Why I Love Jakarta

Rush hour in Jatinegara, East Jakarta

People say Jakarta is the city to hate. Pollution, people, traffic congestion, pickpockets, more people... What's not to hate, right?

Wrong.

I might be one of the very few, but I love Jakarta. I won't be one of those people who claim to hate the city but never leave it. I fully embrace Jakarta's organized clutter. I love taking rides on haphazardly-driven minibuses. I love taking public transportation while I people-watch as I stuff my ears with my favorite music. I love eating street food with questionable health standards but indulge the taste buds while sitting on stools on the sidewalk overlooking the glorious traffic congestion. I love how I can wait in front of my house for a man to come stitch my jeans or fix the heel of my shoe (yay informal economy!). I love bonding with other commuters over how bad the public service is.

I lived and worked in the city for 3 years and it did take some getting used to. On my first day of field work, I was held at knife point by a man in a bus while another demanded for my phone and wallet. Just a couple of months later, I punched a man at a bus stop for attempting to steal my phone. And early last year I witnessed the deadly terrorist attack at the city center.

Aftermath of the terrorist attack in Central Jakarta in February 2016

You'd think that I'd hate Jakarta and that I'd be traumatized from ever living in this city again. Well, I did sob unattractively as the thieves pushed me off the bus after they took my phone and I could still feel the blade of their knife nudging my back. I also yelled frantically and used all the Indonesian swear words I knew when I punched the man who tried to take my phone. I shook uncontrollably as I saw blood and dead bodies after the terrorist attack. It should have been traumatizing but I actually rode those buses and visited the city center again the very next day (of course, after those incidents I would always have two pepper sprays in my bag. Safety first :p).

It's like those toxic relationships you see in movies: girl loves bad guy even though she knows he's bad for her. They have a fun steamy relationship at first but the girl gets tired of the guy's antics. Eventually they break up or the guy changes for the better and gets to keep the girl.

But right now, I'm with another guy; Rotterdam. He's probably better for me; he's smart and mature, and he's quite the eye candy! He's seasoned and well-respected, too. Rotterdam is great and I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy living here. Everything is organized and sophisticated. Everything has a time and place. No clutter, no street vendors, no near-death experiences during bus rides.

Rotterdam cityscape from Euromast

Surely I won't miss Jakarta, right?

Wrong.

I miss street vendors. I miss morning and evening rush hours. I miss taking the train and complaining to other passengers that it never comes on time. I miss people-watching with my trustee iPod. Hell, I even miss swearing at selfish bus passengers who won't give up a seat to the elderly.

When I applied for masters here in the Netherlands, I may have mentioned one too many times about how much I love Jakarta and how I want to fix the city when I come back. Sure it needs fixing, but Jakarta isn't so bad after all; it's a great city with many opportunities. Embrace it and maybe you'll love it like I do.

-Dewanti