DESTINATION SPECIAL HUT JAKARTA MADURA
Marvellous Menteng
Jakarta’s Historical Oasis TEXT & PHOTOS: CAMPBELL BRIDGE
E
arly in the morning I find myself walking around a park on the the edge of picturesque suburban lake. People jog around me for their morning exercise, cyclists leave their bikes next to the lake while they do some fishing or just have had a rest. Looking past the fountain across the water and the lily pads, mansions adjoining the park and large trees filling the park and lining the road complete an almost idyllic suburban scene. The most surprising thing perhaps is that I am there just before office hours on a weekday, with the skyscrapers CBD visible in the distance and the roar of ever present Jakarta traffic just audible. Taman Situlembang in Menteng is truly tranquil yet it is in the heart of Jakarta.
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LIONMAG JUNI 2012
While it is today perhaps Jakarta’s most picturesque historical residential districts, Menteng is a fascinating mix of modern culture and sophistication with delightful tree-lined streets complete with many historical mansions going back to the Dutch colonial era. The street layout and the many surviving houses clearly show that Menteng was designed originally in the 1910s to become a residential area for Dutch people and high officials. Many of the common perceptions and realities of life here – such as it impossible to pleasantly walk anywhere in Jakarta - are simply not true in Menteng. Walking the streets here is endlessly rewarding. By Jakarta standards, the traffic noise and volumes somewhat surprisingly do not pose an immediate threat to the pleasure of wandering on foot as one would any European city.
While Menteng offers much to do and see, you will get the most out of it if you approach it with a clear recognition of its almost European ambulance. The houses themselves are worthy of recognition not only for their architecture but also for their present and past residents - President Suharto lived here for many years and today a large number of Indonesia’s elite and many members of Jakarta’s extensive diplomatic community live here today. A stroll down Jl Besuki in the heart of Menteng will take you to Besuki State Elementary School - the former school of Jakarta’s most famous exstudent. As the inscription on the statue of the 10-year-old boy just inside the gate of the school says “A young boy named Barry played with his mother, Ann in the Menteng area. He grew up to be the 44th president of the United States and Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama”.