Jakarta - City of Contrasts (Pt 1)

Several times since living here in Bandung, we’ve needed to give ourselves a break without having to travel too far. So twice we’ve taken the train from Bandung to Jakarta for the weekend, only a 3 hour ride to the northwest.

Jakarta is the capitol and largest city of Indonesia, as well as the 12^th largest city in the whole world. As such, it offers a very different experience than the city we live in. To treat ourselves, we chose the Shangri-La Hotel for our 3 night stay. Our plan was to veg, eat Mexican food and go to church with friends on Easter morning. But (and it seems like everything here is always followed by a “but”) it was not Mexican food like we are accustomed to (no surprise there) and sadly, we didn't make it to church. Still, it was nice to get away from Bandung for a weekend. 

Our plan was to attend the Easter worship service at an English speaking church in the city with another Fulbright couple. That’s a “whole nuther” story – one of driving around the city in circles for 1.5 hours before finally aborting the mission and having Ferry bring us back to Bandung earlier than planned – a disappointing ending to an otherwise satisfying weekend.

welcome to Shangri-La

view from hotel - note mosque in foreground

partial view from hotel exercise facility at sunset

famous Jakarta roundabout fountain

high rise offices

Da Vinci Tower - Penthouse Luxury Living (designed for only 30 families)

Jakarta is shockingly modern in some ways. Skyscrapers tower above beautiful fountains and original works of art dot the cityscape. There are several malls that make the Galleria in Houston appear in serious need of a facelift. Chinese shoppers are trailed by their young children while Indonesian pembantus follow behind with babes in arm, weighted down like pack mules. At Plaza Senayan, one can choose between TAG Heuer or 26 other jewelry stores, find goodies at Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Tiffanys, Versace, Prada, Hugo Boss, Mont Blanc and the list goes on and on. Crowded freeways resemble those in many large cities, except for the inordinate number of motor scooters.

dressed up sneakers

window ad

double line of bluebird cabs - drop off entrance

on the up escalator - one section of mall

pointed toe shoes on steroids

drop off entrance at Plaza Senayan

featured LV bag (display playing off popularity of Hunter Games?)

In fact, it would be easy to be taken up with the opulence and wealth here and forget for a few hours where you are. It's easy to forget that the people who live here still cannot drink the water that comes from their tap. We are still in Indonesia, a developing country. This is not the good ole' USA. And the book below (in our hotel room) is not your Gideon Bible!

Quran in hotel room (must be in Arabic)