Watch the above travel vlog to see what it’s like inside a local village in Jakarta and the crazy traffic driving around the city or keep reading below to hear my perspective visiting the capital of Indonesia.
As the Grab car pulled up on the side of the road and I jumped out to walk down a tight gang (local laneway) I realised why the road into this village was so narrow – most villagers didn’t own cars, they relied on scooters to get around.
I was led down a small concrete stairwell between two homes which were made of crumbled concrete and mismatched timber panels nailed together.
As I stepped down the stairs, I noticed the wall next to me was lined with pigeon nesting boxes. Pigeons are a much-loved bird in Indonesia with some people breeding them to sell for racing and others training them to keep as pets.
Village life in Jakarta
Going down that staircase I felt like Alice in Wonderland, heading down into a secret world. As soon as I emerge on the bottom level – an even smaller laneway which was the main access route for all the homes – I was quickly greeted by a man sitting on a concrete step.
Then some children ran past staring at the strange foreigner – we were all just as intrigued as each other.
Their mothers were in a small open air wet area. This was the communal laundry, shower block, toilets and place for washing dishes because most of the homes don’t have running water inside so they share this resource with taped signs reminding residents to keep the area clean.
The village is like an extended family with neighbours children running free into other homes and people sharing meals between them.
This is no different to most local areas I’ve visited across Indonesia but the thing that struck me here is that this was smack bang in the middle of a bustling, overcrowded city that boasted impressive skyscrapers and a pretty decent public transport system compared to my small home city Perth, Australia!
One thing I did notice that was a little different was that they seemed to be more wary of a foreigner here. But after my attempts at icebreaking conversation in broken Bahasa Indonesia I seemed to win some of them over and see them smiling when I walked around.
It was only after a couple of visits I decided to take out my camera so not to intimidate people in their home. But by the third visit, we were sharing food and dancing together in the street in an impromptu street party after a religious celebration.
Religion in Jakarta
Religion is an important part of daily life in Jakarta with Islam being the most practiced faith here like most of Indonesia.
Jakarta is dotted with ornate mosques and smaller mushollas which are small hall-style buildings where Muslim come to pray and study the Qu’ran.
There are very strict rules about taking off your shoes when you go inside and this includes from the top step outside the entrance. So remember this at the front of mind when playing with the local children who gather around outside during the day because if you accidentally touch foot on the top step, you’ll quickly be reminded by the locals.
During one of my visits there the villages celebrated the birthday of Prophet Mohammad. Each mosque and musholla set up a big celebration area with marquees set up and tarpaulins rolled out onto the streets so everyone could join in.
I was invited to join the local Muslims to listen to the talks held at the local village musholla. I donned a head scarf over my blonde hair and follow the protocol of sitting at the back with the other women.
At one point it started raining. The men were already sitting under the cover of the marquee at the front, while the women and children sitting at the back had to cram forward to avoid getting wet.
The feminist inside me was surprised to see different rules for the men and women were still so strictly adhered to in the modern age but I went along with it and enjoyed experiencing the local culture.
Jakarta: the busy capital city of Indonesia
Jakarta is the capital city of our archipelagic neighbours in the north and the busy city is home to more than 10 million people.
In fact, it’s so overcrowded that President Joko Widodo announced plans for a new capital to be built in Borneo with Jakarta facing overcrowding and water expected to run out in 2040.
So it’s no wonder that people live crammed into these clustered villages throughout the city.
But despite being a busy, overcrowded city I was impressed to find that Jakarta actually has several sparse open green spaces and parks.
You can see in my vlog, my visits to the lush green areas of Merdeka Square and Taman Kodok.
The National Monument in Merdeka Square was built to remember the country’s fight for independence from the Dutch which happened back in 1945.
The 132m tower, which stands proudly in the city, is now one of the city’s popular tourist attractions as you can can go up to the top to see an incredible view of the city’s skyscrapers.
Unlike the children’s train pictured above, the city’s public transport system is built to carry the crowds. If you don’t fancy being stuck in a traffic jam where even scooters have trouble weaving around, I recommend catching the train to get around.
The train is also a fantastic way to travel to different cities across Java because the rail spans across most of the island. I took the long route between Jakarta and Yogyakarta and thoroughly enjoyed the journey with an incredible view.
Where to stay in Jakarta
Being a modern city, there are plenty of hotels to choose from. Travelling on a budget, but keen for a nice reprieve from the busy city, I found a nice budget hotel that had a pool surrounded by nice greenery.
This hotel where I stayed in Jakarta was converted from an old Dutch mansion so it had a really grand vibe to it but the rooms were simple so the price was affordable.
Jakarta is an interesting city and there is certainly a lot more for me to discover on my next trip there. I’m still yet to find amazing vegetarian and vegan options so do let me know your favourite places to eat there so I can check them out next time.
*The hotel links are affiliate links which means if you happen to book through my link I may get a small commission at no extra cost to you. This helps keep my blog running so thanks so much for your support.
