Car-free day breathes life into Old Town

Indah Setiawati, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta | Sun, 11/15/2009 8:34 PM

A schoolgirl plays egrang (bamboo stilts) during a car-free day at the Old Town in Jakarta on Sunday. (JP/Indah Setiawati)

Hundreds of visitors enjoyed a variety of activities held to mark the Car-Free Day in Old Town (Kota Tua) in West Jakarta on Sunday morning.

“This event has been really interesting because there are many different activities in different places around Old Town. I will come back tonight to see the fireworks,” said Ahmad Qurtubi, a visitor, displaying a bowl of crab noodles he had just bought at a culinary exhibition that was part of the event.

Fitri Kurnia Rahim, another visitor, said the Car-Free-Day gave her a chance to enjoy a variety of traditional performances.

“For me, the best part of this event was the Betawi Ondel Ondel [giant puppets] dance and Chinese traditional music performance,” she said.

The two performances were staged on Jl. Kali Besar Timur, at either end of a row of white tents offering various delicious traditional dishes, drinks and snacks.

Across the river on Jl. Kali Besar Barat, a number of visitors cheered on two groups playing futsal, and dozens of passing cyclists.

In front of the Jakarta History Museum, children and adults played traditional games such as congklak (a game of dexterity and speed involving shells or pebbles) and stilts (made from bamboo). A group of young boys wearing colorful costumes were a hit, demonstrating tricks on the stilts.

Also on display were antique items including old watches, film posters, newspaper advertisements and cassettes.

The Jakarta Environment Management Board (BPLHD) used the event to raise awareness of its smoking ban in public transportation, and worked with several scout groups who distributed stickers to minivans and minibuses passing in front of the Bank Mandiri Museum.