Jakarta is a big city—bigger than most capital cities in the world—and it is constantly changing. This is more apparent to me now that I’m older. I remember feeling a wave of culture shock when I first came back to Jakarta after living in Germany for so long. The city is always getting facelifts, with its almost non-stop building and development. New roads are laid out, another skyscraper added to the mix and more constructions put in place. Always teeming with activity, the city is never finished. By now, finding new structures in the city is not much of a surprise anymore—but every time something springs up, you better believe people will flock over to it. And that’s exactly what happened last week.
Start of a New Ark
Jakarta is a big city—bigger than most capital cities in the world—and it is constantly changing. This is more apparent to me now that I’m older. I remember feeling a wave of culture shock when I first came back to Jakarta after living in Germany for so long. The city is always getting facelifts, with its almost non-stop building and development. New roads are laid out, another skyscraper added to the mix and more constructions put in place. Always teeming with activity, the city is never finished. By now, finding new structures in the city is not much of a surprise anymore—but every time something springs up, you better believe people will flock over to it. And that’s exactly what happened last week.
Start of a New Ark
Since as early as December last year, I’ve been aware of a project brewing for a structure to be erected smack dab at the center of the city. For months I’d been very patiently waiting for it to be open for public—until, finally, last March it is ready. Meet JPO Karet-Sudirman—a.k.a. JPO Pinisi—a majestic, uniquely shaped crossing bridge located not too far away from the office where I work, aptly named as it took inspiration from the shape of a pinisi boat.
Last week Agung and I finally made a beeline for the bridge. We just had to see it in real life. Unsurprisingly, it was crowded with people—not enough to suffocate, but too many for privacy. Though it’s a bridge, it feels a lot less effective for crossing, but more suitable for Instagram. Everyone literally went there to have their photos taken on the gorgeous orange-coloured bridge—including me, so who am I to judge?
Since as early as December last year, I’ve been aware of a project brewing for a structure to be erected smack dab at the center of the city. For months I’d been very patiently waiting for it to be open for public—until, finally, last March it is ready. Meet JPO Karet-Sudirman—a.k.a. JPO Pinisi—a majestic, uniquely shaped crossing bridge located not too far away from the office where I work, aptly named as it took inspiration from the shape of a pinisi boat.
Last week Agung and I finally made a beeline for the bridge. We just had to see it in real life. Unsurprisingly, it was crowded with people—not enough to suffocate, but too many for privacy. Though it’s a bridge, it feels a lot less effective for crossing, but more suitable for Instagram. Everyone literally went there to have their photos taken on the gorgeous orange-coloured bridge—including me, so who am I to judge?
The bridge is truly magnificent with its dramatic curvatures and wooden railings. The ground is painted orange and divided into two lanes—one for pedestrians, one for bicycles. Seeing the crowd it has attracted though, I doubt bicycles can move past smoothly. The structure actually consists of three levels—the ground level being the actual bridge part, the second level is a pseudo-balcony with a dedication plaque to medical professionals who died fighting the pandemic, and the top level is the roof part where you can have a better view of the Jakarta skyline and the rest of the bridge. It is truly breathtaking—I just hate that I don’t have a drone to take a bird’s-eye photo.
As much as I love the bridge itself, I don’t love the visitors’ behaviour. Most of them were pretty well-mannered, but some of them pranced around as if they own the entire bridge—complete disregard of everyone else there, though we all come for pretty much the same purpose (That’s what caused me to rant down below lol 😂 ). Most of them also completely ignored important aspects of the bridge. I didn’t see a single person who read the dedication plaque—and these are people who literally died so we could live on!—they just had their photos taken in front of it. They also ignored the maximum capacity notice of the two upper levels of the bridge—needless to say, it was never within the intended capacity.
Thrifted top + jakcet // Hand-me-down socks + purse // old hat + shoes // photos by Agung
Two-in-One Look
The bridge is truly magnificent with its dramatic curvatures and wooden railings. The ground is painted orange and divided into two lanes—one for pedestrians, one for bicycles. Seeing the crowd it has attracted though, I doubt bicycles can move past smoothly. The structure actually consists of three levels—the ground level being the actual bridge part, the second level is a pseudo-balcony with a dedication plaque to medical professionals who died fighting the pandemic, and the top level is the roof part where you can have a better view of the Jakarta skyline and the rest of the bridge. It is truly breathtaking—I just hate that I don’t have a drone to take a bird’s-eye photo.
