Jakarta

11 August 2024

Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, is the country’s largest city and economic hub. Taking a taxi through the city for the first time reminded me of the cityscape scene from Ghost in the Shell. The city seems to walk the line between progress and disrepair. It’s full of tall skyscrapers, some new and pristine, others seem to be much older and show signs of premature aging. It’s a surprisingly eclectic city I wish I had more time to explore.

Day 1

Istiqlal Mosque
National Monument (Monas)
The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption
Kota Tua (Oldtown)

Istiqlal Mosque

We started our day in Jakarta by walking from our hotel to the Istiqlal Mosque – the biggest in southeast Asia where we took a free tour. Before we left on the tour, I had a very violent bathroom experience outside of the mosque. So, I felt like a dirty sinner upon entering. The building was apparently designed by the son of a protestant pastor. I couldn’t help but think the architecture felt industrial and even hostile. It was all straight lines and polished metal. The size of the place is impressive, especially the main prayer room with its massive domed ceiling. They showed us a big drum they beat to call people to prayer. We tagged along with a group from Singapore that were supposed to be getting a private tour but were nice enough to let us tag along.

National Monument (Monas)

Next, we walked to the national monument, Monas. It’s a tall spire meant to look like a burning torch, a gold flame topping the pinnacle. We walked around the outside of the tower without going inside because getting inside wasn’t straightforward and neither of us felt compelled to check it out. There were some kids very excited to see a white person, apparently.

The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption

We walked back to where the mosque is located. Across the street is a cathedral – The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption. Because it was Sunday, they were having mass. The church building was full and they had several overflow spaces nearly full as well. We were ushered into a room with a big TV and were separated because only single seats were left open. We listened to a few hymns and scriptural messages in Indonesian before we left. The hymns were awesome. They were super loud and sounded good, it reminded me of the Avatar movie where the blue people are all singing around the tree.

Kota Tua (Oldtown)

Next, we went to Wisata Kota Tua Jakarta – Jakarta’s colonial old town. We went for lunch in the 2nd oldest building in Jakarta. At the time, I was led to believe it was the former HQ of the Dutch East India Trading Company. A quick Google search post-lunch informed me the building was a lot of things over the years but never that. Still, the building was beautiful and the food was excellent.

We walked around the main square, got a root beer freeze from A&W, then went to a museum. Looking back, I can’t be sure which museum it was because there are several surrounding the square. I believe it was the Jakarta History Museum. We saw interesting art and artifacts inside a historic building.

Next time

On our next adventure, we fly to Yogyakarta to see the world’s largest Buddhist temple.