dʒəkɑrtə: ləv ænd het

My Jakarta: Gouri Mirpuri, Wife, Mother, Philanthropist

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 09:41:00 +0700

by Zack Petersen. Taken from Jakarta Globe, January 20, 2011.

Being the wife of the Singaporean ambassador means two things, busy nights and busier days. There are the dinners, the galas, the recitals and plays, along with all the embassy holiday celebrations like Cinco de Mayo and Canada Day. All the while, Gouri Mirpuri stays strong when the conversation takes the inevitable turn down Comparison Lane. ‘Oh, you’re from Singapore,’ someone says. ‘Can you compare Jakarta and Singapore?’ But My Jakarta is all about being different, so we’re not going to talk about that; we’re going to talk about everything else.

Z: Give me one do and one don’t for Jakarta. For instance, do try the Mie Aceh in Ben Hil and don’t go to Dufan. …
G: Do check out the young musicians playing under the trees on Sundays at Taman Suropati. Don’t travel more than one kilometer from your house on a Friday afternoon, ever!

Z: What is Jakarta’s most marked characteristic?
G: Its youthful energy and eternal optimism. Ha, you thought I would say traffic, right?

Z: What do you daydream about?
G: A rustic cottage with a view in Lombok.

Z: What natural gift would you most like to possess?
G: Tranquility, but if I can have it without losing my energy!

Z: What is the one thing Jakarta has taught you?
G: A sense of humor, an ability to see and laugh at the absurd and not get mad or upset or impatient with it. I’m from Singapore, we are a superefficient lot, so it takes a lot to chill and slow down and have a good laugh at life.

Z: TransJakarta busway, for or against?
G: For, for, for. I have taken the TransJakarta to get to a performance at Salihara when Mampang was totally macet [congested]. It was safe, fast, easy. But when I got off I had to take an ojek [motorcycle taxi] , not easy with an evening dress! I got there on time, though a little windswept! I wish the busway was better integrated with the rest of the transport network, though.

Z: What is your motto?
G: ‘There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in.’ It is from a song by my favorite poet and singer, Leonard Cohen.

Z: Where can we find you at 10 p.m. on a Saturday?
G: Mostly out, but wishing I was tucked in bed watching a good movie with a tub of popcorn.

Z: Where can we find you at 4 p.m. on a Sunday?
G: Mostly by the pool at home, chilling with friends.

Z: What is the one flaw Jakarta has that you have learned to live with?
G: Flaw? Haven’t noticed any — after years and years of good diplomatic training! You know, it’s really not the traffic. It’s the pavements. With better pavements we could just walk, like in most cities. Then the traffic would not bother us as much. I often joke with my Indonesian friends, please elect a minister of pavements to do something!

Z: If Jakarta were a crayon, what color would it be?
G: Ha, good one! Purple. Energetic, young, different, bold and with attitude. Love me or hate me, I am Jakarta.

Z: If you had only one day remaining in Jakarta, how would you spend it?
G: That is too sad a scenario. Saying goodbye to all the special people who have made my life so rich — my wonderful anak jalanan [street kids] at the Learning Farm, the young musicians who perform at Taman Suropati, the dance department at Institut Kesenian Jakarta [Jakarta Arts Institute], the eco-heroes from all over the archipelago, the darling anak pemulung [children of trash scavengers] at Sekolah Kami, the whole gang at Alun Alun … goodness, I need a week!

Z: I’m sure you play tour guide quite a bit. Tell us about a secret place you like to take first-time visitors to the city.
G: No big secret, it’s my famous Sunday Menteng Tour. A look at the beautiful Art Deco architecture, the superb water drainage system the Dutch constructed, the Obama school, the old immigration building, antiques at Jalan Surabaya with a stop at Pak Tizar’s wayang-look-alikes, Vietnamese coffee across the road, and finally live music at the Taman Suropati park. I would love to make a fun map of this before I go. Maybe my next big project?

Z: If you could take one thing from any other city in the world and put it in Jakarta, what would that be?
G: A world-class public transport system!

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:53:00 +0700

There are many holes in Jakarta streets~

Tue, 28 Dec 2010 16:42:00 +0700

There are many holes in Jakarta streets~

3-in-1 regulation Vs 3-in-1 jockey. Hate or love them?

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 23:31:00 +0700

3-in-1 regulation Vs 3-in-1 jockey. Hate or love them?

A keroncong song entitled Kemayoran, an area in North Jakarta

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 01:40:00 +0700

A keroncong song entitled Kemayoran, an area in North Jakarta

Jakarta in details

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:12:00 +0700

Jakarta in details

"If we’re honest, objective, Jakarta is no longer ideal"

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 +0700

“If we’re honest, objective, Jakarta is no longer ideal”

- Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, President of Indonesia, comments about the country’s overcrowded, gridlocked and flood-prone capital.

"If people are caught smoking in a building that doesn’t have a smoking room, the building..."

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:43:00 +0700

“If people are caught smoking in a building that doesn’t have a smoking room, the building owner ideally must be held responsible too. This is the kind of confusion that must be addressed”

- Fauzi Bowo, Governor of Jakarta

Jakarta is all about traffic jam

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 23:34:00 +0700

Last Friday is my first day working at Ophir II st, Pakubuwono, while my home is in Duren Sawit. It is a headache. Huff~ I took a transjakarta bus, a mode of transportation in Jakarta, and it took 3.5 hours from Simprug shelter to Kampung Melayu shelter. It was caused by the wrong mode of transportation I took, the Jakarta’s traffic after raining, and the peak hours of Jakarta’s people in the traffic.

According to Global Positioning System on my brother-in-law’s blackberry, the length Pakubowono - Duren Sawit is approximately 20 km. (PS: The GPS suggests us the shortest way)

I’ve been thinking during the weekends, 5 km/h is the velocity of walking speed, so I will walk from Senayan City to Pakubuwono (2 km). The problem is I still don’t know how to reach Senayan City from Karet Sudirman, the point my brother drops me every morning.

I also think to bike everyday. 20– 25 km/h comfortable bicycling speed. Bike To Work in Jakarta, love it or hate it?

Jakarta Free Car day is held in the last Sunday every month. Two...

Sun, 03 Oct 2010 22:30:00 +0700

Jakarta Free Car day is held in the last Sunday every month. Two main streets in Jakarta, Sudirman and Thamrin, are blockaded from 6 am to 2 pm. Love it or hate it?