Jalan Jaksa in Jakarta has been the backpackers center since the early 1970s when Bill Dalton stayed in one of the hovels and worked on the first edition of his Indonesia Handbook. It's still the center of Jakarta's small backpacking universe, and where local expat bloggers sometimes like to get together for a beer, but it seems that major changes are on the horizon. Like a shopping center.
Big deal. The neighborhood will probably continue to support guesthouses and attract the limited number of international backpackers, who will then do their beer and banana pancake shopping at the new complex.
Last month I had a chat with an expat on Jalan Jaksa who told me he’d seen plans to develop the famous little street, including a huge hypermarket on its corner with Jalan Wahid Hasyim.
I should state at this point that the talk occurred during my once-a-week afternoon visit, when - contrary to wishful thinking among hostiles - I have three or four beers and head for home before nightfall. So it was a clear-headed chat, not one of those rambling discourses that ensue as the night rolls towards chucking-out time.
Has anyone else heard of this proposed development? It would change the character of Jaksa, which is one of the few places in town where non-rich bules can enjoy a beer at a reasonable price. A Carrefour-type emporium would have a knock-on effect, bring in glossy catering outlets and quite possibly squeeze the little cafes out of business. Even now, there is a quite posh hotel under construction at the far end. Doesn’t Jakarta have enough such plush institutions- let’s leave Jaksa for the back-packing kids to save their pennies at.
Indonesia Matters
2 Comments:
Carl...
I think you hit the nail on the head with this one...
Things change and Jalan Jaksa is certainly not immune to change. It is constatnly evolving, particularly as establishments come and go.
The reality is that if the boarding houses / hostels stay then I would reckon those backpackers that come will shop, eat, drink, and be merry in whatever replaces the current crop of venues.
If they do not stay then I guess publisher's will be sending their respective writers to update their guides to reflect the next "hot" backpacker or budget hang out that springs up in another part of town...
Khao San Road in Bangkok, Bencoolen St. in Singapore and now Jalan Jaksa?
If the local entrepreneurs aren't forcibly moved on and get their fair slice of the pie, then so what? Jaksa has gone through innumerable changes, with constantly changing favourite eateries and watering holes, much as Blok M and Kemang have done.
This small rat run of a road is no longer a backpacker's bolthole. Our Kid and I, on our rare forays to Ya 'Udah, tend to play 'Spot The Tourist', scoring points for each westerner wearing shorts and an undervest. As I wrote in Culture Shock-Jakarta, "on some days you can be hard pressed to find any foreigners along the street!"
Where future travellers through Jakarta will stay, I wouldn't know. I suspect that they'll consult their Lonely Planet webpages, find a cheapish hotel and go their lonely way.
As will we all.
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