and inner-city residents all over the world. Jakarta scored an average of 30.5 points, compared to 36.5 for Seoul, 45.5 for Rio de Janeiro and 61 for the global benchmark.
Vaidya said that 73.5 percent of private commuters surveyed in Jakarta cited speed and traffic congestion as their main frustrations. He added that the research firm had surveyed 394 public commuters and 1,007 private commuters here.
“Congestion has made our employees less productive and efficient,” said Sofjan Wanandi, the chairman of the Indonesian Employers Association (Apindo).
He added that workers had to spend considerable amounts of time and money just to get to work.
“Our logistics costs are also high — 14 percent to 15 percent of our total costs,” he said.
The Jakarta administration has predicted total gridlock in the city by 2012 without drastic action, as the population grows and car sales soar by about 15 percent annually.
The consultancy’s Vaidya said that 87.5 percent of commuters relying on Jakarta’s public transportation were dissatisfied with their experience due to “overcrowding, [slow] speed and traffic congestion.”
Elsewhere in Southeast Asia, Kuala Lumpur ranked 14th, while Singapore was 18th.
Public and private transport users in Copenhagen (Denmark), Seattle (United States) and Sydney (Australia) felt the most satisfied with their daily commuting experience, according to the survey.
Copenhagen topped the index with an average score of 81.5 points in overall journey experience, due to its high usage of non-motorized transport such as bicycles and its integrated public transportation system.
Vaidya explained that a fourth of the Danish capital’s population either cycled or walked to reach their destinations, compared with the global average of less than 10 percent.
Copenhagen, which hosted the United Nations’ Climate Change Conference in 2009, has an extensive and well-maintained cycling-lane network of 350 kilometer.
The research firm based its calculation on speed, cost of travel and overall comfort and experience. The findings of the survey were released last month.
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