Six Facts You Didn’t Know About Jakarta - What You Should Know of the Capital City of Indonesia

It may be the capital, which governs the whole of Indonesia, but it isn't a city in the literal sense, but a province which stretches out for several hundreds of square kilometres. The sheer area of Jakarta has secured its title as a province.

Before the city's name was settled to Jakarta, it has gone through several changes in the past, which can be counted up to thirteen times according to the existing records. Its initial name was Sunda Kelapa when it held status as the port city of the Kingdom of Pajajaran during the 14th century. Over the course of the years, it transformed from Jayakarta, Batavia, Djakarta, and many more until settling with the name it has today.

With a whopping 130 shopping malls peppering the city, Jakarta is considered as a city with the highest number of shopping malls than any other city in the world. You can't avoid coming across these mega money-grabbers when you travel in this city; not when they seem to spring up like mushrooms at most corners and many a Sudirman apartment. Lying adjacent to many properties the likes of Ascott Sudirman Jakarta is Plaza Semanggi, which is a favourite place of many Indonesians to have their lunch and shop at their pace. Expect this and more when you shop in Jakarta, the land of many shopping malls.

With over 3 million people commuting in and out of Jakarta on a daily basis, it isn't surprising that Jakarta was once ranked as the city with the worst traffic in the world, based on satellite reports. It is believed that a Jakartan spends an average of ten years in traffic, which wouldn't be that difficult to believe the moment you try to travel in this humongous city. However, several attempts have been taken to limit the traffic, with vehicles with odd numbers being allowed on odd days and the even-numbered plates on the rest of the days.

Behind the modern façade of hundreds of shopping malls and the never-ending traffic flow, Jakarta has succeeded in preserving its rich heritage with a myriad of museums. If you've had enough of mall-hopping, think of visiting one of these museums where you can learn an interesting bit of the history of Indonesia in a fascinating way.

Although patting or touching the head is taken as an affectionate act in some parts of the world, it is not the case in Jakarta and many other places in Indonesia. Indonesians consider the head as the place where the spirit resides, thus patting on their heads can cause great distress. Although the chances that you might pat on the head of a local is rather slim, it is always good to be aware of the local beliefs of the place you are at any given time.