Jakarta Indonesia...Tsunamis, Volcano Eruptions and Earthquakes of recent have had almost no effect on this Capital City on the Island of Java.
Here is a map....I circled Jakarta in yellow:
We are 6 degrees south of the Equator. This is a place of extremes of culture and people. Only observing from street traffic for 2 days, it is a Massive Metro...10 million people in Jakarta.
The Island of Java was not effected by the Tsunami of 2004, that was Sumatra Island that lost 200,000 + in that event. Jakarta is on the backside, not the Indian Ocean side which was impacted. Here is a Satellite Photo of one Neighborhood in Sumatra showing the before and after Tsunami effect on 300 homes (wiped them out completely).
Enough of that, heres a Photo from the hotel room downtown Jakarta:
The above shot tells of Jakarta in extreme diversity. A Muslim Mosque 40 feet from Luxury Condos, next to impoverished shacks in the middle of Corporate Metro. This is about 5 % of the downtown area and the other 95% is all like this...pockets of ancient poverty surrounded by active modern business. There is a type of freedom in this arrangement not existing in most Metro's. The classes benefit each other by proximity at a cost of zero urban planning. IE. nothing matches in the visual.
Huge is a small word for this place. Tomorrow we will have a tourist day before we leave on Sunday, and visit the one place all Indonesian Cultures are on display in a single park.. (Click for link )
More Photos and Updates for you tomorrow.
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