Exploring Jakarta

This past Saturday we went to the old Dutch colonial area of Jakarta, in an area known as Kota. The central cobblestone square, Taman Fatahillah, is still there, as are some of the old colonial era buildings. Unfortunately many of the buildings are in ruin and nothing has been done with the square. It is a real shame, as it could be quite lovely around there and most assuredly a tourist destination. I could still get an idea of what it must have been like in its heyday, but now there is little to do or see. Someday, perhaps the Jakarta government or some enterprising, rich businessperson will take an interest in it and develop it.

We did go to the puppet museum, or Wayang Museum, which has one of the best collections of wayang puppets in Java. The museum itself isn't terribly impressive, but some of the puppets were very interesting. A museum worker told us some of the history of the puppets, what they're used for, etc. For example, the flat, intricately carved leather shadow puppets, called wayang kulit, are often used to teach children about right and wrong, morals, etc. They are produced in Bali and Java. We also saw many wonderful examples of wayang golek, which are the 3-d wooden puppets typically found in West and Central Java. Wayang theater comes from the Hindu-Buddhist heritage in Java, and the stories of the wayang kulit are often based on the Hindu epics, the Ramayana and Mohabharata. A whole night might be devoted to just one story, and in addition to being used to teach children, they may also be performed to protect a crop, a village or people. There is only one puppeteer manipulating all of the puppets, and the show is sometimes accompanied by a gamelan (traditional orchestra of 60-80 musical instruments).

Wayang kulit

There is also the Jakarta History Museum and a Fine Arts Museum in Kota, but unfortunately C didn't enjoy the puppet museum as much as we had hoped so we figured visiting another museum was not a good option.

After the museum we went and had a drink at Cafe Batavia, which is located on the same square and is housed in apparently the only very nicely renovated colonial building in Kota. It is easy to be swept back in time and imagine yourself as a Dutch colonialist, well dressed and sipping a cocktail after a long hot day in Jakarta. The upstairs bar and restaurant is constructed in all teak wood, and the whole cafe is filled with old pictures and photographs. It was evidently included in Newseek International's 1994 and 1996 Worlds Best Bars editions. The place reminded me of The Tobacco Company restaurant in Richmond, VA, where I have been a couple times with my sister-in-law, husband and my best girlfriends for a girlfriends weekend. We will definitely return to Cafe Batavia another time, without children, and when I can truly enjoy one of their many cocktails.

From here we went to the old port of Sunda Kelapa, which was full of Makassar schooners. There wasn't much activity but it was a fun add-on. We were expecting more majestic looking boats, although I don't know why now that I think about it.

Being there, at a fishing port, made me think of one of my all time favorite experiences. While living in Mali J and I went down to the Ivory Coast for a vacation. We stayed on the beach in a little hut, had fresh fish for dinner every night cooked by the "hotel" owner, almost drowned in the undercurrent... Anyway, we went into the town of Sassandra one day to take a boat tour of the mangrove forests, and were fortunate enough to be there when the fishing boats came in. This wasn't a "port", but just the beach where large, brightly painted canoes came to shore bearing fishermen and the day's hauling. The sun was bright and the beach was bustling with fishermen and customers busy bargaining the price of fish, and the beach was filled with manta rays, small sharks, and large fish being cut up and sold. It was incredibly colorful and active and a lot of fun, and one of my favorite memories of West Africa.