'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