In the city
There 's one thing that I can never get used to in Jakarta - the traffic. As I slowly surfed my way through the crowded street of Sudirman, while the taxi getting pushed and pinned by Metrominis and Kopajas, I was thinking, will I ever get used to traffic? Seconds later, I was dreaming of a utopia, a city with sensible amount of vehicles, just right amount to enable them to travel in the medium-size streets of Jakarta without having to knock the next car's bumper down.
This is anybody's dream, I'm sure. It sometimes realized, on rare ocassions like Idul Fitri, New Year or other long holidays. Unfortunately, I never experienced it, since I am also one of the "pendatang" who are more eager to get out of the megacity, back to her lovely (but now also crowded) home town.
Jakarta, home of 7,564,506 souls (according to the Population Service) living in the city at night and add another 5,5 million during the days because of the commuters who live in the satellite cities around Jakarta. How many years ahead, the city will be swamped with urbanization, people looking for jobs, education, opportunities in the city. It hasn't lost its magnet, despite the government feeble attempts to create more even development in rural areas.
If it's up to me, I'd move out from this bustling city, to my hometown, or somewhere quiet, and start living in this small place. With people who knows you, who will smile at you, not because they want something from you. People who will do you favor just because you need it, not due to the return they might get. These values as I noticed have vanished from the modern and 'developed' Jakarta. People would rather pay for security guarding shift, rather than do it themselves. People would rather pay contribution for Independence day neighborhood clean-up, rather than having their clothes dirty and sweats all over.
Where is my utopia? As my taxi escaped from the hard and suffocating jam, I pulled myself to the now and here. Tonight I'm done with Jakarta...
