Directory takes snafu out of Jakarta's streets

Directory takes snafu out of Jakarta's streets

Jakarta Street Directory; Periplus, Hong Kong, 2000; 144
pages; Rp 145,000 (US$14.95)

JAKARTA (JP): Any snippet of information on how to navigate
through Jakarta's labyrinthian streets is at all times most
welcome.

After having brought to the market countless guides on
different parts of the world, Periplus Editions of Hong Kong has
done us yet another favor by recently publishing one of the most
detailed street directories of the Indonesian capital city which
is considered a maze by many, and where names of streets as well
as traffic regulations are in the habit of changing without
warning.

Researched and updated by experts in Asian Pacific
cartography, the directory has its facts as up to date as
possible.

Jl Yun Hap, formerly the northern part of Raya Lingkar Kampus,
the ring road that circles the heart of the campus at the
University of Indonesia, is included in the guide.

The street was named just a few months ago in memory of Yun
Hap, the student from the University's technical and electronics
faculty who died in September 1999 after security forces fired on
unarmed students demonstrating against the State of Emergency
Control Bill.

Beginning with the city's airport, newcomers to Jakarta can
bury themselves in the directory as soon as they arrive. This
smart directory is a combination of two maps, the first covering
the central city areas at a scale of 1:17,500 and the second one
detailing the outer rim areas of Greater Jakarta at a scale of
1:65,000, from as far west as Tangerang to Bekasi in the east.
Two other maps of West Java and the Thousand Islands in the Java
Sea, northwest of Jakarta are also included, just in case the
need is felt for a quick break, from the hustle and bustle of
life here.

To help travelers locate the exact direction of their
destination, a detailed street directory finder grid is included
on the front page of the glossy guide book. After the city maps,
a very comprehensive index showing the precise location of
streets, districts, suburbs, parks, buildings, hospitals,
schools, universities, embassies, government institutions,
industrial complexes and places of interest running to another 33
pages, is very helpful.

Also very useful is the translation into English, German,
French and Dutch of bahasa Indonesia terminology like gedung,
kantor (office building) and taman (park).

Teddy is well used to the streets of Jakarta as he has been a
chauffeur and driver with car rental companies for over a decade.
He feels that the Falks Street Directory which he uses at present
is easier to page through. He prefers the bolder color contrasts
in the older book and the consistent use of the larger scale of
1:15,000 which is easy to read while driving at night time.
Although the Periplus directory includes of a lot more areas of
Jakarta, he thinks he would need a magnifying glass to recognize
most street names contained therein.

"It is meant for a more literate group of people, while the
older book has a simpler index that can be easily read, even by
not very sophisticated drivers," said Teddy, who also prefers the
plastic pages of his own copy of the 1994 edition of his
directory.

-- Mehru Jaffer