Pagar: fencing off life in Indonesia

By: Ade Tanesia

[caption id="attachment_30611" align="alignleft" width="300" caption=""Jakarta" by Ppart"][/caption]

Between the lanes in the heart of Jakarta, my childhood friends strove to spy over the highest house fences. It’s still fresh in my memory; they called them rumah gedongan (mansions). Our image of a ‘rumah gedongan’ was a high-fenced house, closed, so that we could only see the roof. Certainly a house like this would be owned by someone rich. To the eyes of children, the rumah gedongan was something mysterious, so naturally we tried very hard to scale or peep through the gaps in the fence to see what lay beyond. Often a guard dog would start barking when we tried to approach. These houses sometimes had warning signs posted on the wall—“Beware: Vicious Dog”. The dog need bark only once and we’d run, scrambling and laughing, from the scene. When I was a bit older, I often heard cynical adults gossip about people who owned houses with tall fences. “People who live in gedongan houses are sure to be Chinese, tuh. They don’t want to mix. Arrogant. Hard to get money from them for the Independence Day celebrations.” This is the empty chatter that I frequently heard from the mouths of Jakarta housewives.

Parkour Jakarta: Survival of the Fittest

By: Ario Triwibowo

Parkour, the trend that has become a lifestyle, originated in France. Parkour (or PK, for short) is an activity of moving from one point to another as efficiently and quickly as possible, using principally the abilities of the human body. It is meant to help one overcome obstacles, which can be anything in the surrounding environment. No wonder this art of movement found its way to Indonesia, where obstacles are part and parcel of urban life. In the 2000s Parkour was one of the most viral and inspiring physical art forms worldwide. Parkour touched base in Jakarta around 2007, slowly developing into several regional sub-groups in other areas of Indonesia. Now, all over Indonesia dedicated communities practice the art of survival in a concrete jungle!

Art in Jakarta: Cultural Hotspots in Jakarta

By: Beatrice

The traffic is horrible, the streets are absurdly flood-prone, and the pollution is suffocating. Yet Jakarta is hardly ever boring, especially event-wise.

Admittedly, it is a bit tricky to find out where the happenings take place, although there is almost always something artsy going on in Jakarta. Knowing the usual spots would be a very good start.

Jakarta based Beatrice shows you where to go for your weekly dose of art.

We built this city: Jakarta’s change makers (2)

By: Dina Indrasafitri

Jakarta’s cyclers are determined cruise the streets their own way, and while some only do it on car-free days or weekends, others are even more persistent in their effort to use bicycles as their daily tools of transport. This movement became more evident when a group of cyclers in Indonesia established the Bike2Work (b2w)Indonesia group in 2005. Having been engaged with mountain biking sessions in Tangerang’s “jalur pipa gas” track for several years, the cyclers decided to take up a new challenge of regularly biking in the city.

We built this city: Jakarta’s change makers (1)

By: Dina Indrasafitri

Jakarta and wildlife do not really go together. Unless you count beasts in cages or chained macaques used for street entertainment. But the city actually has a reserve housing almost a hundred species of birds as well as others species of wildlife, and it came close to being forgotten by the public if not, at least partly, for the effort of a group of people under the name Jakarta Green Monster (JGM). The Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke, or the Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve, is central to the forming of JGM back in 2006. The 25-hectares reserve is located in Jakarta’s north coastal area of Pantai Indah Kapuk and includes a mangrove forest, whose important benefits include moderating erosion and as a wildlife habitat.

The sanctuary is prone to pollution, which comes, partly, with the Angke river flowing just adjacent to it. Garbage can also cover the roots of the mangrove plants, causing them to die.

A Top 11 of Cheap but Cheery Budget Hostels in Jakarta

By: Ario Triwibowo

As most of the big cities in South East Asia, there is always a place for backpackers in Jakarta. There are many low-fare hotels, motels, hostels and losmen in Jakarta, because the demand for cheap accommodation is increasing by the day as more and more Indonesians start backpacking (if something becomes a trend in Indonesia, it means it's virtually instantly an industry, as the country counts over 240 million inhabitants).

Many hostels in Jakarta verge on the dingy and/or depressing side. Hence we tried our best to make a selection of cheap but cheery hostels in Jakarta. The area where most backpackers end up in Jakarta is centered around Jalan Jaksa. This area is strategic as it is close to the train station and many of the city’s attraction (Monas, the shopping center Sarinah and other mallsthe area). Other nice areas to stay are Menteng in the northwest and hipe and happening Kemang in the south. Planning to travel in Jakarta on a low budget? Here is our Top 11 of Cheap but cheery budget hostels in Jakarta!

Dapoer Aisah: Soto Betawi Recipe

By: Aisah Wolfard

The perfect cure against the cold is soto betawi, a hot bowl of beef soup to warm you up! Soto in Indonesian means soup with extra ingredients. It comes in many shapes and forms, for example Soto Ayam (chicken soup) and Soto Madura (soup from the island of Madura).

The soup that we’ll make today is called Betawi, referring to  Batavia or, as the capital is known now: Jakarta. The Betawi are the original inhabitants of Jakarta and surroundings and have their own culture, language and cuisine. Indonesian style Soto Betawi will probably not be that appetizing to foreigners because it includes beef offals. So in this foreigner friendly version, we will only use the meat. Smell the herbs and spices, free yourself from a runny nose and savor this Soto Betawi!

Kreativität Dance Indonesia presents a triple bill dance performance

Kreativität Dance Indonesia presents a triple bill dance performance. In honor of the 25th anniversary of the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta Schouwburg Festival-Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Yudistira Syuman, Farida Oetoyo & Gerard Mosterd present choreographies on 7 and 8 September.

Kreativität Dance Indonesia

Artistic Director: Farida Oetoyo

Presents a triple bill dance performance

In honour of the 25^th anniversary of the Gedung Kesenian Jakarta

Schouwburg Festival-Gedung Kesenian Jakarta

Friday 7^th & Saturday 8^th of September 2012:  8 PM

Not Just Another Ugly Duckling Story

By: Labodalih Sembiring

To all young girls out there, imagine yourself constantly likened to Olive, the cartoon fictional character Popeye’s love interest, because you are taller than any of your friends and they think you are too lanky. And imagine having to hear a derogatory term thrown your way each day because your mother is Chinese and you inherit her strong jaws and slanted eyes. You are beautiful. But many seem to disagree, including yourself.

Jakarta Living Costs: Accommodation, Transportation, Food & Entertainment

By: Ario Triwibowo

Jakarta is one of the world’s busiest, largest and most populous cities. The Indonesian capital is ranked as the 9^th largest city and 13^th most populous city in the world. As the center of governance and business, the city attracts more and more people (Indonesians as well as expats). Indonesians come to Jakarta in search of better education, work and above all luck. Expats mostly for the latter two. Adding to the estimated 10-15 million people, this is not without consequence. The traffic is pure mayhem and living costs soar.

Jakarta Living Cost: Housing / Accommodation

For many foreigners, renting an apartment is probably the most convenient way to live in Jakarta. The city’s real estate / property sector has been growing rapidly throughout the past decade, as the need of strategic-located housing increases. Traffic jams have also contributed to this rapid boom. Traffic jams eat time, money and patience, so location becomes even more important when you want to settle down in Jakarta. If you work in the business district, be sure to find housing in the neighborhood, or with good access.