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Published: June 14th 2006
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Not just another Saturday, but my last day in Jakarta, and what will be the beginning of the end of this trip. Endah and Ferrika pick me up at the hotel and it is finally time to take on that final great landmark, yes, it is the return to the Monas tower. The gargantuan conrete tower sits in a big plaza surrounded by worn down grass plantations and visitors and picnicers seeking shelter from the blazing midday sun under the palmtrees. The base of the tower hosts a museum detailing the history to independence through a few dozen miniature displays of famous events and turning points in history. The artists have taken some liberty with the material, most notably the inclusion of the famous red and white flag flying over freedom fighters and navy ships some 500 years or so before it was adopted. Some other sections are a bit more disturbing, such as the "liberation" of Papua and a mere mentioning about how the East Timorese people welcomed the Indonesian government with open arms. Some cruical events from years like 1998, 1999 or 2002 are strangely missing.
Perhaps more interesting for the traveller is the display of the planned
expansion of the new mass transit systems being prospected. The current Northern-Southern Busway service is to be expanded into a network of no less than twelve lines criss crossing the city centre, and a two monorail services are also in early development. This will be something to look forward to indeed!
Leaving the comfortable basement museum we stand in line behind a group of worn looking ladyboys queueing for a ride to the tower viewpoint, and the 137 meter tall tower does not disappoint. While Endah and Ferrika are playing with the telescopic lens I meet a guy called Daulat from Medan shooting with his newly acquired second hand Nikon manual camera. He is staying in Jakarta to study German and it is amusing conversing with him in this language. As evening falls the four of us join forces and head down to the nearby eateries on Veteran Street, in the shadow of the mighty Masjid Istiqlal. We end up in an Italian ice cream place for some Otak Otak type fish cakes, satay and the weirdest thing I've seen in a while; spaghetti ice cream. That's right, you boil spaghetti and coat it with ice cream. How it
tastes? Um... weird, but ok I guess.
Afterwards we return to the Monas grounds and sit down in the now very comfortable evening air, chatting and watching dancing fountains and the peculiar lightshow that bathes the tower in all sorts of colours. At this point every other thought keeps popping up reminding me that this night is about to come to an end and it makes me feel absolutely miserable. When I arrived here in Jakarta, little had I thought I would enjoy my stay, and here I am ten days later not wanting to go back home. As little as my opinion matters in the grand scheme of things I still think that is a pretty good summary of what Jakarta is all about. If you allow yourself to overcome the initial shock it may well turn out a really nice place to be.
As the last magic moment of the trip is coming to an end we reluctantly go into a taxi and split up into different directions. It is time for me to start packing and catch a few hours of sleep to prepare for the early morning transfer to Bangkok.
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