Old Jakarta Sights

Kota

The old town of Batavia, now known as Kota was once the hub of Dutch colonial Indonesia. Today it's a sad vision of a once-grand empire and dozens of historic buildings have rotted, crumbled or been bulldozed away. A master plan exists to regenerate the area, but as yet little has been done other than pedestrianise a couple of streets and restore a structure or two. One of the main obstacles to attacting inward investment is that Kota is particularly susceptible to flooding.


Taman Fatahillah
 Kota's central cobblestone square, is still reminiscent of the area's heyday, and it's lined with imposing colonial buildings including the Taman Fatahillah, the former town hall.
A block west of the square is Kali Besar, the great canal along Ciliwung river. This was once a high class residential area and on the west bank of the river are the last of the homes that date from the early 18th century.
One of the most impressive is the red tiled facade of Toko Merah, which was one the home of Governor General Van Imhoff. there are plans to convert this house into a museum dedicated to the Dutch period. at the northern end of Kali Besar is the last remaining Ducth Drawbridge, the Chiken Marken Bridge, which dates from the 17th century.
To reach Taman Fatahillah, take the busway korridor I from Block M or Jl. Thamrin to Kota trans station and walk. Trains from Gondangdia, near Jl. Jaksa also run here. A taxi will cozt around 30.000 IDR from Jl. Thamrin.

Wayang Museum

This puppet museum has one of the best collections of wayang puppets in Java and its dusty cabinets are full of multitude of characters. The collection includes puppets from not only Indonesia but also China, Vietnam, India, Cambodia and Europe, and masks used by dencers. There are free wayang performances here on Sunday at 10am
Formerly the Museum of Old Batavia, the building itself dates from 1912. in the downstrairs courtyard, you'll find memorials to Dutch governor generals who were once buried here, including Jan Pieterszoon Coen, founder of Batavia
Be warned that we have received reports of a scam involving freelance guides at this museum, who pressure you into making exorbitant purchases after a tour of the exhibits.

Museum Sejarah Jakarta

The Jakarta History Museum is housed in the old town hall of Batavia, a stately Dutch style structure that was once epicentre of an empire. This bell towered building, built in 1627, served the administration of the city and was also used by the city law courts
Today it's typically poorly presented municipal museum of peeling plasterwork and lots of heavy, carved ebony and teak furniture from the ducth perion (plus a disparate collection of exhibits collected from across the nation). But you will find the odd exquisite piece, such the stunning black granite sculpture of kali, a Hindu goddness associated with death and destruction.
In the back courtyard is a strange memorial stone to Pieter Erbervelt, put to death in 1722 for allegedly conspiring to masscre the Dutch inhabitants of Batavia, and the huge bronze Cannon Si Jagur that one graced Taman Fatahillah. The Portuguese cannon, brought to Batavia as a trophy of war after the fall of Melaka in 1641, tapers at one end into a large cleanched fistm with the thumb protruding between the indes as middle fingers. This is suggestive fist as a sexual symbol in Indonesia, and childless woman would offer flowers and sit astride the cannon in the hope of becoming mothers.

Balai Seni Rupa

Built between 1866 and 1870, the former Palace of Justice building and now a Fine Arts Museum. Its houses contemporary paintings with works by prominents artists, including Affandi, Raden Saleh and Ida Bagus Made. Part of the building is also ceramics museum with Chinese ceramics and Majapahit terracottas.




Gereja Sion

Near the kota train station, the church date from 1695 and is the oldest remaining church in Jakarta. Also known as Gereja Portugis ( Portuguese Church), its was build just outside the old city walls for slaves captured from Portuguese trading ports. The exterior of the church is very plain, but inside there are copper chandeliers, abaroque pulpit and the original organ


Sunda Kelapa

A kilometre north of Taman Fatahillah, the old port of Sunda Kelapa is full of magnificent Makassar schooners(pinisi). The dock scene here has barely changed for centuries, and porters unload cargo from these sailing ships  by hand and trolley. Sadly the port itself is rundown and its water grotesquely polluted these days.
Ambitious plants exist to redevelop the entire Sunda Kelapa area and open new museums in the crumbling buildings, though these proposals have been stalled for years.

Museum Bahari

Near the entrance to Sunda Kelapa, several old VOC warehouses have been converted into the Museum Bahari. This is good place to learn aboyt the city's maritime history, and though the wonderful old buildings are echoingly empty there are some good information panels (in english and bahasa Indonesia). Under the heavy wooden beams of the vast old storage premises are varios random exhibits; a sextant (used for astronomical navigation), various traditional boats from around Indonesia, the shell of a giant clam, plenty ofp pickled fish and a light house lamp or two. The sentry posts outside are part of the old city wall.
Just before to the entrance to the museum is a watchtower, built in 1839 to sight and direct traffic to the port. there are good views over the harbour, but opening hours are haphazard
Further a long the same street from the museum is the early morning Pasar Ikan. Its an intense, colorful scene of busy crowds around dawn, when the day's catch is sold. Later in the day household items and a growing collection of souvenirs are sold

Glodog

The neighbourhood of Glodok, the traditional enclave of the Chinese, is an archetypical downtown district full of bustling lanes, street markets and shabby mall or two and some of the world's most decadent nightlife. It was also the site of the terrible riots of May and November 1998, which reduced huge swaths of the area to ash and rubble.
Most of the fun here is simply experiencing the (very) Chinese vibe of the place, eating some dumplings and browsing the myriad stalls and stores selling everything from traditional medicines to dodgy DVDs. Be sure to wonder down the impossibly narrow Petak Sembilan street market of Jl. Pancoran, lined with crooked houses with red tiled roofs. Its a total assault on the senses, with skinned frogs and live bugs for sale next to an open sewer.
At the western end of the market is the large Chinese Buddist temple compound of Jin de Yuan. which dates from 1755 and is one of the most important in the city, the main structure has an unusual roof crowned by two dragons eating pearls, while the interior is richly atmospheric, dense incese and candle smoke cloud the Buddha statues, ancient bells and drums and there's some wonderful calligraphy