Muara Angke

What I am posting here is a collection of photographs I took on the way back from a weekend in Pulau Seribu with some teacher friends just before Christmas. Muara Angke is a wonderfully hectic and bustling community just down the street from my house. One of the things that goes on in this busy area is the production of massive amounts of dried, salted fish ("ikan asin"), which the local workers then sell to local markets around the city. When walking through this area, it's not uncommon to see (and smell!) yards of tables covered in little fish, sitting out to dry, and a lot of my photos here are of this process. Muara Angke is a wonderful, vibrant neighbourhood, and has a lot to offer.

Boats to Pulau Seribu (Thousand Islands) from Muara Angke

Muara Angke has a convenient boats every morning that go to the various islands just off the coast of Jakarta (Pulau Seribu" or Thousand Islands). They usually leave at about 7:00 am every morning (there is only one departure time per day) and they come back from island every day as well, leaving before noon from the island. The price varies depending where you are going, but it is usually under 100,000 IDR ($10.00 CAD) for a round trip. 

Pasar Malam (Evening Market)

Muara Angke also has a bustling evening market where you can find a great deal of things from fruit, veggies, tofu and tempeh, to cheap clothes and housewares. I sometimes go there to get groceries if I need something in the evening, and have gotten a lot of cheap gizmos for my apartment here as well. 

Street Food

This is also the place I come if I want to pick up dinner, and don't want to pay for it up the nose. The surrounding area, Pluit, is home to many higher-income families, and therefore the traditional Jakarta foods, if bought in warungs on (for example) Jl. Muara Karang, are likely to cost you four times the amount as they would in other areas of the city, but at Muara Angke, the food there is moderately priced (10,000-30,000 for dinner, per person), and you can find many different types of Indonesian food there, so it's a great place to look for a quick bite if you're in Pluit. 

Pasar Ikan (Fish and Seafood Market)

Finally, Muara Angke is also home to a massive fish and seafood market, probably the biggest in Jakarta. And the seafood there is always very fresh, since the neighborhood is right on the water. I don't go there much, as I rarely cook seafood here. But it is an excellent seafood market, and what's more, you can go there, buy seafood, and have someone cook it right there for you and eat it there. I have done that twice before, and I would recommend it for sure. The seafood is fresh, and the local restaurants pair it with delicious sauces and sambals.