I needed an Indonesian SIM card to call the driver who was going to fetch me at the airport in Pekanbaru. So I asked the front desk officer at the hotel where the nearest shop was. He was kind enough to give me directions to an Indomaret at the next street. (Indomaret is Indonesia's answer to 711.)
It was a little bit past 4 PM, and the sky was overcast. So I brought an umbrella just in case. As I was walking, I noticed that the area was indeed one of the old centres of Jakarta. There were several buildings that seemed to have seen better days along the river of the Glodok Central Business District. This is along Jalan Kali Besar. ('Jalan' means 'street' in Bahasa Indonesia.)
Old buildings tell a lot of stories, and I wonder what they are. On this street, some are still functional and open, but some seem to be already abandoned. Walking towards the corner, I couldn't help but LOOK UP and admire their architectural designs. They evoke early 20th century designs when Indonesia was still under Dutch rule. It was like walking down memory lane or time travelling until a car's honk brought me back to the present.
I hope major cities like Jakarta and Cebu would have more robust restoration efforts on these historical buildings. It makes me feel sad to see them decrepit and empty. These were glorious structures once, and I hope they could be given another chance. They can be repurposed or turned into museums.
I turned right at the street junction towards the Indomaret on Jalan Kopi (last two photos). And I was quite pleased that they indeed had Telkomsel SIM packs. However, when I was back at the hotel to set up my phone, I realized that I couldn't register it on my own. Yes, you need to visit a GraPari (Telkomsel Service Center) and present your passport in order to do that. And that led me from the 'Kota' to West Jakarta where skyscrapers were, and again, I looked up.