Text by Terence Repelente Images by Kyrke Jaleco, David Robles, Kaila Canlas, and Terence Repelente Video by Jan Lorence Inocentes
Not much difference between Jakarta and Manila that I found myself in a comfortingly familiar state. In this country, Filipinos, who share almost identical skin color, facial features, and overall physique, can easily blend in without revealing their nationality, until after words come out of their mouth. But even the official languages of both bangsa and bansa (nations), Bahasa Indonesia and Filipino, are not chalk and cheese. Their Austronesian origins and European influences, Dutch to Indonesian and Spanish to Filipino, gave birth to a handful of lexical similarities. Unlike with Malay, however, Bahasa Indonesia isn’t mutually intelligible with Filipino. They are spoken alike (in intonation, pronunciation, and speed) but we can’t really make sense of each other’s sentences—English is still the common linguistic ground.
During my short stay in Jakarta, I spent one evening in Beer Garden, an open-air pub in Menteng, a subdistrict of the capital’s central area. The entire place is barely lit, with only mellow illuminations provided by the neon sign on the wall and the yellow lights, which brightened the bar’s inner shelf, projecting silhouettes of bottles in different hues. I ordered the local Bintang beer. The high-grade Javanese aroma of Sampoerna Mild cigarettes occupied the atmosphere with many familiar-sounding conversations told in loud alcohol-induced voices, all in competition with good rock music. One song, which resembled the sounds of American rock bands The Ramones and Dinosaur Jr., struck me in particular. The song is Past and Furious, according to the bartender, by an up-and-coming Jakarta-based three-man band named Vague. Seemingly amazed with my interest of the Indonesian Revolution Summer-esque trio, the bartender, who at first thought I was Indonesian, played his personal “discography” of the band. He told me a little about the independent music scene in Jakarta. I ordered another bottle of Bintang.
A glimpse of foretime
Almost all of Jakarta’s historical landmarks are concentrated in Old Town (also referred to as Batavia). Similar to Manila’s walled city, Batavia was a fortified intra-muros (within the walls) or fortress, a vanguard that protected the state from different threats such as attacks by other European trade rivals and native uprisings. With the main port Sunda Kelapa as its lips, Batavia was a military anchorage that kissed the sea, connected to the city’s throat-like waterways, and welcomed the colony’s shipments. Possessing key establishments such as churches, banks, and government halls, it was the glorious center for commerce and administration of the Dutch colony archipelago once known as the Dutch East Indies Company or Verenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie (VOC).
Today, the specter of Dutch colonization lurks across brick-paved alleyways, its cultural apparition felt within each corner of Old Town, through preserved buildings and urban design, from the grid-like blocks that are divided by canals to the flawlessly restored edifices, some of which were originally modeled after architectural marvels of Amsterdam, like the former City Hall, now the Jakarta History Museum, the oldest building in Central Jakarta, inspired by the Palais op de Dam (The Royal Palace of Amsterdam). In front of the History Museum is the open Fatahillah Square, which offers a stunning panoramic view. Brightly colored bicycles, busking street musicians, and giant red-faced Ondel-Ondel performers overlay the sharp white-plastered façade of Neo-Renaissance structures, which are full of hole-in-the-walls, concept cafés, and art boutiques, neighboring the plaza.
The Big and Furious Durian
If New York City is the Big Apple, this city is aptly monickered the Big Durian, with its strong scent of everything Indonesian and a scattered thorn-like cityscape. On its sidewalks, an abundance of different food stalls painted in red and white, grilling sate, or stewing soto mie, or frying gorengan, motorcyclists glued to their phone screens waiting for their next rider, and a wave of workers rushing to their offices. More than half of Indonesia’s economic circulation, 60 percent to be precise, is in this massive capital city. With a population of over 10 million, Jakarta is one of the busiest, most populated places in the world. Home to gigantic malls that provide the best one-stop shopping experience to visitors, like the Grand Indonesia Shopping Town, which is located right at the city’s heart.
Considered one of the fastest evolving central business districts in Asia Pacific, Jakarta is a nesting ground for future tycoons. The company Go-Jek, for example, which was originally established in 2010 as a motorcycle ride-hailing phone service, is among the ingredients of the so-called “Motorcycle Revolution” in Jakarta. Now it has progressed into an on-demand mobile platform and a cutting-edge app, providing a wide range of services that includes transportation, logistics, mobile payments, food delivery, and many other on-demand services.
Another trend in Jakarta’s modern corporate sector is the rise of co-working spaces. Co-working spaces allow small firms to rent an office for a year, or a month, or a day, or an hour, because the modern entrepreneur is now mobile. GoWork is one of the providers of this kind of service. It offers an ecosystem of tools and a network of services to help companies grow. GoWork is for the modern thinker with a desired proximity, for the dreamer who seeks structure, for the creative who needs tools, and for the influencer who wants company—a communal workspace. This growing trend of e-commerce firms looking for office space in the area offers a promising future for Jakarta.
Also known as the Golden Triangle or Segitiga Emas, Jakarta’s Central Business District has seen massive investment over recent years. With this rocketing investment, the Big Durian, is set to continuously grow and develop economically to converge with changing commercial and human needs. It is furiously advancing in different and new directions.
The ASEAN connection
Just recently, AirAsia further solidifies its commitment as a truly Asean carrier by flying its maiden flight from Manila to Soekarno-Hatta International Airport in Jakarta. AirAsia flight Z2 235 with pilot in command, AirAsia Philippines CEO Captain Dexter Comendador, left Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) with 100 percent passenger load. The plane was welcomed by a traditional water cannon salute upon arrival at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport. “We would like to open up the Philippines to more Asean countries as we are positioning ourselves as the Asean airline. We’re the only airline that can fly to almost all the Asean cities,” he said during the inaugural celebration in NAIA. More than encouraging Filipinos to travel to and learn about Jakarta’s cultural and historical similarities with ours, AirAsia pushes young entrepreneurs to invest and join the Big Durian’s furious game of business and e-commerce.
www.airasia.com