DESTINATIONS ASIA | JAKARTA
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT:
Museum Bank Indonesia; Glodok (Chinatown);
National Museum of Indonesia; National Monument; Hakkasan Jakarta PICTURES: Shutterstock
Day onE
08.00: Kick things off with a visit to the National Museum of Indonesia, a palatial building resembling a Grecian temple. A good place to start is the beautiful courtyard. It’s home to a priceless collection of ancient Indonesian statues dating back to the 13th century. Elsewhere, there are galleries dedicated to everything from textiles to ethnology, and notable exhibits include neolithic-era tools found in West Java, along with a 500,000-year-old skull from Central Java.
11.00: Hop across the road to the National Monument, a 132m-high tower marking Indonesia’s struggle for independence. It’s in the middle of Merdeka Square, a sprawling park. It’s a great place to take some time out, and there’s a small fairground – a godsend for heat-fatigued children.
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12.00: Head over to Kemang, a leafy, gallery-filled neighbourhood popular with expats as well as backpackers, and featuring some fantastic bars and restaurants. We recommend lunch at Queens Head, which is as popular with locals as it is with foreigners. It’s beautifully designed, with Arabic-style tiling and sofas upholstered with Indonesian fabrics. Order the crispy pork and citrus-scented rice.
13.00: Make like a local and chase your lunch with a caffeine fix at nearby Chief Coffee, an achingly cool coffee shop (and barber) with exposed brickwork and colourful artwork by Indonesian graphic artist Dandi Achmad Ramdhani.
14.00: Plunge into the chaos of Chinatown, known as Glodok – the easiest way to get there is with a Grab (Indonesia’s version of Uber, which is unavailable here). It’s one of Asia’s largest Chinatowns and
a must-see is the Vihara Dharma Bhakti temple, built in 1650. Be sure to look up at the spectacularly ornate roof with its carved dragons. Afterwards, wander down Petak Sembilan, a cramped market street where vendors hawk everything from live frogs and hamsters to rainbow-hued fruit.
16.00: From Chinatown it’s a short walk to the Museum Bank Indonesia, located inside a former bank (look out for the original stained-glass windows). You don’t have to be a coin collector to be wowed by this museum. One of the rooms features currency from every country in the world, with banknotes displayed in frames, according to country. There’s even a collection of uncut Indonesian rupee notes.
18.00: For a spectacular sundowner, head to Skye bar on the rooftop of the 56-floor BCA Tower. Avoid the tables by the
beautiful infinity pool – you’ll spend the entire time ducking out of the way of locals pouting for selfies.
20.00: Time for dinner. One of the city’s most exciting restaurant openings can be found at one of its coolest new hotels, the Alila Jakarta, an art-filled haven straight out of a Condé Nast magazine. Hakkasan Jakarta is on the 25th and 26th floors. Dine on the roof terrace or in the moodily lit interior, with its floor-to-ceiling windows.
Day two
10.00: Start the day with breakfast at Blacklisted Coffee, a stylish coffee shop on the first floor of Lotte Shopping Avenue, one of Jakarta’s largest shopping centres. For something a little different, try their strangely delicious lemon peel latte, paired with freshly baked pastries.
11.00: Time for some retail therapy. ²
travelweekly.co.uk
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