Recently returning from overseas we bring you snap shots from our adventures in Jakarta, giving you a quick glimpse into the culture, design and shopping scene that makes up Indonesia’s capital city… (hero image: Jakarta Station)

Every Sunday, the major road that runs through downtown Jakarta is closed off to traffic and open only for cycling and walking. This usually goes from 6 am until around midday but you will find the streets are more or less isolated from around 10am as the heat kicks in pretty early.


Little police crew hitting up the streets.


The public transportation isn’t the greatest in Jakarta especially with frequent traffic jams, however everyone seems to end up where they want to go, even if it may take a couple of hours longer… this is where you’ll need to go to catch the local bus.


In terms of design, Jakarta is a city where you have to know where to go… a few years ago one of the major shopping malls dedicated their “LEVEL 1” floor exclusively to independent fashion designers and creatives, who took advantage of the space by opening up their own retail shop decked out with the funkiest designer clothing and some of the most unique interior designs I have ever seen… this image doesn’t really give it justice but it is one of the furniture stores we visited on this trip, located in Kuningan.


1/15 Cafe in South Jakarta is home to some of the greatest coffee and welcoming atmosphere. Their barista was recently ranked 25th in the world out of 50 contestants at the World Barista Championships in Melbourne, Australia this year… not bad considering he was the first Indonesian to ever represent his home country.


In a crowded city like Jakarta, there are really only two things people do here, shop and socialise. The number of shopping malls in Jakarta are ridiculous, but they’re built every year to give people something to do. This is one of the newer malls, Kota Casablanca.


Fancy malls aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and most locals hit up places like Mangga Dua. You will want to come here to find a bargain but beware, the weekends are super crowded.


In terms of an attractive looking city, Jakarta may not be no.1 on the list however there is beauty in observing how time and weather can effect the cities appearance. I couldn’t get my eyes off the water streaks that ran along one stretch of a concrete overpass… nature certainly leaves it’s mark.


Images by ChristelH