Me and my partner are visiting Bali next April. Instead of buying ticket directly to Bali, I bought tickets to JKT (Montreal-CGK) since I wasn't sure if I should visit Jakarta or go directly to Bali. I've been to Jakarta long time ago, but my partner has never been to Asia...so this will be his very first time. A lot of people suggesting me to skip Jakarta because it's extremely polluted, unhygenic and traffic is horrendous...and most first timer would freak out. My question is how is it compare to Manila? I've been to Manila very recently and I just want to gauge how bad it would be. And I can't ask my partner if he would like to visit because it's a surprise vacation and I'm not telling him until one month before departure date.
2
lucapal
Though on the things you mention,I'd say there's not much difference. Lots of traffic, noise, pollution. ...
That's not a major problem for me....more of a negative is that there is (IMHO) very little of interest in either city to see and do,compared to similar sized cities in the rest of Asia and the world.
3
wus
After my 6th visit to Indonesia, where I never visited Jakarta, I thought (from old experience in other countries), if you don't know the capital, you don't know the country. So on my next visit I then visited it for 4 full days, before going on to Bogor, Bandung, Yogya, Ijen and Bromo. I had a full 8 weeks for this trip of which spent 4 on Java.
Looking back I wish I had skipped Jakarta and rather spend the 4 days elsewhere.
Jakarta does have some interesting sights (of course depending on your or your friend's interests), but for a first time visitor Indonesia certainly has a lot of much more interesting attractions elsewhere, many of which are also more typical for the country.
4
Laszlo
Manila is much worse than Jakarta.
Uglier, dirtier and more congested.
Jakarta has improved a lot over the years and is not as bad as its reputation.
Still, it is a big city with relatively few real attractions.
For many first time visitors with a stopover there, heading from the airport straight to neighbouring Bogor and maybe visiting Jakarta on a daytrip from there is a better option.
6
shr01
Agree with Laszlo that Jakarta is much better. One day for sightseeing is enough though (maybe an extra day or two if you're interested in eating, drinking and nightlife)
7
timdog
Never been to Manila, so can't offer a comparison, but I'd agree that Jakarta certainly isn't a "must see". Mind you, it is gradually improving, and the area around Taman Fatahillah, Kota Tua, is edging its way towards being a genuinely attractive place to spend time (there's also now a very good new hostel there - Wonderloft; Jalan Jaksa - after maintaining a lingering pulse for a number of years, appears finally to have given up the ghost altogether). I met a few people "doing" Jakarta (and staying at Wonderloft) as a stopover en route to Bali and other places recently, and they were "glad to have seen it". There are some interesting local organised walking tour and food tour - both self-guided and guided - in the old part of town, and a nice hipster vibe coming on that wasn't there a few years back. The old buildings have been smartened up too. If they keep going the way they're going Jakarta might actually be properly worth visiting before too long!
8
Thorn Tree
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