Largely Planned by the Dutch

Te Ao Hou, March 1965, Page 22

Largely Planned by the Dutch The Dutch were largely responsible for planning the city. It stands on reclaimed swamp land, drained by canals. These sluggishly-flowing canals serve many of Djakarta's residents as toilet, wash-room and bathing-pool. Thus the sights along the canals are apt to be somewhat of a shock to a new arrival. Summarising my first impressions, I would describe Djakarta as a city of oppressive heat and hordes of people, which exhibits a heart-breaking contrast between rich and poor. I have seen men, and women too, shouldering loads which would give a good New Zealand

union man duodenal ulcers in a month. I have no hankering to live in Djakarta, and was glad when we were able to take up residence in Bandung, in West Java. Bandung is much cooler than Djakarta and a much more pleasant city to live and work in. The main shopping and residential area stands in a basin at the foot of encircling hills. According to legend, this basin was formerly a lake.