java pt 2

February 25-26, 2026

We spent two days in Jakarta, West Java, the capital of Indonesia. It is a city of 12 million. The island of Java is home to over 55% of Indonesia’s total population of 284 million. Reportedly, that makes Java the most populous island in the world. The traffic conditions alone support that thesis.

Our excursions over the two days took us to the Masjid Istiqlal mosque, the Greja Cathedral, Jakarta’s Old Chinatown and the Wayang Museum. The mosque is very modern and huge. It can accomodate 30,000 inside and nearly 200,000 including the adjacent courtyards. Since we were there during Ramadan many people were inside fasting. There is a huge drum in one of the wings for calling worshippers to prayer. The neo Gothic cathedral was just across the street. Impressive outside, not so much inside.

Our visit to Old Chinatown included a lively Lion Dance. Then we entered the market area which was a stall-lined alley filled with stuff you won’t find at Costco. We also had to dodge a steady stream of motorbikes. At the end of the market was a Chinese temple dating to 1650 filled with huge red candles everywhere.

Our last stop was the Wayang Museum dedicated to the Indonesian tradition of shadow puppetry. There were examples of different styles from all over the archipelago.

None of my posts would be complete without a few pix of the traffic situation in this part of the world.

Next: Singapore

Mosque & Cathedral