I have played host to several friends visiting from Australia and Europe. Most of them were here for a few months for work. Because they were busy most of the time, I only got a few chances to show them the city. More often than not we just hung out with friends, but when they were fed up with the city I could take them out to the Thousand Islands9, Anyer or even back to my hometown, Sukabumi.
My friends from more developed countries who visited soon realised Jakarta was just another big city. They were not coming here on holiday, but maybe just stopping off to see me before catching a flight somewhere else. A common complaint was that Jakarta had no character. It's true that it is not like Bali where you instantly know you are in a certain area because of its characteristic architecture. What they always said about Jakarta: there are traffic jams, no proper pavements, and the public transport system is confusing. If they weren't visiting me, I doubt they would have much interest in stopping by Jakarta.
However, the viewpoint of my friends from other South East Asian countries was totally different. One group came to Jakarta after a holiday in Bali. The only thing they wanted to do was have their photo taken in front of Monas. I had really never realised a city landmark could be of so much interest to tourists! In a way though, I guess Monas is like the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty if you don't get your photo taken there, your holiday is not complete. It was hilarious watching them posing and turning somersaults in front of our national monument.
That night I invited them to watch the shooting of a talk show at one of the city's TV stations. They were really excited about this! In their own country they had never been on TV, but here they got to be part of the audience watching local celebrities being interviewed. What they enjoyed most though was meeting Obama, alias Ilham Anas. In the Philippines, their fake Obama, along with a fake Imelda Marcos, was the star of a wellknown advertisement for a stomach ache medicine. I couldn't believe how excited they were!
Several months ago some of my exroommates from AIM boarding school in the Philippines came to Jakarta for a four day reunion. The group included Alda from the Philippines and Thi Met from Vietnam. I took them on a tour of Jakarta, and we also found time to go to Dufan, TMII, Snowbay and Kota Tua (the old city). They had a very positive opinion of Jakarta! They said it was clean, green, organised and modern way better than Manila and Hanoi.
Alda was really impressed by the statues in the centre of town, including Patung Pemuda Membangun, Patung Pembebasan Irian Barat, and Patung Arjuna Wijaya. "It's great that Jakarta has monuments like this!" Every time we passed one she had to open the window and take a picture. Thi Met was impressed by how green it was with its manicured parks dotted among Jakarta's well looked after roads. He also thought it was relatively clean because people here were aware of the importance of not littering! "How did they think to make a little garden like that in the middle of the road?! How do you teach people not to litter? My country is just not like this!"
Another friend, an Austrian called Yvonne who lived in Singapore, wanted to visit Masjid Istiqlal because it was the largest mosque in South East Asia. I was a bit embarrassed that, although I had been to other mosques, I had never once set foot in Masjid Istiqlal. Maybe because she was a bule we were asked to report to the office before entering. In his broken English the official told us we must wear the Batik kimo nos he provided for us. So, dressed like someone visiting a spa, we were given a guided tour of the mosque. We found out that within the design itself there were specific meanings. For example, the five floors represent the five pillars of Islam and the twelve columns represent the birth date of Prophet Muhammad.
It was not easy trying to translate all this into English for Yvonne. She had actually already done her own research and at the end of the tour she said, "What they did not explain was that the architect was Christian." That made me smile, so I had to take her across the road to the Cathedral. "It's great that the biggest mosque is right across from the biggest Catholic church in Indonesia." So, Jakarta is not that bad at all! We should value it more and find the positive aspects, instead of constantly complaining about it. This was perfectly illustrated when I tweeted what my friends had said; the replies were all negative. "Jakarta is clean and pretty? Maybe they are blind!" It was a pretty sad response.
Perhaps people should travel abroad more often so we can all learn to love our own country more. Not happy with Jakarta's traffic? Try Delhi. Got a problem with all the motorbikes? You should really go see nos he provided for us. So, dressed like someone visiting a spa, we were given a guided tour of the mosque. We found out that within the design itself there were specific meanings. For example, the five floors represent the five pillars of Islam and the twelve columns represent the birth date of Prophet Muhammad. It was not easy trying to translate all this into English for Yvonne. She had actually already done her own research and at the end of the tour she said, "What they did not explain was that the architect was Christian." That made me smile, so I had to take her across the road to the Cathedral. "It's great that the biggest mosque is right across from the biggest Catholic church in Indonesia."
So, Jakarta is not that bad at all! We should value it more and find the positive aspects, instead of constantly complaining about it. This was perfectly illustrated when I tweeted what my friends had said; the replies were all negative. "Jakarta is clean and pretty? Maybe they are blind!" It was a pretty sad response. Perhaps people should travel abroad more often so we can all learn to love our own country more. Not happy with Jakarta's traffic? Try Delhi. Got a problem with all the motorbikes? You should really go see how it is in Hanoi. Think there is something wrong with our toilets? You absolutely have to spend some time in China! And furthermore, maybe we should try just being a tourist in Jakarta sometimes. Taking my friends around has taught me so much about the city's attractions, history, culture and more. It's embarrassing to know more about some other city or country than you do about your own.
Tip: If you have a friend visiting your city from another country, there is no need to stress out about where to take them. I always encourage them to do their own research first about what they want to do when they get here, because everyone is different. Only then do I offer advice on what we should do so we can meet their expectations. Also, don't forget to take them shopping. The malls in Jakarta are extremely good, sometimes even better than those in more developed countries. And wherever they come from, everyone likes factory outlets!
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