Sunday, August 27, 2006
3 in 1
The sign says that you're entering an area of three passangers or more in a car during those times. It's one of our government's attempt to reduce traffic jam in the rush hours. I'm not sure of its result, but it opens up creative minds of the big city survivers. During the 3 in 1 times, you'll see local people, young and old, lining up on the side of the streets, providing services to people who have trouble filling up their cars. If you're not familiar with the 3 in 1, you'd be wondering as to why there are so many people hitch hiking? If you're driving alone, with only Rp2.000 - Rp 5.000 per person or whatever you'd like to give, you can meet the street requirements.
So I guess traffic jam will still be around for quite some time.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Shopping?
Nah, it's more of a window shopping to me! Ok, so it's one of those days when you don't have anything better to do but go to the mall! I find it quite boring sometimes, especially with an empty wallet...ugh, such a torture! :) Anyway, this is one of the entrances of Pondok Indah Mall 2. And I was happy to just drink some coffee there.Monday, August 21, 2006
Empty Jakarta
after the independence day on thursday, we had a mass leave on friday, and another holiday today to commemorate the Isra Mi'raj (ascension of Prophet Muhammad). it sure was a looong weekend, hence, lots of people took time to go out of town and leave jakarta empty, literally. for once, i didn't do any travelling and opted to stay in jakarta instead. it sure was nice to enjoy the empty streets of jakarta :)
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Togetherness
And not just the kids who had all the fun playing games and decorating their bikes! The adults were also enjoying Tarik Tambang (upper left) and Lomba Bakiak (right). Actually there are many other games such as Lomba Panjat Pinang, where the players climb a greasy tree to reach prizes on top. And Lomba Makan Kerupuk where we race in eating hanging crackers with our hands behind our backs.Saturday, August 19, 2006
The Games
In these couple of days I'm going to show you some of the games we play on our Independence Day. The one above is called Lomba Kelereng, where the player put a spoon in her mouth with a marble on it and race to the finish line without dropping the marble.
Pensil Dalam Botol is the one below. The pencil, which is tied around the player's waist, has to be put inside the bottle. After they manage to do that, they can hold the bottle on their back and race to the finish line.Sunday, August 13, 2006
Museum Fatahilah
right across the street from the picture i posted yesterday, is the complex area of Museum Fatahilah Jakarta, pictured above. this building, originally built in the early 16th century, year of 1707 to be exact, used to be the capitol office of the dutch colonial government. this building is located at the heart of the town of jakarta, now known as Jakarta Museum of History (Museum Sejarah Jakarta) since 1974. here lies all the historical information of jakarta, goes back to the old batavia (batavia is the old name of jakarta) during the dutch colonialism. this building is one of the tourist spot that definitely worth your time to visit when you're in town.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Jakarta Kota
continuing the series of visiting jakarta old business district area, the above picture is the street behind the "jakarta kota station". it was taken on an early morning in weekend, hence, the empty street. old buildings are still standing tall here and being preserved as it is. it is definitely an interesting part of the city that reminds us back to the old days, during the dutch colony, with their influence on the architecture of the buildings and the structure of the area.
Friday, August 11, 2006
Stasiun Jakarta Kota
i'm taking you to see the area of the old business district area in jakarta. the area is part of the landmark and there are tons of old buildings still stood here. stasiun jakarta kota (= jakarta city station) is one of them. this station is actually an old train station in jakarta. this station is one of the oldest station in jakarta, originally built around 1870, mainly designed by dutch architect frans johan louwrens ghijsels. the station was renovated in 1926 and re-opened in 1929. the design of the station was a combination of technique and structure of western architecture and local styles.
this station was appointed as historical and cultural landmark by governor of jakarta in 1993.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Jakarta Sunrise
this is taken on a very early morning in one of the inner city highways. people wake up very early in jakarta, just to avoid the early traffic jam. sometimes people leave before the sun has risen, just so they can catch the empty roads on the way to work.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Masjid Istiqlal
as promised, this is the picture of masjid istiqlal.
built on top of 9.5 acres of land in the heart of jakarta, the mosque was actually designed in 1912 by a protestant architect named friedrich silaban. the mosque was finished in 1954 and has been standing tall for the last five decades. a historic landmark and pride of the indonesians, it is said that around 13 thousand tourists - domestic and foreign - would visit the mosque every month.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Cathedral Church
hi, all! i'm back! santy is okay, but will be tight up with work this week, so i will fill in for her.
this is the cathedral church. designed in a neo-gothic style, this cathedral was completed in 1901, after almost a decade of idle time due to financial difficulties. beautifully decorated with holy pictures and figures, it is said to be the largest and most unique center of Catholicism in Jakarta.
if you wonder why there are so many people dressed in Muslim-clothes, that was because i took this picture from parking lot area of the next-door neighbor, which happens to be masjid istiqlal (masjid = mosque) - said to be the largest mosque in indonesia and southeast asia.
i'll post the picture of the masjid tomorrow.
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Mampang Under Construction
This is Mampang street of South Jakarta. It's currently under construction. Please excuse that foreground cable, not very pretty...I know :)Saturday, August 05, 2006
Gelora Bung Karno
Ok, so which one of them will go down first, you think? :)
This is the gate from Gelora Bung Karno, our multi-use stadium. It's usually get crowded on weekends, where people do their walk and jog, aerobics and other excercises. The stadium consists of various sport fields. Professional athletes do their daily training here, but it's also open for public. And when it's crowded with people, the flea markets and street food stalls will immediately show up! I love to go running here early in the morning and have a bowl of hot bubur ayam (chicken porridge) afterwards! burn a few fat and gain some more, how smart is that! :)
