What You Need to About Living in Jakarta - As a Foreigner

Jakarta?

"The capital city of Indonesia"
"Traffic Jam"
"The city with the most number of mall in the world"
"The sleepless city of Indonesia"

You call it. Jakarta is most well-known for its traffic and the most populated city in Indonesia (around 12,7 million people are in Jakarta during the day).

As Indonesian who lives in Jakarta for quite some time, I am happy to share what to expect and not to expect when you arrive in this part of Indonesia.

1. People are busy but still friendly somehow.
In general, Indonesian are a friendly host to its visitor. Moreover if you are the blue eyes and blonde hair type of visitor. They would not hesitate to offer you some help if you ask for it. Though not all Indonesian are fluent in English they will try their best to help you out.

2. "Foto-foto, Mister?"
This happens when you visit touristic places. Indonesian loves to take pictures especially with foreigners. Do not be shock if someone come to you and ask you to take a picture with them. I remember a friend of Germany got confused at first, she thought people were asking her to take their picture but it turned out they want to have a picture with her. Coming to Indonesia as a foreigner or "bule" automatically makes you as a celebrity somehow. Enjoy the feeling of being famous. You can always say no if you think it is too much for you.

3. People are generally being friendly but it does not mean it is 100% safe and genuine. 
Living in Jakarta is a quite challenging when it comes to the question who to trust and not to trust. Being "bule" puts you in higher class of society. Foreigners are identified as independent in every aspects including about the wealthiness. Remember to bargain if you are shopping on the street. The seller may give you higher price since they think you are an extremely wealthy person. Be careful with your belonging when you are walking on the street. Robbery or pickpocket can happen to anyone including you. Try not to overly show that you are a very wealthy person.

4. Indonesia loves to smile and they are seriously not trying to tease you
When you are in trouble and share your story, you may see some Indonesian show a glimpse of smiley face. Trust me, we are not trying to mock you or laugh at your back. It is just our (or probably my) habit to smile while listening to one's story.

5. Indonesian tends to look at the bright side
Indonesian are generally happy in any condition. We may have a very sad and stressful moment in our life but overall we tend to choose to be happy about it.

6. Everything can be fried
You name it, fried banana, fried sandwich, fried ice cream. You can find fried version of almost everything in Jakarta. Sore throat? It is no longer problem once you get used to it.

I think that's all for this time, I'll share more in my next post.
Let me know what you think of Jakarta below.