2. Jakarta, Indonesia
Capital: Jakarta
Country: Indonesia
Indonesia is a Southeast Asian country. Indonesia is the world's
largest island country constituting seventeen thousand
islands. It has 34 provinces, of which five have special statuses. The
country's capital, Jakarta, is the second-most populous urban area in the world. Indonesia
has vast areas of wilderness that support one of the world's highest level of bio-diversity. Indonesia is known for its natural
beauty of volcanic mountains and oceanic beaches.
About Jakarta:
Jakarta is the capital of
Indonesia and located in the Java province. After Tokyo, Jakarta is the second
most populated urban habitation. The name Jakarta is derived from the
Devanagari word, Jayakruth, with the meaning ‘Complete Victory’. Jakarta is
officially a province with special capital region status.
Its provincial government consists of five administrative cities and one administrative regency. Jakarta is
nicknamed as the "Big Durian", since Durian fruit is native to the region.
Jakarta became the capital in the
year 1950. The city was thriving with political and economic support as it was chosen
to host the 1962 Asian Games. However, a coup was attempted in 1965 which led
to the death of six top rank Generals followed by an anti-communist purge which
resulted in the death of 5,00,000 people including immigrants.
The following decade saw a boom in Jakarta’s growth as slum dwellers were moved to better housed and various projects were laid out for infrastructural development. Most of this was achieved through foreign investments. But the Asian Financial crisis of 1977 arrested this growth. Following this, the next decade saw rise in tension ultimately ending in violent riots and destruction of infrastructure. In August 2007, Jakarta held its first-ever election to choose a governor as part of a nationwide decentralisation program with the help of local elections, unlike the previous practice of being elected by the legislative body.
Jakarta has grown at a fast pace
in terms of economy and population. As any major city, Jakarta too is faced with
congestion with population upto almost 36 million in 2020. The urban lifestyle
has led to heavy traffic and air pollution. But the biggest worry of Jakarta is
that the city is sinking in to the ocean with each passing day.
Jakarta sits on top of swamp land. Hence, it often faces flooding and drainage clogging during rainy season. But Jakarta is sinking about 5 to 10 centimeters (2.0 to 3.9 inches) each year, and up to 20 centimeters (7.9 inches) in the northern coastal regions. Most of the area next to the sea is flooded throughout the year.
Government has set a task of building a manmade dyke (a wall
to control the level of water) with a pumping system and retention area to
lower the inflow of seawater. Giant Sea Wall Jakarta, the name of this project,
is expected to be completed in 2025. There are talks about moving the capital
from Jakarta to Kalimantan.
Jakarta is a melting pot in terms of ethnicity, religion and language. The city is home to Javenese, Sundanese, Chinese, Malays, and many more natives and migrants alike. Indonesian being the regional ligua franca, English and Chinese are also widely used. As for religion, Jakarta, and Indonesia as a country, is mostly Islamic.
Transport in Jakarta is mostly done through private vehicle
or privately owned public buses. They have an Odd-Even policy in place, where
in, vehicle with either odd or even number plate could only run on a given day.
This is in order to curb traffic congestions and control air pollution.
Jakarta is another modernised city that people often frequent. It has beautiful beaches, big shopping malls and many museums to preserve its cultural heritage. So here is a list of places you can visit in Jakarta on your trip:
- Istana Merdeka
Thousand Islands
- Ragunan Zoo
- Taman Mini Indonesian Park
- Indonesian National Gallery
- Setu Babakan Batavian Cultural village
- Istiqlal Mosque
- National Monument of Indonesia
- Senayan City Shopping Mall
- Sea World Anchol
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| Taman Mini Indonesia |
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| Shopping Mall |
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| National Museum |
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| Sea World Anchol |
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