- Jalan Jaksa
Jalan Jaksa (abbreviated as Jl. Jaksa) is a short street approximately 400 meters long in
Central Jakarta ,Indonesia . It is located about 1 km south of the national museum,Monas and due west of the Gondangdia main line train station.
The coordinates for Jl. Jaksa are 6.186 South and 106.829 East
The origin of the street name dates back to the Dutch era, when students of the Rechts Hogeschool Batavia (Jakarta Law Academy) stayed in the area while studying.Fact|date=March 2007
Because of this the street officially became know as "Jaksa", the Indonesian word for Prosecutor.In the late 1960s Jl. Jaksa started to become internationally known among backpackers though the
International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF ).In 1968, Nathanael Lawalata the secretary general of the Association of Indonesian Youth Hostels, converted his house into a hotel to establish the Wisma Dilima. This was not only first hotel in Jl Jaksa but also the only hotel in Jakarta that was internationally listed by the IYHF.The street subsequently developed more hostels and became mentioned in many popular travel guide books and publications including the
Lonely Planet . Jl Jaksa had become a transit point to explore the rest of Indonesia and was officially determined as a tourism area by the Jakartacity council .Fact|date=March 2007In 1993, the Jakarta Tourism Office stated 57,201 foreign tourists had visited hotels and hostels in the street and the surrounding area, including 29,676 Europeans, 9,309 Australians, 4,215 Americans and 649 Africans.Who|date=July 2007 The average length of stay of foreign tourists at Jalan Jaksa was three days.
On
August 5 –August 7 1994 , the first annual Jaksa street festival was held. [Susianty, Lenah. The Jakarta Post, 02 August (1994)] The street festival aimed to increase the popularity of street and simultaneously celebrate the culture of indigenous Jakarta residents, known as theBetawi people.The 1998 monetary crisis, the
2002 Bali bombings , the2004 Jakarta embassy bombing and the decision in 2005 to reduce the standard tourist visa from 60 to 30 days have reduced the number of budget tourist numbers at Jalan Jaksa. Many backpackers decided to stay directly in the other parts of Indonesia instead of spending 10% of their 30 day visa in Jakarta.Fact|date=March 2007 As of 2007 Jl Jaksa is still the main budget accommodation and low budget entertainment street inJakarta .It still remains popular among locals, expat teachers English and backpackers. While it is nowhere near as touristy, modern or developed as its counterparts inKuta ,Bali or theKhaosan Road inBangkok , the street still manages to offer a selection of services helpful to the average budget tourist including travel agencies, a bookstore, money changers, laundries, pubs, etc.Fact|date=March 2007References
External links
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* [http://jalanjaksa.com Jalan Jaksa website]
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