One foot on sea, one on shore

The Jakarta Post, P.J. Leo

Many writers have used references to the vital energy of ports, where workers scramble up masts as ships lie at anchor, taking on and discharging cargo.

Sunda Kelapa Port in northern Jakarta is part of the Old Town heritage site. It was built between 1634 and 1645 by the Dutch governor general J.P. Coen, whose ambition was to recreate Amsterdam in Batavia (Jakarta).

However, long before the Dutch administration reigned the East Indies (Indonesia then), the port had become the docking point for early European merchants, largely the Portuguese.

Now the port is home to inter-city trade, with ships departing and arriving from destinations in Java, as well as Kalimantan and Sulawesi islands, around the clock.

Traditional Bugis schooners or phinisi are a fixture at Sunda Kelapa, their silhouettes creating a distinctive image, from dawn until dusk.