“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star.” – Nietzche – Thus Spoke Zarathustra
If Java were a country it would be the second most densely populated country in the world after Bangladesh. It is the most populous island in the World and houses almost two-thirds of the Indonesia’s population. The product of geological chaos; Java is formed from a series of volcanoes. Historically, Java has been imbued by a melting pot of influences, once the centre of powerful Hindu kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, it now plays a crucial economic and political role as Indonesia’s capital.
I was fascinated when I came across this beautiful historic clip of Betawia, depicting the Dutch colonial capital from 1910, complete with horse drawn carriages and steam trains.
As the saying goes, “that was then and this is now”. Watching the beautiful flux and chaos captured in this clip: “Jakarta in 12 hours” makes for quite a contrast. This traveller’s clip takes in Batawia, various markets and the last commercial cargo sailing port of Sunda Kelapa. I must say I’m most impressed by their Carpe Diem attitude!
