Jakarta, Indonesia — Activities
Jakarta Culture
Yogyakarta may claim to be Java’s, and indeed Indonesia’s, cultural hub, but Jakarta has the best spread of venues and mix of domestic and international performers. Venues include Erasmus Huis, Jalan H.R. Rasuna Said Kav S-3 (tel: (021) 524 1069; website: www.mfa.nl/erasmushuis), a Dutch cultural center that lays on a number of regular events with an emphasis on live music, while the Taman Ismail Marzuki, Jalan Cikini Raya 73 (tel: (021) 319 3725; website: www.tamanismailmarzuki.com) is perhaps the most eclectic venue in town with everything from chiming gamelan recitals through to colorful Balinese dancing. The Puppet Museum, Taman Fathillah (tel: (021) 692 9560; website: www.museumwayang.com) specializes in traditional wayang golek and wayang kulit puppet performances. The Gedung Kesenian Jakarta, Jalan Gedung Kesenian 1 (tel: (021) 380 8282; website: www.gedungkesenianjakarta.com) specializes in both domestic dance talents and performers from overseas, Europe in particular. The city’s tourist offices and the better four and five star hotels are the best places for gleaning information on current cultural performances in the Indonesian capital.
Jakarta Tours
The local tourist office can sometimes organize walking tours of the city, which take in many the main sights. Gray Line (tel: (021) 630 8105; website: www.grayline.com) offer the Glory Morning Tour on a bus, which takes in the National Monument, National Museum, Bird Park, Keong Mas IMAX Theater and an art shop. The Indonesian Heritage Society (website: www.heritagejkt.org) at the National Museum sometimes also run heritage tours; ask in advance at the National Museum or contact them through the e-mail link on their website.
