| Page Views: 153 Last Visit to Jakarta: July, 2008 | the eleventh largest city in the world by Glorija - last update: Jul 18, 2008 |
A bustling urban metropolis
Jakarta (also DKI Jakarta), is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. It was formerly known as Sunda Kelapa (397-1527), Jayakarta (1527-1619), Batavia (1619-1942), and Djakarta (1942-1972). Located on the northwest coast of the Java Island, it has an area of 661.52 km² and an official population of 8,389,443.
Jakarta currently is the eleventh largest city in the world. Its metropolitan area is called Jabodetabek and contains more than 23 million people, and is part of an even larger Jakarta-Bandung megalopolis.
Officially, Jakarta is not a city, but rather a province with special status as the capital of Indonesia. It is administered much like any other Indonesian province. |
|  | Weather & Traffic
Jakarta has a hot and humid equatorial/tropical climate according to the Köppen climate classification system. Located in the western-part of Indonesia, Jakarta's wet season rainfall peak is January with average monthly rainfall of 350mm, and its dry season low point is August with a monthly average of 60mm. The city is humid throughout the year with daily temperature range of 25°C to 38°C; Absolute maximum is 43.8°C and absolute minimum is 21.5°C.**
Road transport***
One of the most populous cities in the world, Jakarta is strained by transportation problems. In Indonesia most communal transport is provided by bemos, which are privately run minibuses.
Despite the presence of many wide roads, Jakarta suffers from congestion due to heavy traffic, especially in the central business district. To reduce traffic jams, some major roads in Jakarta have a 'three in one' rule during rush hours, first introduced in 1992, prohibiting fewer than three passengers per car on certain roads.
Jakarta's roads are notorious for undisciplined driver behavior; transportation laws are broken with impunity and police bribery is commonplace. The painted lines on the road are regarded as mere suggestions as vehicles often travel four or five abreast on a typical two-lane road. It is not uncommon to encounter a vehicle traveling the wrong direction in a given traffic flow. Furthermore, in recent years the number of motorcycles on the streets has been growing almost exponentially. |
Interesting info
Jakarta is sometimes called "The Big Durian" by foreigners resident in the city. The durian is a tropical fruit with a distinctive odor and acquired taste. I truly dont like it.
During the wet season, Jakarta suffers from flooding due to clogged sewage pipes and waterways, deforestation near rapidly urbanizing Bogor and Depok, and the fact that 40% of it is below sea level. | | |
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