“Sunda Kelapa”, originally meaning “Coconut of Sunda”, is the old port of Jakarta that played a significant role in the city’s development. A place conquered and run by different rulers through the centuries (local kings, the Portuguese and the Dutch among them) has been the cradle of modern day Jakarta. Today it is a melting pot and a place where opposites collide. Colorful chinese trucks transport goods to be loaded to the pinisi, the traditional two masted wooden sailing ships that are able to enter the shallow waters of the port. The surrounding slums give place to the concrete high rise residential buildings to accommodate the exploding population of the south asian metropolis, now reaching 30 million people. Building material , wood, chemicals, paper, motorcycles, plastic pipes are among the goods to be loaded to the ships, replacing the spice trade that once prospered here. Hundreds of port workers carry the heavy loads , cooperating in what seems to be a chaotic harmony. And all this amidst tropical heat and humid, dusty air.

• Place Sunda Kelara
• Country Indonesia
• Continent Asia
• When March 2019