Fish market lures tourists despite the pungent odors
Fish market lures tourists despite the pungent odors
JAKARTA (Antara): Just like other large cites in the world,
Jakarta, in addition to having modern, shiny buildings, also has
other dirtier and smellier places. But such places can attract
tourists.
The fish market in Muara Angke, North Jakarta, is one such
place. It always gives off an offensive smell of fish because it
is here that fish are auctioned to be re-sold at traditional
markets all over Jakarta, or to be neatly packed and later sold
to supermarkets.
This area is active 24 hours a day; the fish auction is at its
busiest at midnight. Despite the overpowering smell of fish, this
market is never void of visitors.
Tourists can take their pick from the fresh fish sold from
special tanks and then take them to nearby restaurants to have
them roasted. They have to wait for only about half an hour
before they can enjoy the roasted fish. Besides being roasted,
the fish can also be used in various traditional dishes.
"It is nice to eat roasted fresh fish. The trouble is the
place is slightly dirty and full of smoke ... ," a visitor said.
The fish market is understandably full of smoke, and the
restaurants also look slightly dirty because they are managed
without much attention paid to certain aspects of cleanliness and
sanitation. Nevertheless, visitors do enjoy the roasted fish
although the thick smoke in the area can make some of them cry.
Yet the place is popular among Jakarta residents from all
walks of life, including celebrities and politicians.
A few days before the presidential election Abdurrahman Wahid
had dinner with Amien Rais, speaker of the People's Consultative
Assembly, and other politicians in the fish market.
This fish market is only one of the traditional tourist
centers which still manages to lure visitors. Although tourism in
Jakarta has been unfavorably affected by the country's heated
political situation recently, people keep coming to the fish
market.
As the country's capital, Jakarta is full of the hope of those
who have decided to try their luck here. As a melting pot Jakarta
has its own uniqueness, with its population of 10 million people
hailing from an assortment of ethnic groups from across the
archipelago.
Jakarta is an attraction in its own right among tourists, as
it is full of shopping sites, from sidewalks to supermarkets.
Although Jakarta is known as a cosmopolitan city, the mixture
between traditional and modern elements is quite obvious. Home to
people from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, Jakarta has
huge potential to be turned into a tourist destination: It boasts
a number of sites of tourist interest, amongst others the Marunda
fishermen's village, the Betawi village in Condet and the
historical Sunda Kelapa harbor.
Unfortunately, like the other tourist sites in Jakarta, the
fish market in North Jakarta has not been adequately promoted, or
perhaps it has never been promoted at all.
Tourists and Jakarta residents who know about this area, where
they can enjoy the delicious taste of roasted fish, know only by
word of mouth. Nevertheless, this place is always crowded with
visitors.
As a tourist destination, Jakarta, with about 30,000 rooms in
star-rated hotels, must tap its quite vast tourism potential such
as this market. In fact, increased tourist levels would benefit
the traditional fishermen, the fish business itself as well as
the restaurant owners.
If the tourism concept of "from the people, by the people and
for the people", is better implemented, a real contribution will
be made to the community. They will support the tourism drive,
which will in turn support the fish vendors and fishermen, many
of whom continue to live close to the poverty line.