goods to Indonesia’s other islands, while massive barges and freighters work out of the Tanjung Priok industrial port, disgorging and receiving goods.
Industrial growth in the area has been hard on the environment. Waterways have become polluted, mangrove forests have been paved over and most estuaries have been reduced to sludge. Happily, it’s not all bad news: reclamation efforts are underway and the area is also home to a couple of good nature spots.
For entertainment, north Jakarta is worth dozens of visits. There are historical sites, museums, outdoor cultural performances, temples, markets, places to shop and a solid spread of dining options. That being said, there is also a high concentration of the seedier side of late night entertainment: brothels, massage parlors, gambling dens and darker nightclubs.
For those with kids, or who are kids at heart, Ancol is a sprawling seaside fun park. There are roller coasters in the Dufan theme park, sharks in SeaWorld, and succulent seafood at Segarra. There is the Atlantis water park, an art market with artists at their easels, and sailing boats available for hire. Don’t forget your shorts: Ancol is bicycle-friendly with dedicated lanes and an excellent spot for walking. The Ancol Marina is located here for those wanting to launch off to the Thousand Islands for a weekend getaway.
Two coastal areas, the Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke (Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve) and the Angke Kapuk Mangrove Forest Tourism Park, have been protected and restored so the man-groves can do their job in hosting marine, terrestrial and aviary life, slow the rate of erosion of Jakarta’s northernmost border and serve as educational corridors for Jakarta’s youth. Look out for the three troops of monkeys consisting of around 100 individuals while enjoying an early morn-9ing bird watching session with Indonesia’s nature group, Go Wild! Indonesia.
Tourists in Fatahillah Square, the original old town square in the center of Jakarta.
Young boys diving from a bamboo pole jetty in the Java Sea.
Want to go for a stroll through maritime history? Step back in time at the Pelabuhan Sunda Kelapa (Sunda Coconut Harbor) and gain an insight into what Jakarta looked like when it went by the name Batavia and was one of the most important seaports in the world. From Sunda Kelapa, take a small fishing boat over to Pasar Ikan, a fish market hundreds of years old. Climb the worn stairs of the old Dutch Watchtower and stop at the Maritime Museum where the treasures of the East Indies were once stored before being shipped off to Europe.
Taman Fatahillah (Fatahillah Square) is ground zero for a look at historical Jakarta and the days of Dutch rule. Café Batavia serves good food in a century-old restaurant overlooking the square, which once held nearly daily executions.
Go into the old City Hall where the gavel used to sound the verdicts of law, prisoners were shackled in the basement, the sick were nursed to health, and behind which thousands of Chinese were slaughtered in 1740.
Regular events and festivities are held in Fatahillah Square at the weekends, to which the historical buildings make a dramatic backdrop. There are musical festivals, art shows, outdoor theater and performances of the traditional Kuda Lumping dance with its trance-induced performers eating light-bulbs and cracking whips.
Don’t miss Chinatown and all its secrets. From the wet markets to the incense-scented temples to the 24-hour pulse of Stadium, Jakarta’s most historic club, Glodok is a neighborhood no adventurer should miss. Much of the magic lies in the narrow lanes threading through the neighborhood: wending past traditional medicine shops, tasty pork noodle eateries, cobra sellers and creaking-wheeled pedicabs laden with goods from the market.
For culinary adventures, Jl. Mangga Besar cooks up something dramatically different. Snake meat is the specialty, but turtle, dog, monitor lizard and bat can be eaten along this road. Interspersed with the exotic dining spots are jamu kiosks selling traditional health drinks to cure all ailments.
One trip to north Jakarta is not enough. It’s a big area with innumerable back streets to explore and activities to sample. It can be challenging to get around and overwhelmingly crowded and pungent at times, but it’s where the original soul of the city and its commerce is found and the souls of the city’s founders are buried.
Walking Tour 1
MUARA ANGKE AND ANGKE KAPUK
Mangrove Forests and a Fishermen’s Market: An Exploration of North Jakarta’s Varied Coastline
1 Muara Angke Fish Market
2 Fish Snack Center
3 Fish Drying Racks I
4 Fish Drying Racks II
5 Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve
6 Waterbom Jakarta
7 Angke Kapuk Mangrove Forest Tourism Park
The two main neighborhoods west of Pluit are the yin and the yang of Jakarta, and they demonstrate the incredible way two very different human habitations can lie at one another’s doorsteps. To the east, the Muara Angke neighborhood is a rough-and-ready fish market. Here, you can discover what an industrial fishing village feels like, as rubber boot-wearing workers trundle by pulling carts laden with frozen squid. You’ll see dump trucks filled with massive blocks of ice which are unloaded on to workers’ shoulders, and fishermen either heading out to sea or unloading, sorting, weighing, washing, packing, cooking or eating their catch.
Moving deeper into this kilometer-wide by kilometer-long piece of land, which is surrounded on all sides by water, takes you to the expansive seafood drying racks that cover a large part of the area. Thousands of fish, squid, prawns and other sea life are spread across hectares of land to dry in the sun before being processed as snacks and cooking ingredients.
Exploring the canals that lead to the sea brings visitors face to face with a flotilla of traditional fishing boats and the seafaring men that run them. The right price can get you on one for a trip along the coastline.
Just around the corner from the Muara Angke neighborhood is one of Jakarta’s few nature reserves, the Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke (Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve), which serves as a sort of buffer zone before really slamming into the upper-class neighborhood to the west. Home to a plethora of sea, land and air creatures, including nearly 100 wild monkeys, the reserve boasts a long boardwalk that stretches out into the mangrove forests, providing a glimpse into an estuary life almost lost in this rapidly industrializing city.
Heading up the road, in a westerly direction are the more exclusive, suburban neighborhoods of the ever-expanding upper class. Waterbom Jakarta is also located here, and it’s not a bad place to zip down the waterslide or cool down with a lazy drift along the ‘Wild River.’ Finally, to the far west, at the edge of the upscale housing developments, is a large mangrove reclamation project, the Angke Kapuk Mangrove Forest Tourism Park. Stroll among the lengthy rows of newly planted trees and catch glimpses of the wildlife that call them home. Rent a small boat and guide and enjoy the sight of herons gliding effortlessly through an evening sunset.
WHO? It’s all family-friendly, except for the Muara Angke Fishing Village. This low-income neighborhood is not particularly clean, it can smell and is not set up for tourism—in fact, it’s an industrial area. For those looking for a pleasant day’s activities, it’s recommended that you skip the fishing village, and instead start at the nature reserve.
HOW LONG? Full day.
HOW FAR? 12.5km, includes walking (5km)/driving/ becak ride.
GETTING THERE Head to Kapuk Muara and Kamal Muara, just west of Pluit. By car, take the Pluit-Tomang toll road to the Harbor toll road. Exit immediately on to Jl. Jembatan Tiga and head north; turn left on to Jl. Pluit Indah. At Jl. Pluit Barat Raya, turn right and take it to Jl. Pluit Utara Raya, turning left. By Busway, take corridor #9 to the Penjaringan stop. Continue north by ojek