Since that this weekend, February 9-10, 2019 will be our last weekend before we go back to the Philippines, our buddies took it as an opportunity to explore Jakarta and see the places that we did not see before.
With Dinda Asyifa and Ralph Benjo Azas, we went to Kota Tua. Kota Tua is the center of Batavia, that Dutch settlement of the colonizers in Central Jakarta before. We went there through the Communters’ Train through the Tanjung Barat Station at 7:00 am, and this is the first time that we ride the train that has a long and composed of different routes which made us confused on what train we will ride. At the end, we ride for Jakarta Kota station, which the building was opened in 1929.
In Kota Tua, which is just a walking distance away from the station, features the old buildings dated back from the Dutch colonization and was preserved. It currently houses different business around the plaza. Kota Tua features the canons and the city hall of Batavia, which houses today the Jakarta History Museum.
They where able to show how important history is in their lives as Indonesians through the preservation of the things that was used in the past, including the tools used during the pre-colonization of the Dutch such as stones, iron, metal and porcelain, the furniture, the paintings of the Dutch governor generals, and the facilities in the building such as the jail at the basement.
As we roam around Kota Kua, we were able to meet Rosalina or “Oca”, one of our buddies for us to take us to Jakarta Planetarium for the 11:00 am show through Grab. Before going to the planetarium, we were able to take photos at the Jakarta Cathedral, the largest Roman Catholic church in Indonesia and Masjid Istiqlal, the largest mosque in Southeast Asia. What is significant in these two religious structures is that it faces each other, in which instead of representing differences, it is promoting peace as they can also be unified in goals despite the differences in beliefs.
We arrived at the planetarium at around 10:30 am. Jakarta Planetarium and Observatory is located in Taman Ismail Marzuki in Central Jakarta. It is the oldest planetarium in Indonesia and it features a show that is about the universe, and we watched it in their hall under its dome.
Although the show is in Bahasa Indonesia, we were able to be amazed of the sequence of the show, from the stars, constellations to the heavily bodies. Together with the students who are with us in the show, we cannot control our emotions in it. It only shows that they are opening the curiosity of the children about the unknown universe in such a young age.
After the show, we ate Nasi Lele at the local eatery around 1:00 pm (13:00). We shared some of the vegetables and sambal, and after we ate, we waited for Dinda and Oca as they prayed their noon prayers at the nearby mosque.
We departed for Tanah Abang at around 2:00 pm (14:00). Tanah Abang is a subdistrict in Central Jakarta that is known for the shops that sell clothes, textiles, religious items and food in the cheapest prices available. This is the reason why flocks of people go here. We searched for batik, clothes and other souvenirs that we can give to our friends and family when we get back in the Philippines. We also made a side trip to Thamrin City, which has been known for the shops for batik, for Ralph to surely buy a batik polo that can fit his size. After this, we went back to Tanah Abang and continued my shopping for batik and blouses.
It can be seen that in these places, most of the products sold here were proudly made in Indonesia. This supports their own development, which shows their trust to each other and their nationalistic pride as Indonesians, especially on promoting wearing batik in work, school or just going around the city. Hence, we must see that in everything that we use reflects the culture that we have and, in these examples, they give high importance to what makes them unique.
We departed for our homestay via the Commuters’ Train for Tanjung Barat Station with Dinda Asyifa at 5:00 pm (17:00). After we claim our refund for the train ticket that cost Rp 10,000.00, we rode Grab and arrived at the homestay before 7:00 pm (19:00) to prepare for our trip to Bogor, the next day.
Journey Beyond Borders 