As much as I love the bridge itself, I don’t love the visitors’ behaviour. Most of them were pretty well-mannered, but some of them pranced around as if they own the entire bridge—complete disregard of everyone else there, though we all come for pretty much the same purpose (That’s what caused me to rant down below lol 😂 ). Most of them also completely ignored important aspects of the bridge. I didn’t see a single person who read the dedication plaque—and these are people who literally died so we could live on!—they just had their photos taken in front of it. They also ignored the maximum capacity notice of the two upper levels of the bridge—needless to say, it was never within the intended capacity.
Thrifted top + jakcet // Hand-me-down socks + purse // old hat + shoes // photos by Agung
Two-in-One Look
Now there’s the jacket—which is my and Agung’s favourite piece out of the lot. I mean, seriously, look at this jacket. It looks like a factory worker uniform—which adds a distinct charm of its own. It comes in a gorgeous teal colour and the material is almost water-resistant. It gives an oversized fit for me, which both Agung and I absolutely adore. Above the left breast pocket the word ヒルマン is embroidered—which I take can read ‘Hilman,’ which is an Indonesian name (lol).
But, the best part is…this jacket is environmental friendly. The tag reads Cycle ECO—though I cannot seem to find it online—and claims that the jacket is made out of 50% recycled PET plastic materials.
Okay, let’s talk about the outfit now, shall we? As you may notice—there are a couple new-to-me items in this look. They were both purchased at a thrift store near where Agung lives when I dropped by out of the blue sometime in the past weeks. Gosh, I love our shared love for thrifting!
Let me talk about the top first. You probably can’t see it—since I forgot to have a close-up photo of it taken—but it is actually a heart-shaped pattern. The shirt originates from Japan—the tag reads The Sharkey’s Gallery, which a quick internet search tells me is a cheap (most likely fast-fashion) brand. According to the tag, it’s 100% cotton, though—that’s got to at least count for something, right?
Now there’s the jacket—which is my and Agung’s favourite piece out of the lot. I mean, seriously, look at this jacket. It looks like a factory worker uniform—which adds a distinct charm of its own. It comes in a gorgeous teal colour and the material is almost water-resistant. It gives an oversized fit for me, which both Agung and I absolutely adore. Above the left breast pocket the word ヒルマン is embroidered—which I take can read ‘Hilman,’ which is an Indonesian name (lol).
But, the best part is…this jacket is environmental friendly. The tag reads Cycle ECO—though I cannot seem to find it online—and claims that the jacket is made out of 50% recycled PET plastic materials.
Okay, let’s talk about the outfit now, shall we? As you may notice—there are a couple new-to-me items in this look. They were both purchased at a thrift store near where Agung lives when I dropped by out of the blue sometime in the past weeks. Gosh, I love our shared love for thrifting!
Let me talk about the top first. You probably can’t see it—since I forgot to have a close-up photo of it taken—but it is actually a heart-shaped pattern. The shirt originates from Japan—the tag reads The Sharkey’s Gallery, which a quick internet search tells me is a cheap (most likely fast-fashion) brand. According to the tag, it’s 100% cotton, though—that’s got to at least count for something, right?
This look unusually comes in two forms, as per Agung’s request. The first look comes with a kitty bowler hat that I’ve had since 2013—a fading trend, perhaps, but still holds a special place in my heart—with the jacket just dangling over my shoulders. The second look is based on Agung’s idea to trade hats, so I donned his sports’ cap instead. Personally, I like both looks equally—although the first fine definitely feels more like me. The second look, though, feels a lot edgier and somehow transformed me into a cooler version of myself in an instant—or, as Agung likes to call it, “no longer like a kid.” I can just stand around doing nothing and I’d still look much cooler than I feel. That settles it—I’m going to get myself a cap.
Which one is your favourite version of this look?
This look unusually comes in two forms, as per Agung’s request. The first look comes with a kitty bowler hat that I’ve had since 2013—a fading trend, perhaps, but still holds a special place in my heart—with the jacket just dangling over my shoulders. The second look is based on Agung’s idea to trade hats, so I donned his sports’ cap instead. Personally, I like both looks equally—although the first fine definitely feels more like me. The second look, though, feels a lot edgier and somehow transformed me into a cooler version of myself in an instant—or, as Agung likes to call it, “no longer like a kid.” I can just stand around doing nothing and I’d still look much cooler than I feel. That settles it—I’m going to get myself a cap.
Which one is your favourite version of this look?