Jakarta: 25 Excursions in and around the Indonesian Capital. Andrew Whitmarsh

      Welcome to Jakarta!

      Raised in the Wild Wild West of America with cowboys as my heroes and bank robbers as my enemies, I spent my childhood climbing mountains, building forts and fashioning rafts to float the North Platte River. Channeling this adventurous spirit, I became a leader in the Outdoor Club at university before joining the Peace Corps and spending two years in a small, mountainous village in the Republic of Georgia. Hiking for hours through the scrubby green hillsides, chatting up leathery old shepherds and reveling in solitude, clean air and the tranquility of body and mind were everyday occurrences.

      Then I moved to Jakarta.

      My first thoughts as I moved into the massive apartment block of Taman Rasuna in Kuningan, which has a population four times my hometown, was that I had died and gone to hell. The buildings were too big, the people too many, the automobiles too dirty and the city too hot. But soon my instincts took over and I began to adapt.

      My first action was to buy a map and a bicycle. With these tools I covered massive swaths of the city, venturing into slums, joining street protests, squeezing through markets and following the canals until exhausted. I began to not only tolerate the city, but to fall in love with it. As the years went by and I continued to have incredible adventures, I knew that I was experiencing a Jakarta that most people are not exposed to. I heard a lot of complaints that there was nothing to do in Jakarta except go to the mall, and I knew this wasn’t true.

      And so it was that, four years ago, I began to scribble down notes on where I was going, what I was doing and who I was meeting so that I could help lift the lid on the steaming pot of mystery that is Jakarta, and in so doing let many others get a taste of the experiences they may have been missing out on.

      I hope that as you read this guidebook you feel inspired to get out and explore, to open mysterious doors, to eat curious foods, to talk to intriguing people and to do things you never thought you’d do while living here. Now go and have yourself an adventure.

      GENERAL INTRODUCTION

      This book contains 25 guided tours, most of them geared towards walking. Twenty of the tours explore areas in north, central and south Jakarta while five others explore attractions an hour’s driving distance or more from the city. Each tour contains information on how to reach the start point, the length of the walk, who the walk is suitable for, and facts on the points of interest along the way, as well as cultural notes and recommendations on where to eat and drink.

      Different tours have different functions: some delve into the city’s history, others focus on family activities; there are walks which link parks together for a green kick, while others amble through village neighborhoods and markets. There’s not always an end destination; instead, the walk itself is the purpose.

      Many of Jakarta’s residents, both local and expatriate, have yet to ride a public bus, rarely get beyond the malls on weekends and have never walked anywhere in the city for pleasure. This is not necessarily for lack of want, but rather due to a dearth of helpful information compounded by plenty of misinformation and a fear of getting lost in the city’s maze of chaos. What you now have in your hands, though, is a key to seeing more of the city than shops, and a guide to parts of the labyrinth of streets which make up Jakarta.

      The purpose of the walking tours is to introduce you to weird, wild and wonderful places—places in Jakarta you may not have known existed. This will require you to call upon your inner adventurer, cast aside preconceived notions about the city and its people, and ignore the paranoid warnings from your company, your embassy and your friends. So strap on your adventure shoes and pack your adventure bag; it’s time to take some incredible photos, experience things that will spice up your emails home and live a life more fulfilling. Very little in Jakarta is what it seems to be. It may take some time to discover this, but like the delicious es campur (mixed ice), there is always another layer to be discovered if you dig a little deeper.

      First and foremost, though, it’s time to shelve the fear of the unknown. Jakarta is no more dangerous than any other capital city in the world. To make matters even better, the local people are helpful, courteous and approachable. Rather than run from them, greet them. Rather than shy from what may be around the corner, take a peek.

      This is not to sugarcoat the city however. The air quality can be poor, the sidewalks rough or non-existent, the environment hot and humid, the traffic frustrating and the lack of amenities inconvenient. Going on walks in Jakarta requires you to leave home with the resolution not to be critical, to

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