have racked up. If it starts to drizzle, they will quickly unravel tarps to keep their precious stores dry. The long bamboo tables here are only the tip of the iceberg. Pushing up and into this neighborhood will reveal hundreds of the same. (Take a look at a Google Earth map of the place to get a better sense of the scale.)
Another thing to look out for are the boiling vats of salt water filled with squid that sit above brick, wood-fired ovens. Workers repeatedly dump in buckets of these tentacled creatures, boil them for 15 minutes, scoop them out with sieves and load them on to wooden carts to be hauled away. The job is a hot and sweaty one, but the dangdut soundtrack keeps workers’ hips rotating and gives them something to sing along to.
HEADS UP
The fish drying done here was once all natural. In recent years, however, some unscrupulous business people started using formaldehyde rather than salt to help preserve the fish. A recent crackdown has helped to curb the practice, but it certainly hasn’t ended.
Back on the road, continue straight and follow the road to the right as it turns. Up on the right is another vast sea of salted and dried seafood—a photographer’s delight. Stroll among the tables and take it all in while still staying out of the way.
Fishing boats crammed cheek to jowl along the Muara Angke Canal.
You can continue walking from here, but a ride on a becak at this point is highly advisable. There should be a number of them plying this route, so wave one down, point forward and say Jalan jalan, which means he’ll just pedal around, most likely sticking to the main road. That road will soon turn left and follow the sea wall which edges the Java Sea. This is a favorite spot for local kids to strip down and leap off the docks into the water. The becak driver will stop anytime he is asked, so don’t be shy about having him pull over if there are things to be seen or photographed.
The road will again hook to the left and go upstream, along the Kali Muara Angke (Muara Angke Canal), which reveals the very poor side of a fishing family’s life. Watch for the large groups of women and children shucking clams or working at other money-making tasks. On the right are fishing boats, which usually pull out around 7pm and do not return until early morning. It’s possible to join these guys on an overnight fishing trip for a big adventure, and a price. If this seems a bit over the top, an hour-long or half-day jaunt on one of these boats can be arranged, either just around the area, up the coast, or even to some of the nearby islands. There is no set price, so bargaining is necessary.
The road will eventually turn left on to Jl. Muara Angke. Pass a school on the left and travel through the small Muara Angke Market before reaching the bridge where the tour began.
5 MUARA ANGKE WILDLIFE RESERVE
After crossing the bridge over the canal that takes you out of Muara Angke, take a taxi or ojek or drive your car along Jl. Pluit Karang Barat to Jl. Mandara Permai and turn right. Take this road to the roundabout and head west on Jl. Pantai Indah Utara 2. Just up ahead on the other side of the road is the entrance to the Muara Angke Nature Reserve, marked by the large wooden sign Pusat Pendidikan Konservasi dan Lingkungan Margasatwa Muara Angke (Muara Angke Conservation Education Center and Wildlife Reserve).
A few years ago, the mangrove forests and wetlands at Suaka Margasatwa Muara Angke (Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve) were mostly an afterthought, abandoned to ruin and decay. The conservation group Jakarta Green Monster has since adopted the reserve. They have helped facilitate the construction of new buildings and have joined with the Department of Forestry to build a wonderful boardwalk that winds its way through the mangroves. Jakarta Green Monster also leads educational tours, conducts species identification and holds occasional volunteer clean-up days to rid the area of garbage. The group’s ongoing rehabilitation programs work to protect the plants, animals, fish and insects that call the man-groves home.
Boardwalk at Muara Angke Wildlife Reserve.
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