Jakarta — From Maps to Mottos and Martabak
After months of deliberating, interviewing, emailing and waiting for my visa… I arrived in Jakarta, Indonesia.
While I have surely been warned by the “terrible traffic” in Jakarta, nothing would have prepared me for the almost 2-hour ride from the airport to my AirBnB. As I rode, I gazed to my sides and found many high-rise buildings. To my surprise, Jakarta is more developed than I had imagined it to be. Highway roads, offices and malls are everywhere. According one of my friends, Indonesia has a well-known “mall culture.” Most of the weekend days, I spend .. are in mall. The weather stays at a steady 33 degree celsius. The air is very dry; once I didn’t stay hydrated enough, and my nose kept bleeding for three days straight.
Besides from this, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time so far here in the city. Below are some of my stories and observations:
1. Motto to work
On my first day at work, I took a bike with a start-up called Grab that has recently acquired Uber in Southeast Asia. Another application that is also widely used is called GoJek, however, it is more beneficial for me to use Grab since it offers google translate. And so, I started my journey to work on my first day. The house that I live in is approximately 45 minutes from work. Work is located a bit south while I wanted to stay central. About 10 minutes into my ride to the office, the bike’s tire went flat and we had to stop and get it fixed. I thought for sure that I would have ended up late, however, due to the change in time because of fasting, work hours were moved an hour after. Relief washed over me as I had realized this.
45 minutes is a long ride, but often times, I find it a really good time for me to both think about work before the actual day begins and reflect on what I had done that day.
2. Maps
Another think I have learnt is that maps are everywhere (and I don’t just mean maps as a tool for finding your way around!).
I work for a company called Esri Indonesia, what they do is they utilize a technology called ArcGIS in order to draw insights from maps. Findings include possible flood scenarios, pollution control, water resource management and urban city planning. Again, to my surprise, their biggest client is the government of Indonesia. I guess that I am very used to living in a developing country that has no exact “urban planning protocol” and to come to understand just how much the Indonesian government plans the city is amazing.
Geoinsights is not a new field, however, it has just recently captured my interest. From governments to businesses, I believe that the field has a wide range of positive implications. In addition to applications in Indonesia and a few other developing countries, I do hope that one day Cambodia also utilizes this impactful technology.
3. Martabak
Hands down — best food ever. Martabak is commonly found in Saudi Arabia, Yemen, India, Malaysia, Indonesia. While most commonly described as spicy folded omelette pancake with bits of vegetables, it has evolved to be desserts, most filled with ovaltine, sweet condensed milk and .. nothing else but cheese. Not to sound dramatic, Martabak has served me very well from rainy, sunny days to good and bad days. It is my go-to comfort food and one of the many reasons I will be back in Jakarta.
4. Religion
The Indonesian government recognizes six official religions Islam, Protestantism, Catholicism, Hinduism, Buddhism and Confucianism. In Jakarta, however, Islam is the dominant religion. It has been very interesting to watch people go about their lives while remaining fully committed to their faith. My workplace (and almost other restaurants, flower shops, etc) have prayer rooms. Most people as I have been told, pray at least four times per day. At exactly 12 pm and 2 pm, prayer is played on the microphone and lasts for about 2–3 minutes. While Jakarta is predominantly muslim, over in Java and Bali, most people are Hindu. Pagodas, statues with goddess and gods can be seen at almost every corner of the streets. In front of every shop, small or big, there would be offerings of small patches of flower along with incense. In a small province called Ubud, traditional dance (that are very heavily influenced by Hinduism) are performed by local villagers.
Being in Indonesia, I have had the great privilege to immerse myself in this beautiful country with such vibrant cultures and traditions. All of these experiences have sparked my imaginations and made me see through many new lenses. Home away from home, Jakarta has impacted me in great ways, and living here, trust me, is worth all the traffic jam.
I’d like to end with one last photo…
