A Trail of Two Cities: Jakarta v. Surabaya
There are two things that I am most certain in this world: first, that pork is the most delicious meat; and second, Surabaya trumps Jakarta. As much as I would like to convince you of the former, unfortunately, it would need more than just words and pictures. As such, this piece addresses the latter.
No city in today’s world is a better rival to Jakarta than Surabaya. Both are modern-day Indonesia’s two biggest, busiest, and most populous cities. Though Jakarta stands firm at the top spot, the opposite was true before the 20th century. The prolific writer Pramoedya Ananta Toer recorded the stark contrast between the two cities in Bumi Manusia (English: The Earth of Mankind):
Batavia alias Betawi is indeed not as crowded as Surabaya. Very, very clean. In certain places there are wooden trash bins, and people throw their litters there. Unlike in Surabaya. Here, there are well-maintained small parks with flowers everywhere, making life merrier with their colors.
If the quote above were written in the paper this morning, some would think that the editor must have gotten both mixed up. Luckily, it is not that difficult to compare the two cities for the following reasons:
- both are major part cities and were planned by the Dutch in the colonial era; and
- for almost every section in Jakarta there is a Surabaya-equivalent; and
- we have Google Maps and Google Street to see which is better.
From the north here we go…
1. Main seaport: Tanjung Priok (Jakarta) v. Tanjung Perak (Surabaya)
2. Train station of the old city center: Jakarta Kota v. Surabaya Kota
3. Train station near a major market: Jakarta Pasar Senen v. Surabaya Pasar Turi
4. The train station near city hall: Gambir v. Surabaya Gubeng
5. Colonial-time CBD — main road: Jl Kalibesar Barat (Jakarta) v. Jl Pahlawan (Surabaya)
6. Colonial-time CBD — secondary road: Jl Telepon Kota (Jakarta) v. Jl Kepanjen (Surabaya)
7. Old Chinatown — main road: ITC Mangga Dua, Jl Mangga Dua Raya (Jakarta) v. ITC Surabaya, Jl Gembong (Surabaya)
8. Old Chinatown — secondary road: Jl Pancoran (Jakarta) v. Jl Jagalan (Surabaya)
9. Modern-time primary CBD: Jl Jenderal Sudirman (Jakarta) v. Jl Basuki Rachmat (Surabaya)
10. Modern-time secondary CBD: Jl TB Simatupang (Jakarta) v. Jl Ahmad Yani (Surabaya)
11. Fishermen’s kampong: Jl Cakung Drainase (Jakarta) v. Jl Pantai Kenjeran (Surabaya)
12. The Roman Catholic cathedral: St Mary of the Assumption (Jakarta) v. Sacred Heart of Jesus (Surabaya)
13. The main landmark of the city: National Monument (Jakarta) v. Heroes’ Monument (Surabaya)
14. The hip mid-upper class hangout site: Jl Senopati (Jakarta) v. Jl RA Kartini (Surabaya)
15. The historical red-light district: Jl Mangga Besar (Jakarta) v. Jl Kembang Jepun (Surabaya)
16. The eastward expansion due to 1980s economic boom: Kelapa Gading (Jakarta) v. Dharmahusada (Surabaya)
17. Arab Kampong: Pekojan (Jakarta) v. Ampel (Surabaya)
18. Some random second-tier-but-wide road not far from city centre: Jl Warung Buncit Raya (Jakarta) v. Jl Raya Manyar (Surabaya)
19. The premium golf-view residence for the ultra-rich: Pondok Indah (Jakarta) v. Graha Famili (Surabaya)
20. The good ol’ med school: UI Kampus Salemba (Jakarta) v. UNAIR Kampus A (Surabaya)
In a nutshell
Surabaya is greener and cleaner than Jakarta in general. Actually, the comparison above favors Jakarta as some areas are funded by national, not local, government, making the head-to-head less fair.
Though in some pictures it seems like there is no significant difference between the two, bear in mind that Jakarta’s annual budget makes Surabaya’s looks like a loser’s share of the pie. Also, Jakarta is the national capital — the expectation should be to exceed, not to match, Surabaya.
For me there are only two areas in which Jakarta beats Surabaya: public transportation and bakmie. Come visit Surabaya and prove me wrong!
