The city of the blessed... Or the damned??

Jakarta is like a two-faced, backtabbing whore. It's like a grotesque version of Regina George. It is indeed the "queen bee" of Indonesia: Every other cities try to be like it, competing each other to reach the most modern technology or the latest cutting-edge trend. Of course, Jakarta is far too unreachable for them, her own face had been retouched and remodelled countless times with layers of botox that it's barely possible to reveal her true self anymore.

On one side, you can indulge yourself in the fabulous taste of luxury, the pleasure of being able to get anything you want. You name it: Latest fashion lines by world's famous designers, high-end restaurants serving food from all over the world, nightclubs ranging from sleazy to glamorous, over-indulgent spa boutiques that treat your body like gold, a shot of western lifestyle here and there. Every day a new plan to repaint Jakarta might be constructed, proofed by the growing number of glittery malls and other entertainment centers, which mostly could only be enjoyed when you have a thick wallet. Money does seem to make Jakarta go round and rooouuuuund...

With its flirtatiously promising manner, Jakarta lured 12 million people in search of happiness. Suburbans who are not happy with their little-income jobs as farmers or labour-workers came to Jakarta with nothing but hope for a better fortune, based on the thousand opportunities the city believed to offer. And where do most of them end up now? Below the conspicuous highways which hold the weight of millions of shiny, flamboyant cars passing nonchalantly every day, living in weathered cardboard houses and feeding off on less than $2 a day. Indeed, Jakarta's riches practically sway on top while the poors crawl around at the bottom.

Jakarta had turned its fake, plastic face on its believers. It is capable of lying without a tongue to speak, betraying without a heart to feel, knocking people over without eyes to see. And at night, not even one star is visible through the heavy combination of polluted grim and blinding city lights that suffocate the air.