Talking Location with author Julian Lees – Jakarta (and a quick trip to Bali)

16th June 2018

#TalkingLocationWith…. author Julian Lees, whose book The Burnings is set in Jakarta.

Jakarta. The Big Durian. A sprawling metropolis of ten million souls, where colourful street markets, perfumed luxury spas, exotic batiks, stunning rooftops and wonderful restaurants vie with ten-mile traffic jams, honking buses, cockroach-encrusted alleys, horrible air and rubbish-clogged drains. Step out from your gamelan-permeated hotel lobby and you immediately taste the polluted tropical city and hear the soundtrack of blaring horns.

The Jakarta Skyline

Yep, this place both infuriates one minute yet induces a smile the next. Where else would you narrowly avoid being flattened by a scooter hurtling the wrong way down a one-way street, only for the driver to stop and make amends by offering you a live chicken from his wicker basket?

Like anywhere there are pros and cons to this chaotic mega city but whether you’re into volcano hopping (take a day trip to Krakatoa) or cold-brew coffee tasting (the J-Town coffee tour is fun) or lounging by a landscaped swimming pool (Shangri-La Hotel) or raving until dawn tearing up sticky dance floors (Dragonfly Club) there’s something for everyone in Jakarta.

Seribu Rasa

But for me, nothing beats the food. My favourite restaurant is Seribu Rasa in Menteng.  Inspector Ruud Pujasumarta, the protagonist of The Bone Ritual series, comes here too. Pujasumarta is keen on the lemon grass chicken. I always order the grilled jumbo squid together with an oyster omelette.

Oyster Omelette

The author enjoying an Indonesian lunch

You should also head to Pentak Sembilan street market for the pempek (fried fish cakes served with a rich sweet and sour sauce). Some of the warungs (street stalls) dish up the best grub in the city. Thirsty? Try a cincau. An odd jelly-like drink made with grass jelly, shredded ice and sugar. For something a bit stronger head to Lucy in the Sky (Sudirman Central Business District), a rooftop bar with great views and wicked mojitos.

I am often asked why I chose Jakarta as a setting for my crime novels The Bone Ritual and The Burnings. Simple. I put it down to the three Gs: grit, grime and glamour. With every passing month new hotels and glitzy eateries open. There are bars which can rival any in the world for glamour and design, but there is a dark underbelly to this place not visible to the average traveller; an illicit undercurrent, a liberal peppering of juvenile pickpockets, shady characters, jatah preman (street thugs) and gangland enforcers.

Researching locations, I was fortunate to meet a former policeman, a Javanese gentleman called Hami, who now works in residential security protection. Hami opened many bureaucratic doors and introduced several of his ex-colleagues to me, and together they gave me the inside knowledge I needed. Without their help I would never have navigated this unpredictable and unseen side of Jakarta.

Having said that, The Big Durian is a relatively safe city. When you need to go anywhere, don’t walk (the pavements are in terrible disrepair) and avoid the motorbike touts at all costs. The taxis are metred, inexpensive and reliable (I always choose a Bluebird taxi at the cab stands over its rival Gamya). And don’t be afraid to talk to the locals – the people are affable, polite and forever curious of foreigners. Off the beaten track, head to Bogor, located 40 miles south of the capital. Here you will discover several excellent museums, the Bogor Botanical Gardens and the presidential palace, which features strongly in my novel The Bone Ritual. I can also recommend a visit to Sunda Kelapa Port by day, home to one of the world’s last sea-faring sailing fleets. Here you can follow in the footsteps of Ruud Pujasumarta and witness the vast twin-masted schooners, loaded with cargo, sailing to and from the nearby islands.

Sunda Kelapa Port

However, much as I love Jakarta, I like to break up my working trips with weekends in Bali and there is no finer place to chill than Casa Hannah in Oberoi. Casa Hannah is all about understated luxury, beautiful accommodation with marvelous, friendly service. This place to me is home away from home and I like to start the day with the feel of the Balinese sun on my face, sipping a steaming cup of Toraja coffee with the sounds of flowerpeckers and sunbirds twittering in the trees.

Casa Hannah, Bali

Later, I hop over to Grain (Jalan Seminyak 16B) for brunch and a healthy beetroot latte. Then perhaps a midday swim and an afternoon drive to Ubud to visit the stunning green Tegallalang rice terraces and an ice-cold beer enjoyed under the shade of a coconut palm. What more can one ask for?

Thank you so much to Julian for such fab insights into Indonesia! You can follow him on Twitter, and Facebook and of course you can buy a copy of the book through the TripFiction website

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