1. Photo: Ignatius Win Tanuwidjaja/Flicker
Jakarta may be far from perfect, but it’s our home. We’re tired of seeing the same macet/carmageddon photos that accompany most stories about Indonesia’s capital. So here are 24 photographs that will remind you of how amazing and lovely the Big Durian can actually be.
2. Jakarta actually has some great architecture, and when the smog occassionally clears up, you can really appreciate it..
3.
4. We’re a coastal city, remember? If it’s been awhile since you’ve been up north, maybe this serene scene will inspire a weekend trip.
5. Car-free day is always worth the early wake-up call!
6. The joy of simple everyday moments can stop you in your tracks.
7.
8. Have we mentioned how awesome Jakartans are?
9. One of the things we love about Indonesia is having access to all of the best food from all over Indonesia at our fingertips!
10. Our kaki limas work hard day and night to make sure we’re never short on awesome street food
11. Call us crazy, but you can even find beauty in the macet, if you look at it in the right light.
12. Of course, those rare times of the year when Jakarta’s streets are almost empty are beautiful in a much more obvious way…
13. Dealing with the traffic is also made easier by knowing that we can take a boat up to Pulau Seribu and arrive here in about an hour (still technically Jakarta!)
14. Jakarta is a city full of contrasts, and the perspective those contrasts create can be powerful.
15.
16. All the richness of Indonesian culture can be found in the diversity of Jakarta’s citizens
17. Jakarta just has this crazy energy that is hard to explain in words, but time lapse photography almost manage to capture.
18.
19. But ultimately it is the people of Jakarta, who smile in the face of adversity and remain kind even when things are tough, that make us fall in love with this city over and over again.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
Reader Interactions