living in a city like jakarta it is easy to forget that the people we see selling food on the side of the road, hawking cigarettes at bus terminals, or collecting plastic from the open drains actually have lives, histories and stories of their own.
first time i saw jakarta is on november 5th 2007. i have an interview with petronas for my scholarship (failed) at petronas representative citybank tower sudirman street (Nov 9 07) and surprisingly when i wait my bus to kebayoran baru, hoodlums there seeing me in interest. damn its make me nervous. i have bad experience on that case. just forget it.
my destination on my first day is kebayoran baru to meet my older sister. and guess what i saw there (kebayoran baru traditional market)? destitution and vile. contrast view with sudirman street (i called it as the real jakarta). and that’s one of my reason i hate jakarta: vile is everywhere.
my goal here actually not just for my interview. i will work for an it consultan, helping him write some code.
and fisrt time to do is find a rumah kost, or boarding house. it’s like finding your groom-to-be, who, according to Javanese belief, has to meet three requirements: comes from a good family, has a good attitude and is either smart or has financial security, although both are preferable. and the problem is; i didn’t have any experience living in the kos-kostan
Since this is Jakarta we are talking about, being close to your place of work is obviously the number-one requirement.
I set the rules and I went through the details: no fussy owner, no curfew, fully furnished plus an air conditioner, housemaid, laundry service included, an en-suit bathroom, located close to work and cheap.
hahaa,, i guess not. its out of range. it would cost Rp 2 million (US$210) per month.
ok. actually the situation is not like that. i don’t have to find my own boarding house. everything is ready, so its become easy job. There was one for only Rp 300,000 per month, but the 2-by-3 meters room had no air-con nor even a window. Sue me for being picky. it located at gunung sahari 4 street. not far from senen station.
„The room is too small, what if one of my friends or cousins wanted to stay over?“ my sister said. it is lucky; 3 months living there, none of my friends or my cousins stay over. yes, yes.
i like the neighborhood: javanese, chinese, maluku, papua. pokoknya dari sabang sampai merauke ada. semoga gak sampai tahun depan bisa balik lagi ke jakarta. god, please!
anyway, i still disappointed with jakarta. and still hate jakarta. but i miss sarinah, senayan city, taman anggrek, and others. hahahaha…