You might have heard the news about the Indonesian government wanting to relocate the capital to another city. My wife and I started talking about this last night and she suggested visiting Jakarta in the near future. We went to Bali last summer, and while I wasn’t blown away by it I wouldn’t mind visiting Indonesia again if Jakarta is different enough from Bali.
I was just wondering, has anyone here gone from Taiwan to Jakarta for travel or work? If so, what was your experience like? Do you have any suggestions for first time visitors?
I live in Indonesia.
I would have to work REALLY hard to find the positive attributes of that city.
It is extremely polluted. Parts of the city are dangerous any time of day.
Visit? Maybe.
Live? Never.
Work? No.
I visit a lot of Asian capitals for my job. Jakarta is the one place I’ve literally not seen anything of except for the hotels and the work sites. This is mainly due to the traffic being abysmal (it could take you an hour to move a few blocks in worst cases), no public transportation and hard to walk around. Locals seem to use Grab scooters or drive their own bikes.
I’m sure there is some stuff worth seeing there but probably only for a day or two. Indonesia is so big and so many fascinating places to go to that I would put Jakarta FAR down my list if visiting there. This is a bit sad when you realise it’s quite an ancient city with a unique history (Batavia).
What it used to look like.
Unlike the earlier half of the 19th-century, the latter half of the century was a peaceful period characterized by economic and technologic expansion and a stable government. In 1856, the first telegraph line was installed between Batavia and Buitenzorg. In 1859, Batavia was connected to Singapore, the first international telegraph connection in the Dutch East Indies. In 1861, Batavia completed its first gas works; by 1862, streets were lighted with gas lightings. Telephone lines were installed in 1882.[29]
A tramway was introduced to Batavia in 1869 as a horse-drawn tramway, which was upgraded to steam trams in 1882, and electric trams in 1900. Batavia’s first railway started during the period in 1869, and the line from Batavia to Buitenzorg was finally completed in 1873.[29]
Changed tremendously , you should visit!
That being said, there are probably some things you won’t like as it has modernised. But overall better place to live probably and a lot of middle class Thais now.
I would like to, however since I grew up there and have so many fond memories, it would play out one of two ways, I would hate it because it would be too diffferent (“You can never go home”) or most likely I would want to stay and never return to Taiwan, EVER!
Oh you grew up there. I was thinking you were a bit older than I imagined hah. The first time I visited was 1999 and it’s changed significantly since then (it’s far more modern and full of shopping centers and the MRT lines). There has been a big wave of investment from mainland Chinese into new apt blocks. It still has bad traffic though. Many things you like would be gone obviously . Still it’s a quick trip.
I like the newer Thai night markets especially on the Riverside and in nearby cities like Hua Hin. They are more chilled out than Taiwan and more music and restaurants . You should take a vacation in Thailand dude still some great spots. You can book some nice hotels, it’s still relatively cheap in Bangkok. You can stay in the Hilton on the Riverside for a 150usd a night or something.
