Kembang Goela

Savor the delights of colonial Indonesia

Are you getting bored with the modern, too-cool-for-school eateries around town? Want to savor the culinary delights of Indonesia in old-world ambiance? If so, drop by Kembang Goela, a place where one can taste traditional Indonesian home-cooking -- and an opportunity for some to sample some of their ancestors' favorite food. Kembang Goela is the old-fashioned word for candy, these days (...)

Big Durian	Sweet and bitter in the Big Durian

Some say Jakarta is a beautifull city to live in, but a worthless place to visit. It's no coincidence that n some places t-shirts with the print "I have been in Jakarta for two days, and I survived", can be bought. What's wrong with these disappointed tourists? There are little adventurous people wich complain about poluted streets, many smoke, speeding, reckless crossing and other small misuses? (...)

Arab community	Batavias small Arab community made its mark

Although they never figured as prominently in the capital's history as the ethnic Chinese, Arabs and their descendants have resided in the city since the 17th century. Several prominent Indonesians, including current Minister of Foreign Affairs Alwi Shihab and his predecessor Ali Alatas, are of Middle Eastern descent. This is the 74th article in our series on Old Batavia. When people in Batavia, n (...)

General information	General information

Jakarta, the capital, is the largest city. It is located on the north-western coast of the island of Java on Jakarta Bay, at the mouth of the Ciliwung River. Jakarta is also the centre of activities for the whole of Indonesia. There are more than 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia with over 200 languages being spoken. Half the total population are Javanese with the balance being made up largely of Sun (...)

Historic trip	Historic trip through the old city

Jakarta has developed from the north to the south, seen in an historical way. Places of interest can best be visited in a chronogolical way. Start wirh the old harbour in the north, and then go south towards the old VOCV-headquarters (Kota) and the Chinese quarter (Glodok), to end the journey at Medan Merdeka (Freedom Square), or in one of the new suburbs. Take half a day for every part. (...)

The history	History of a metropolis

Jakarta, the capital, is the largest city. It is located on the north-western coast of the island of Java on Jakarta Bay, at the mouth of the Ciliwung River. Jakarta is also the centre of activities for the whole of Indonesia. There are more than 300 ethnic groups in Indonesia with over 200 languages being spoken. Half the total population are Javanese with the balance being made up largely of Sun (...)

Jakarta monorail project	Jakarta monorail project

Work started Monday on a $600 million monorail system, designed to carry up to 270,000 people a day, which will ease the Indonesian capital's notorious traffic problems. President Megawati Sukarnoputri, at a groundbreaking ceremony for the project, said, "God willing, Jakartans will soon have an alternative transport system which will help them go around to do their activities more easily." P (...)

Pulau Seribu	Escape from unrest and stress

Pulau Seribu literally means 'thousand islands', but in fact this mini-archipelago constists of less than 200 coral atols. Scattered over that quiet and shallow Jawa Sea north of Jakarta, they formed the idylic refuge - ever since the time of the VOC - for them who want to escape the suffocating city. Travel time from Jakarta is about three hours by ferry, one hour by speedboat, and twenty minutes (...)

Hospitals in Jakarta	Hospitals in Jakarta

A list of hospitals throughout the city is listed below. You won't find every hospital here, because there is a distinction between public hospitals (rumah sakit umum) and high-end hospitals, as listed below. Remember that if you are in emergency and you tell people you need a hospital, to make them clear you don't want to go to a public hospital. Maybe it's a little further away, but it's for sur (...)

Shopping malls	Shopping malls in Jakarta

Shop 'till you drop is a tour you can book in many big cities all over the world, but most of them don't even mention Jakarta. But Jakarta has a lot to offer for those who are just shopping crazy. The malls are big, very big and the prices are much lower than you could probably imagine! Below is a list of the biggest and best malls of Jakarta. You will find much more of them if you want to, each m (...)