-AUTHOR PHOTOGRAPHER EDITOR JOURNALIST-
Michael Friis Johansen
Hidden City Indonesia
The waters within
Jakarta is a low-lying city of 13 major rivers, all rising in the high hills in the south and draining into the Indian Ocean to the north. Along the way they pass over some of the most densely inhabited land on Earth, sometimes breaking their banks and flooding it, sometimes surprising with unexpected beauty. See photos.
Patterns of life
While my thumb is anything but green, I nevertheless love the variety and complexity of plant life on this planet. Being a tropical country, Indonesia supports a profusion of growth - except in Jakarta. The country's capital is a concrete jungle, not a green one, but it is still possible to discover lush corners and areas where life finds a way. See photos.
Streetside hazards
Jakarta's streets, like the city's sidewalks, are not always used for the purposes and by the vehicles intended. There are at least 20 million cars and motorcycles in Indonesia's capital, two for every resident, but that number doesn't include the countless tricycles, bicycles, handcarts and bajaj. Unfortunately, they all leave little room for pedestrians. See photos.
Waste disposal
Cleaning up the streets of Jakarta, where 13.2 million people produce 7,000 tons of garbage every day, is a monumental task that requires the efforts of hundreds of official municipal employees, the Orange Troops, and thousands of unofficial scavengers. However, despite all those working, Indonesia's capital city remains awash in trash. See photos.
Car Free Day
Started by Jakarta in 2002 as a monthly event to help clean up the capital's polluted air and promote public transit, the city now holds its main Car Free Day every Sunday, closing the main Thamrin and Sudirman streets to automobiles and motorcycles. Others take place around the metropolis and several other Indonesian cities at least once every month. See photos.
Art for art's sake
Artistic expression in Indonesia, like in every culture in the world, is often constrained by shifting social mores, but that rarely inhibits truly imaginative creation. For every prude that puts a fig leaf over the genitals of a marble masterpiece or a gold cloth over the breasts of a concrete mermaid, a real artist is being true to his or her craft. Fortunately, much of their work is not only found in galleries or museums. See photos.
Temple offerings
The 9th Century Prambanan Temple complex, located just east of Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java, was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991. Neglected for hundreds of years and severely damaged by nearby volcanic eruptions, reconstruction and restoration work on the Hindu shrines began in 1918 and continues today. See photos.
Jalan Kamboja
The area around Cambodia Street in West Jakarta was once full of flower gardens where local Betawi people cultivated orchids and frangipani (the English name for the kamboja flowers beloved of Indonesians) for sale to the public. Now, however, the street is like many others in Indonesia's capital, but flowers can still be found there. See photos. Read related story.
Cities at night
When the sun goes down, parts of a city go to sleep while others come alive, or go up in flames - as the case may be. In other words, even in darkness life goes on, although sometimes it's just resting. These images were taken mostly in or near Jakarta.
Confederation celebration
Even far from home, like on the other side of the planet, Canadians have the urge to celebrate Canada Day. We might not be as flamboyant as some of our neighbours, but we nevertheless know how to throw a good party. The Canadian Embassy in Jakarta hosted a birthday bash for the country's 152nd on July 1 (of course).
Central Java express
Views from a train: Sitting in a railway carriage, like on an eight-hour trip from Yogyakarta to Jakarta on Indonesia's most populated island of Java, affords passengers views of scenes that are not so readily visible from any roadway.
Ambient life
Since the island of Java is one of the most densely populated pieces of real estate on Earth, humans leave little room for other species to live and roam free. As natural spaces shrink daily, few examples of wildlife can be found. Most animals are either already domesticated, or held in unnatural captivity.