Life as an Expatriate in Jakarta

As soon as I exited Lynas Malaysia, I started working for a Japanese PHE manufacturer. I was told beforehand that I was going to be sent off to Jakarta to take care of their PHE business in Indonesia once my 3-week training ended. I accepted the offer nonchalantly since I'd had some pretty cool experiences in Jakarta in 2010 when DCI sent me for a 2-week training on formalin and formaldehyde-based glue production with its Indonesian subsidiary. Unfortunately, I had to move back to Malaysia in Dec'14. My stay in Jakarta was cut short due to some inevitable circumstances.

35,000 ft onboard a Garuda Airlines plane

35,000 ft onboard a Garuda Airlines plane

Looking out at the cloud formation 35,000ft above sea level

Plane approaching Jakarta and on descending mode

Plane approaching Jakarta's airspace



A bird's eye view of the islands north of Java

The view of the islands from above

Safely touched down and taxiing at Soekarnao Hatta

Taxiing to the aerobridge at Soekarno Hatta

Jakarta is massively large. It's a city made up of 10 million people based on the Indonesian government census in 2010, almost 5 times the size of Kuala Lumpur. Hence, it's not a surprise that the city is divided into 5 subdistrics or municipalities to ease things up on the administration side:
Central Jakarta: You can find the Grand Indonesia Mall, Plaza Indonesia and JW Marriot Jakarta here. Most of the Indonesian government offices are also located in this district.
North Jakarta: It is bordered by the Java Sea and houses Indonesia's famous Theme Park called Dunia Fantasi,
South Jakarta: Most of the expats, designer shopping malls and affluent neighborhoods are found here,
East Jakarta: Taman Mini Indonesia Indah and Jakarta's 2nd Airport (Halim Perdanakusuma) are located here,
West Jakarta: Accommodates the Central Park Mall, Pullman Hotel and my lovely abode that I shared with my friend, the Royal Mediterania Garden.

The 5 subdistricts of Jakarta

Jakarta is infamous for its traffic congestion though I wouldn't describe it as chaotic as Indonesian drivers are much more well-behaved and well-mannered compared to Malaysian drivers in almost all aspects. What's more interesting is that it's always peak hour in Jakarta on weekdays no matter which part of Jakarta you're in. Expect scattered traffic congestion on weekends. By the way, driving in Jakarta for an impatient Malaysian like me for the first time proved difficult since I was not used to the slow-mo cars, bikes, trucks and buses on the road. Don't worry though as a few drives in and around the city will get you used to it in no time.

I remember on my third day in Jakarta, I had to drive all the way from Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta (our representative office) to Purwakarta to visit a client. It took me 3 hours to get there, a duration which was average. My friend actually warned me not to get on the Karawang toll road (expressway) after 1500hrs or I'd be stuck in a massive traffic crawl all the way to Jakarta. Unfortunately, I got carried away during the discussion with my client and happened to leave Purwakarta at 1600hrs. As expected, I got stuck in the maddest traffic crawl of my life beginning at Karawang. I reached my apartment around 2200hrs, totally spent!

Kebon Jeruk to Purwakarta

I've been told to avoid major places of interest in Jakarta during the festive seasons. I took it a step further throughout my stay there by shying away as much as I could from the so-called hotspots in Central Jakarta, especially the areas surrounding the JW Marriot.  The Marriot had been bombed twice in 2003 and 2009 respectively. These bombings and the 2002 Bali bombings should explain why cars are required to be thoroughly inspected upon entry to the car parks at all economic interests in Jakarta. And you need to go through metal detector checkpoints and bags are required to be scanned at all entry points. I went to the Grand Indonesia Mall, which was just a few kilometres away from the Marriot. Security was really tight. In 2010 when the Manager of our Indonesian Subsidiary brought me to Plaza Indonesia, security was tight but I remember they didn't have metal detector and X-ray scan checkpoints. It was only physical inspection upon entry to the car park. Security got even tighter after that I believe.

Me at Popolamama, Grand Indonesia Mall

The Prometheus statue at the Grand Indonesia Mall
reminds me of the Rockefeller Center



One of the Directory screens at the Grand Indonesia Mall

I happened to also have the chance to visit Taman Mini Indonesia Indah (TMII) and I liked the place very much. According to my SGI Indonesia friend, if you want to get to know about Indonesia in less than a day, the TMMI is the best place to visit. Well, she was right. There is a map of Indonesia displayed on a man-made lake in the park. If you take the cable car, you'd be able to view it better. The park also accommodates houses of various cultures and sub-ethnics in Indonesia.


 

 


I like Jakarta and I like the city a lot. Jakartans are extremely nice people, they are really helpful and courteous. The traffic may be horrible but it is actually just a small matter as you'll get used to it in a week or less. There are plans to build Light Rail Transit in the city to alleviate the traffic condition. In another 5 years, the city will further see a positive transformation to both its traffic and economic activities.