Located on the island of Java, Jakarta is the capital city of Indonesia. In 2025 the population was estimated at 11,634,100. I’m sure we met most of them on the road during our tour.
We arrived in the crowded, dirty, wet and impoverished port. By our standards the area surrounding it would be considered slums. It was not a great introduction to what would eventually prove to be a beautiful capital rich with history and culture.
From the port we embarked on a bus tour touted as the “Highlights of Jakarta”. From the very beginning our guide lamented the traffic as we spent the better part of the first hour just getting to the exit of the port. Trucks, scooters (oh so many scooters) and other buses chugged along with us. It never got less congested as we drove further into the city so our intended time at each of the stops was shorter as our guide, and the other passengers, were concerned about a timely return trip.
Once in the center however we were able to see a different side of the city – one that was quite appealing. Our first stop was a shadow puppet performance, one of the most intriguing aspects of Indonesian culture. Despite centuries of tradition and the intricacies of the craft, we were offered an irreverent show in English, with the odd North American celebrity reference thrown in for fun. It was an interesting mix of the old and the new.
As we drove further into the center of town we noticed Dutch influenced architecture from their days as a colony; sprawling white public buildings surrounded by inviting public squares. The main square provided us with an opportunity to see people enjoying the open space flanked by government buildings. Following that we only had time to drive by the President’s palace, a sprawling complex well hidden behind brick walls and foliage, and the national monument, a 132m obelisk in the centre of Merdeka Square. Its towering flame commemorates the struggle for Indonesian independence.
Our last stop was the National Museum. We were able to see hundreds of artifacts recently repatriated from the Netherlands. A World News article published in January of 2025, after our return, stated “negotiations with the Dutch government have been ongoing since Indonesia’s independence in August 1945, but it was only in July 2022 that Indonesia formally requested the return of its cultural objects with a list of specific items.” Each of those items were lovingly and patriotically displayed in the museum, including knives, jewellery, statutes and more.
Whether or not there were more planned stops on this highlight tour or not we headed back to the port after our time in the museum in order to ensure we made our sail away time. Despite how brief our time was in Jakarta I will remember the people, always smiling and so proud to share their heritage with us.