Car Free Sunday

In Jakarta, every last Sunday of the month is a car free day. On this day, two main roads i.e Jalan Sudirman and Jalan MH Thamrin are closed to all vehicles from 6am until 2pm - with the exception of TransJakarta buses which operate as usual on the designated lanes.

The road closure starts from the roundabout nearby Senayan City all the way to the small roundabout just before Monumen Nasional.

The objective of the car free day is to reduce the air pollution in the city. Some argued that it is not effective as the pollution would only be diverted elsewhere.

Anyhow, the car free day gave the people of Jakarta the chance to utilise the two main roads for various activities.

So, last Sunday morning, 7 am to be precise,I managed to force myself out of my cosy and comfortable bed and headed for Plaza Indonesia. I arrived at Bunderan HI half an hour later.

Bunderan H.I (Hotel Indonesia Roundabout). Hensel & Gretel waving Welkam! Welkam!

It'll be heaven if this is how it is everyday!

Ko baring atas jalan pun orang idak langgor. Lainle kalo badan ko kecik sikit dpd jengkaut Tadano

Surprise! Surprise! The whole place was alive with a hive of activity. By the way ... Ijal ko ingat tak video aku buat aksi2 bangang ala2 Cilla Black kat residence hall QEQM? Boleh selamatkan video tu tak?.

Many were brisk walking and many more were cycling. Nampak best pulak. Fully geared with bike helmet, cool shades and the cyclist outfit. I'm sooooo going to get myself a bike.

Riang ria deme. Ada lari slow2, ada jalan fast2. Tapi ramei yang naik beskal.

L-R - Raja Man, Mish, Syuk & Steve. Steve... tetap over ngan helmet karer merah.

Pakcik ni sanggup pinjam beskal kompeni.....

On the pavement just outside Plaza Indonesia you could see a congregation of people with old bicycles. Some attired in old styled clothing complete with hats (like those worn by the British during the colonial era in Malaya).


A section of road right in front of Nikko Hotel was transformed into three futsal pitch. A tournament of some sort was being held.




Looking around I noticed there were many shutterbugs with DSLR camera. Jeles. Jeles. Ok. Forget the bike. I'm sooooo going to get myself a DSLR camera.

Ok-lah. Since I was already on Jalan Thamrin, lets see the hotels and shopping malls located along this road.

First is the Mandarin Oriental which is still closed due to major renovation works.

Plaza Indonesia. Directly opposite is the Grand Indonesia. Both are high-end malls.

Above Plaza Indonesia is the Hyatt Hotel

Ascott serviced apartments - located next to Grand Indonesia

Across the street from Hyatt is Nikko Hotel

Another view of Nikko Hotel from Hyatt

The multi coloured building above is EX Plaza where Hard Rock Jakarta is located

This is not a Pencawang Masuk Utama. It is the Japanese Embassy. The architect must have designed the building on an uninsprising day

Just a short walk from EX Plaza is Sarinah. One of the earliest malls in the city. Within this building there are plenty of cafes. There's also a 24hr Mc Donald's.

Ibis Arcadia Hotel. Three minutes' walk from Sarinah. Quite reasonably priced.

Further up from Ibis Arcadia is another Ibis hotel. Ibis Tamarind. It's the building on the right in the above pic. In addition to these two Ibis hotels, there are many small hotels along this road (Jln KH Wahid Hasyim)

Ok. Back to Jln Thamrin. You'll find Sari Pan Pacific. Next to this hotel are Starbucks and the Oh La La Cafe. Both are open 24hrs. Also, there is a Burger King which closes almost midnite.

So there you go. A short tour of part of Jln MH Thamrin. Visitors to Jakarta must take note of the last Sunday of each month. You don't want to get caught unaware which could disrupt your travel plans for the day.