I think you can already guess what Seaside Hell in the title is. Yeah, the Port of Tanjung Priok and it's vicinity, it's environment, it's social condition, and other things which are quite disturbing my conscience as a normal person. This area is so far the worst part of Jakarta. Jakarta itself is quite hellish, and North Jakarta is the worst from all five provinces in Jakarta in my opinion. That's why i decided not to rent a place so i can get near to my workplace. I prefer spending 2-3 hours just to reach home to staying in this area.
Flood, in front of the office.. wtf..
But there is one thing which is very unique from this hell. So many people ride their bicycle everyday! It's a very nice view to see so many bicycle in this harbor. You can see people ride their bicycle, every morning to work, and every afternoon to go home. Some parking lots are divided to three parts to accommodate cars, motorcycles, and bicycles. These are the simple indication that the bicycle culture has developed for some times. This is the place where bicycle culture has developed better than other place in Jakarta. I have never found a place like this before in Jakarta.
Which one is more fun, driving a truck or riding a bicycle?
Trust me, you can't easily find this kind of view in Jakarta.
But, isn't it strange? As I have written so many times in my earlier posts, this city is inhabited by car-based society, so how on earth can I find many people riding their bicycle in this harbour? Well.. There's an ironic explaination for this..
The car-based society theory is still responsible to explain this unique condition of Tanjung Priok. Most workers here are uneducated human resource who are paid very low. Most of them live around the vicinity of Tanjung Priok Port. Bicycle has been the most financially feasible mode of transportation for them. Because bicycle is cheap, low maintenance cost, and no gasoline needed. And since they live near the port, they can reach their workplace in reasonable time using their bicycle.
They who live a bit farther, choose to take the bus. Meanwhile, other higher class workers who earn more use motorcycle and car. And I believe in the head of lower class workers, they also dream to be able to buy motorcycle to replace their bicycle, but unfortunately their salary is only enough to stay alive in a very low standard of living..
