'Lifestyle' shows you where to find what you're looking for
'Lifestyle' shows you where to find what you're looking for
The Jakarta Post Lifestyle
Published by PT Media Dutaservisindo &
Integrated Information Pte Ltd
Edited by Hartoyo Pratiknyo
307 pp
JAKARTA (JP): Guidebooks ... horrendous to compile if only
because it takes ages to collect the names, places, addresses,
telephone numbers, fax numbers, and whatever. There is no place
for errors in a book whose purpose is to serve as a true and
reliable guide to anything anyone is in quest of. You wouldn't
want telephone lines running red by calls from irate readers
demanding explanations.
The Jakarta Post Lifestyle 1996 isn't an account of the
lifestyle of Jakartans -- that would be impossible. The guide's
introduction gives you an inkling of the composition of the
city's population, comprised of elements from the hundreds of
ethnic groups in Indonesia. And although one Jakartan may be
barely distinguishable from the next, when you scratch the
surface a bit you will find that the only thing the two have in
common is that they live in the same city. It follows that there
are just as many lifestyles as there are ethnic groups in
Indonesia, and that when you want to touch (not describe) all of
them you would need considerably more pages than the 307 in this
guide.
Ergo, The Jakarta Post Lifestyle 1996 is not about the
lifestyle in Jakarta but about the materials and tools with which
to create one. It is also compiled for expatriates setting foot
for the very first time in this city. Which means that it isn't
for the ten-day tourist, they want something thin enough to fold
into four and stuff in a back pocket.
The book covers 19 categories, covering the Governor's
Message, Introduction, Welcome to Jakarta, Neighboring Countries,
Classified Index and Advertisers' Index. Other more pertinent
categories cover Shopping, Dining, Leisure/Travel, Accommodation,
Art & Culture, and the like. Each category is then divided again
into sectors like Real Estate in Jakarta (Accommodation) or
Marvels of the Sea (Leisure/Travel) and so on.
The thing with guidebooks is that one is never quite sure what
to put in and what to omit. The Jakarta Post Lifestyle 1996 will
probably come in for a lot of comments about the categories and
services that should have been included, like how to get (or get
rid of) servants, and why isn't there a section of Indonesian
phrases. A book with all that would be harder than writing The
Brothers Karamazov.
Being absolutely precise and correct can sometimes not work
out at all. Say that in the beginning of the research (it
would've taken at least a year, I'd say) one fact would still be
very much of a fact, though by the time of the book's publication
that fact may well be inoperative. Like the "new pub located at
the Kartika Plaza Hotel" (p.74). The Kartika Plaza Hotel at this
point in time is about the deadest inn in all Jakarta; I've heard
that it's been sold to an international chain and is waiting for
the demolisher's ball. Another incorrect statement concerns
Manadonese food of which "some representative dishes can be
sampled at Trio on Jl. Gudandia in East Jakarta" (p.150). Trio
restaurant is a Chinese restaurant (and one of the best ones,
too) located on Jl. Gondangdia in Central Jakarta. Manadonese
food can be sampled at Tinoor Restaurant which happens to be
right next to Trio restaurant.
Another aspect readers may find a bit disturbing is the layout
in which articles are broken up and continued after a number of
full page ads. Would it be too much to add something like "cont'd
on p.39"? Regarding page design, take a look at p.96, where the
text ends like this: "Arrangements for such trips can be made
through..." Right under this sentence is a picture of the
National Monument, which, because it is also part of the boxed
section, creates the impression that the whole thing is one unit.
So I read "Arrangements for such trips can be made through Total
Service -- A Tour Agency's Key to Success" only to discover later
that the main text had nothing to do with the boxed text.
With The Jakarta Post Lifestyle 1996, The Jakarta Post, in
cooperation with PT Media Dutuservisindo (p. 22) or
Dutaservisindo (p.11) and Integrated Information Pte. Ltd. of
Singapore has ventured into the guidebook business. With the fast
changes that occur in Jakarta, a guidebook cannot be published
only once. And again, reading and re-reading, checking and re-
checking for correctness and actuality are a must.
-- Gus Kairupan