jakarta: where the city is sinking and the food is fighting back
so, i’m in jakarta right now and it’s... there. you know, the weather? i just checked and it's...there right now, hope you like that kind of thing. it's on the northwest coast of java island, at the mouth of the ciliwung river. pretty basic geography stuff, really.
founded back in 1527, used to be called batavia under the dutch, then djakarta for a bit before settling on jakarta. history stuff. it’s been indonesia’s capital since independence, so that’s something.
the place is super flat and low, like 8 meters above sea level on average. northern bits are swampy and sinking-17 cm a year!-so floods are basically guaranteed when it rains. southern parts are slightly hilly, but not by much. tropical monsoon climate, wet season from october to may. fun times.
if you get bored, bekasi, tangerang, bogor, depok are just a short drive away. they’re all part of this crazy megacity called jabodetabek with over 30 million people. someone told me that the traffic between these cities is so bad you can literally watch paint dry while stuck in it.
tourist-y stuff? there’s kota tua with old dutch buildings, monas monument in the center, big malls along jenderal sudirman and thamrin roads. the thousand islands are offshore for escapes, but i haven’t made it there yet. kemayoran and senen have modern shops and events, whatever that means.
food’s decent. nasi goreng, sate, gado-gado-peanut sauce over veggies, you know. rendang’s spicy beef stew. street food like kerak telor, which is a spicy coconut omelette. betawi stuff too, like soto betawi soup. someone told me that the best kerak telor is hidden in a back alley in senen, but i just ate from a random cart and it was fine.
famous folks? jokowi started here, musician iwan fals, actress diane nivens. suharto’s tied to java, not really jakarta. whatever.
populations’ huge-10 million in the city, 30 million in jabodetabek. lots of betawi, javanese, sundanese, chinese-indonesians. culture mixes islamic stuff, modern city life, festivals like lebaran. six administrative bits: north, west, south, east, central, and the thousand islands. residents are tough, speak bahasa indonesia and english, have artsy stuff going on.
things to know: floods during rains. traffic’s a nightmare. air pollution and water shortages. petty scams-use gojek. earthquakes happen because java’s tectonic. maybe stay in south jakarta if you’re living here.
distinctive features? it’s southeast asia’s biggest city, one of two southern hemisphere capitals (dili’s the other). it’s sinking on reclaimed tidal flats, gdp around $438.7 billion. skyscrapers, canals, 13 rivers, and volcanic alluvial soil. they keep talking about moving the capital because it’s sinking. wild.
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