‘You can come from nowhere and become somebody here’

It’s a frenetic capital city where tea and golf are key to getting ahead — and where your neighbour might own a pet tiger.

Behind the chaotic bumper-to-bumper traffic, glass-walled skyscrapers and narrow streets of closely packed houses, Jakarta provides a fascinating introduction to Indonesia’s diversity.

The country’s capital is both a city of great wealth, where the well-to-do employ drivers and domestic staff, wear European designer clothing and might keep a tiger as a pet, but also of extreme poverty.

Indonesia, straddling the equator from Malaysia in the west to Papua New Guinea in the east, is made up of 17,500 islands. Jakarta is located on the most densely-populated island, Java. The city is a hub of frenetic entrepreneurial activity where hundreds of thousands of people — many from far-flung provinces beyond Java — strive to make their own fortune.

“There’s a big divide between rich and poor, but it’s still very egalitarian,” said Karim Raslan, a business consultant and columnist who divides his time between Malaysia and Indonesia. “Everyone’s got a story to tell; everyone talks to everyone. Perhaps it’s because everyone has a vote, but you get the sense that you can come from nowhere and become somebody here.”

About 28 million people now call the Jakarta area home, just short of the entire population of neighbouring country, Malaysia. Indonesia has emerged from the  financial collapse of 1997 and Suharto’s long dictatorship as one of Southeast Asia’s most lively democracies and its economy has expanded an average 5%  a year over the past decade, according to a US Department of Commerce report. Expectations are high for President Joko Widodo, who started his work life as a furniture salesman, has been running the country for a year, struggling to steer the country through a slowdown in China that has curbed exports and hurt the rupiah.

“It’s definitely one of the economies you want to be in. [In Jakarta] you are in the middle of things,” said Hanim Hamzah, a partner at law firm Roosdiono and Partners, who moved to Jakarta from Tokyo a decade ago. “Indonesia is open for business and wants to attract foreign investors.”

Over the years, Jakarta has been shaped by trade. Trade brought the Dutch and the British as they struggled for supremacy in Southeast Asia. The Japanese occupied the city during World War II and Sukarno, the founding president of newly-independent Indonesia, attempted to create a capital that was worthy of a young, modern nation, building the iconic Bundaran HI traffic circle and Hotel Indonesia — now the city’s symbolic centre — for the 1962 Asian Games.

Few gave Indonesia much of a chance after 1997, but nearly two decades later the country has survived, and even thrived. Security checks at hotels and shopping centres are a reminder of the bombings that rocked the capital during the 2000s, but Jakarta’s residents are getting on with their lives and foreign companies have flocked to the city, which is also home to the Asean Secretariat — the 10-country regional grouping is due to announce itself as a single market and production base at the end of 2015.  

A mass rapid transit system is even under construction, due for completion in 2018, which may finally help relieve the congestion that can turn a one hour trip to the airport into a three hour endurance test.

“People can be quick to judge Jakarta without ever really experiencing it,” said London-based writer and communications consultant Jessica Sallabank, who studied Indonesian and is a regular visitor. “Yes, the traffic, yes the smog, yes the concrete vastness of the city. But Jakarta has a unique feel and a sense of history.”

Before considering any business deal, Indonesians like to develop meaningful relationships. That is likely to mean many cups of tea, convivial lunches and rounds of golf before any agreement is reached.

Respect is an important aspect of Indonesian culture. Men should be addressed as “Pak”, loosely translated as “uncle”, and women as “Ibu,” for “auntie”, to be polite. A few words of Bahasa Indonesia will really help build rapport.

Soekarno-Hatta, about 20 km northwest of Jakarta, is the main international airport. Terminal One handles domestic flights; Terminal 2, international.

Visa rules are being eased. Citizens of Asean nations and some other countries can enter Indonesia without a visa for business or leisure. Visitors from 30 countries, including the United Kingdom, most of Western Europe, Japan and Korea, can take a week-long holiday visa-free. Applications for formal business visas need to be submitted in advance, with approval in three to six days.

If you haven’t arranged for a driver to pick you up, follow the signs to the taxi counter for limousines, including the luxury Golden Bird, which charges a flat rate of 320,000 rupiah ($23) to the city and is part of the Blue Bird taxi group, Jakarta’s biggest operator. Outside the terminal, queue for regular metered taxis — as well as Blue Bird, operators include Express group and Primajasa. The metered fare is usually about 150,000 rupiah ($10.50), but is likely to be more during peak hours.

There is an “executive” service too — also metered, but with fancier cars — which costs about twice the price of a normal taxi. The journey will take about one hour off-peak, but could take longer at other times. For metered taxis, passengers must pay the road tolls.

The Indonesian rupiah is denominated in notes of 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 and 100,000 rupiah. Coins are used for denominations of 1,000 rupiah and below. Credit cards are widely accepted and ATMs plentiful, including at Soekarno-Hatta.

The Hotel Indonesia Kempinski overlooks the central Bundaran HI roundabout and fountain. The hotel reopened in 2009 under Kempinski management after five years of extensive renovation. The Mandarin Oriental, Pullman Thamrin and Grand Hyatt also circle the roundabout providing easy access to major office complexes and Plaza Indonesia and Grand Indonesia, two vast shopping malls.

In central Menteng, one of Jakarta’s most exclusive residential addresses, the Hermitage Jakarta opened in 2014. A former Dutch telecommunications office dating from 1923, the hotel has 90 rooms, a swimming pool and rooftop bar.

 In South Jakarta, the Dharmawangsa offers a distinctly Indonesian retreat from the bustle of the city. The 100-room property was designed by Jaya Ibrahim, one of the country’s most renowned architects.

For business on a budget, Jakarta offers plenty of mid-range hotels including Ibis, Best Western and Holiday Express properties.

Pacific Place in Sudirman Central Business District, widely known as SCBD, south of Bundaran HI, has a variety of stylish cafes and restaurants and a food court on the fifth floor. Odysseia offers an Asian-fusion menu in relaxed surroundings and is popular with businesspeople, bankers (the stock exchange is nearby), politicians and local celebrities. About 10 minutes further south in Senopati, Le Quartier is a French-style bistro with a Parisian-style bar that’s perfect for lone diners.

At Bundaran HI, Grand Indonesia has a number of restaurants including well-regarded Benedict, which serves all-day breakfast. Union Deli and Nomz Jakarta are also reliable options open until late. Social House, a winebar and restaurant, is popular with young professionals.

Join Jakarta residents and escape the city’s humidity and pollution in giant air-conditioned malls with their luxury designer goods, restaurants, cafes and unique Indonesian products from batik clothing to bamboo boxes. Pacific Place and Grand Indonesia are probably the swankiest.

Visitors can discover vestiges of colonial Jakarta in the old town and relax over a coffee at Cafe Batavia, housed in a 200-year-old building. The National Museum provides a comprehensive if somewhat old-fashioned introduction to Indonesia, while Tugu Kunstkring Paleis in Menteng, the former home to the Fine Arts Circle of the Dutch East Indies, has been lovingly restored as an art gallery and somewhat theatrical bar and restaurant.

On Sunday mornings, vehicles are banned from Jalan Jend. Sudirman and Jalan MH Thamrin, the main thoroughfares through Bundaran HI, and thousands of people take over the roads, walking, running, cycling or simply hanging out and eating from the stalls set up by Jakarta’s ever-enterprising street food vendors.

The rest of the time, it’s hard to escape the infamous traffic so it’s best to be prepared — choose a hotel that’s close to your office or the location of meetings, ensure your phone is fully charged, sign up to mobile wi-fi or data roaming and bring something to read.