Jakarta (7-11 Jun 12)

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So this was it, the final destination of the first trip of my little adventure. Jakarta was just a short 1h+ local train ride from Bogor, and the frenetic mix of crazy traffic, pollution, skyscrapers and crowds hits one in the face the moment he or she arrives. Nevertheless, I had expected nothing less from the city aka "The Big Durian".

Spent my last four nights here (staying at Hostel 35 in Jalan Jaksa, which was certainly as good as touted by LP) and there was certainly much to see, from the historical monuments in Central Jakarta, to the museums of the old part of the city Kota, the mega malls along Jalan Thamrin and the various glamorous night spots spread across the city, and then some.

Then back to Singapore for a week's break before embarking again on what I hope will indeed be a much longer leg in mainland Southeast Asia. Stay tuned!

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Photos

National Monument
Often abbreviated to just "Monas", this structure is also sometimes mockingly described as Soekarno's Last Erection.

National Museum
Surely one of the better ones in all of Java.

Catholic Cathedral
Located along, yup you guessed it, Jalan Kathedral, and interestingly right across the street from Mesjid Istiqlal, apparently one of the largest mosques in Java.

Gedung Kesenian Jakarta
Performing arts centre, They were scheduled to show some funky modern fusion dance performance the evening I arrived, so I decided to pass...

Cafe Batavia
With my burger and pineapple juice (no ice) in this lovely cafe in otherwise crumbling Kota. The place was indeed as depressingly deserted as LP said it would be, so much that I was pretty much the only one (apart from the staff) listening to the live band performing!

I Love Goooooold
Inside the Bank Indonesia Museum, another one of the better museums in Java

Jakarta Nightscape
From Immigrant Bar, a posh night spot/ restaurant in fancy mall Plaza Indonesia in Jalan Thamrin.

North Jakarta
A tale of two cities -- the glamorous, and the not-so-much.