Jakarta, an authentic capital with a sinking fate.

Jakarta is one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in Southeast Asia. In 2024, Indonesia formally inaugurated Nusantara on the island of Borneo as its new capital city, marking a historic moment in the nation’s development and governance. However, since Java was the first Indonesian island I was going to explore, it was natural to start in the old capital, which is also the largest urban area in Indonesia, as well as the second largest in the world (after Tokyo).

First impression

Now, almost all my trips start in a completely new country for me. This is obviously what drives me, but I still get a little anxious at first. What will it bring? When I arrive early in the day and my research indicates convenient public transportation, I will always opt for that. On the other hand, if I arrive late in a big city, I find it safer to book a car that picks me up at the airport; this was the case in Jakarta. At first, the city seemed a bit messy and large, of course. But, in the sunlight the next day, it all became clearer.

Sunrise means get out, explore!

Often, I check the sunrise time for the following morning and set the alarm a little before. Then I look out to see if it will be sunny. And if it is, there is no reason for going back to bed. To go out, when the temperature is still not too high, find a place for a coffee, and walk the streets together with the local people going for work, ah, that’s luxury, I am on holiday, and can take my time, stop up and enjoy, and take in the scenery.

The sinking capital

Jakarta is sinking rapidly, reaching as high as 25 cm per year in some areas. Excessive extraction of groundwater for drinking water is a primary cause. This is the main reason Indonesia is moving its capital. When I hear they are moving their capital, I picture them packing up all their belongings and starting to move. But it is not really the way it happens. There are still quite a few building sites under construction, and the city pretty much looks like a hardworking city.

The lack of signal buildings

In my research, I found that Jakarta is not a major tourist destination, and it lacks the number of signal buildings found in cities like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. However, one of these buildings is the Istiqlal Mosque, “Mosque of the Independence”. Indonesia’s largest mosque, and also the largest in Southeast Asia. Built to commemorate Indonesian independence in 1945, and opened in 1978. I visited this place twice, first on my own on day one. Two days later, I joined a “Free guide walk”, and it was included there as well. I have many opinions on religions, and I won’t share all my prejudices here, but when I peeked into the women’s side, they seemed very colourful and had a nice time meeting in their house of worship.

Guru Walk

There are several ways to see a new city for the first time. The most common for me is, of course, to just put on good shoes and start walking. Many towns have hop-on, hop-off buses. Besides that, you also have the big, well-known companies that arrange city tours. However, when I visit cities with limited, obviously interesting places, I sometimes check out the Guru Walk app. They proclaim to have the best free walking tour guides in the world. I have used them a few times, and what is nice is that they’re not professional guides, but rather young people who love their city and enjoy sharing it with tourists, highlighting the hidden gems. SO, that was what I did in Jakarta.

The heavens opened

Indonesia’s climate is tropical, featuring consistently high temperatures and humidity throughout the year. The area experiences a dry season from April to October. The daytime heat is definitely something that makes me suffer, but that was expected. However, during my three days in Jakarta, it rained for a few hours every evening, and I think I experienced the heaviest rain of my life. I was having dinner on the hotel’s roof terrace when the rain made so much noise that I could hardly hear the waiter’s instructions.

Since I didn’t have too high expectations for Jakarta, it surprised me in many ways. It was cleaner and tidier than I expected. The guide was hilarious and informative. And in the end, you learn quite a lot from visiting the capital of a country, even if it is now an ex-capital. The guide said that the people of Jakarta’s big worry was that they would be left behind, now that the government and official offices will move to a new city.