Touring Kemang

My family and I are really going to like living in the Kemang area. It is an amazing amalgamation of Western stores and restaurants, Eastern stores and restaurants, and uniquely Indonesian twists. Kemang has a central shopping district that would rival any open-air mall anywhere else in the world. It is more urban than what most people expect from a mall, yet quaintly familiar.

I started the day sitting in the back seat of the car, so I missed some good picture opportunities (and finally felt too cramped). When I finally moved to the front of the car, I started taking pictures. The first three pictures below are on the main street leading in Kemang. You'll see some familiar company names, none of which I actually visit. In addition to those, there was a Burger King, a Cold Stone Creamery, a Circle K (2, actually) a McDonald's (open 24 hours and with a drive through!) and Coffee Bean and Tea Company.







The area of Kemang definitely caters to the Expat community. There are two grocery stores that deal exclusively in imported groceries. I didn't venture into either of them, so I can't vouch for the accuracy of that claim. Purportedly, these are the stores you go to when you want to buy American food - Kellogg's Frosted Flakes, for example. There is also an Indonesian grocery store that, in addition to carrying traditional Indonesian brands, carry a lot of Western brands. This store borders the complex in which we will live so is likely where we will do most of our shopping.

Since I was in Kemang, I took the opportunity to visit the shopping center that borders our complex. As I mentioned in my last post, I have been craving a Burrito, so I went to "Amigos", the Mexican restaurant on the second floor of the shopping center. I ordered a Margarita and a beef burrito with red chili sauce. It was quite good and really made me feel like I was sitting in a restaurant at home.

I was pleasantly pleased with everything I found in this mall. In addition to the Western grocery store and the Mexican restaurant, we have a small furniture store, a bakery, and, my favorite, a book store full of English language books. As much as I hope to learn Bahasa, I still want to read my books in English. The below pictures are the shopping center outside our complex, the security to get into the complex, one of the International schools and an Oriental rug shop.









Two other things I have found common in areas that cater to Expats instead of the locals. First, you see more white faces than Indonesian. What surprised me, was the number of languages spoken. The foreign companies I am aware of in Indonesia that would import Expat labor are either British, Australian or American owned. What has surprised me is the number of French speaking foreigners, and German speaking foreigners I have encountered. From my other international travels, I know that most large cities - Paris, Berlin, Hamburg, New York City, Hong Kong - are a tremendous mix of global travelers and residents. Those are all industrialized countries, however. Jakarta has always reminded me of Mexico City, and I did not encounter such diversity there.

The other, less appealing, aspect of these areas is the price. My lunch cost me $16. An ice cream cone I bought this evening at the Baskin Robbins near my hotel cost me $4 for 2 scoops. I am accustomed to paying $3-5 for a meal when I'm outside the hotel, so $16 while not a shock for a similar meal in the US, was a definite shock for prices here in Jakarta.

The rainy season lived up to its name today. Half way through my tour of Kemang, the skies opened up and the rain did not stop until early this evening. You hear a lot about cities that are always overcast - London, Seattle - and the dour attitude of the people who live there. They are often accompanied by high suicide rates. What's interesting about the cloudy skies here - they don't seem overcast. I've only seen blue sky during the day once on this trip, though the mornings are often clear. Despite the lack of sun, I would not recall this trip as three weeks of overcast skies. The absence of rain has been more noticeable than the absence of sun.

Another thing I am finding to be uniquely Jakartan - if not Indonesian - is everything is in some state of construction. Whether it be a sidewalk that seems half finished (see below picture), or an empty lot between two newly constructed buildings, cranes towering over the skyline, or scaffolding on an existing building to create a new visage - everything is under construction all the time. The only thing I haven't seen is road construction - I can't imagine what traffic would be like if they were doing road repairs.