"Jalan Tikus" A Unique Alternative Road in Indonesia
If you were travelling to some place and the main road is jammed or blocked, usually there are alternative roads leading to your destination. Be it going through a smaller road or through a residential area. Here in Indonesia, traffic jams happens everywhere every time, so alternative roads are something people often use and know.
Last Sunday afternoon, me and my family were going on a trip to Puncak but the road heading there was closed. This is a usual thing that happens here because in order to prevent traffic jam, the usually two ways road is turned into a one way road. When it's early weekend, usually the ones going out of Puncak is closed and the ones going in are prioritized, while when it's late weekend it's the opposite.
Unable to enter the main road, we venture ourselves through an alternative road going through some really small and dense residential area, called "Kampung" in our language. The roads here are usually called "Jalan Tikus" by our people, which literally translates to "The Mice Road". These roads are extremely narrow, usually it barely fits two cars, some even barely fits one car since usually the main transportation used by the residents are motorbikes so it was not intended to be used by cars. These roads are usually used by people who are familiar with the area as an alternative when traffic jams happens and are everywhere, even in big cities like Jakarta.
Even though barely fitting, car drivers (usually skilled ones) still use these roads anyway to avoid traffic jam. But usually, since it's really narrow and hard to navigate through, they become a nuisance and usually jam these roads instead, making the traffic jam worse for everyone.
Amazingly, even when living in "Kampung" (small densed residential area, in case you missed it) with houses that barely fits a garage, some people actually own cars here. Houses in these area are usually small since, no offense, usually poor people live here. Yet, some people has the gut to build mansions here. We don't even own one, and our house is fairly big (Photsphere of my front yard).
In tourist spot such as Puncak, alternating people to use these roads had become a source of income for residents. Usually guiding people, selling food and beverages, and managing traffic in the area. They are quite helpful at times but after giving tips to people in every intersection, it gets annoying. After our return to Indonesia, we found out that some of these "business opportunities" are even more extreme such as escorting customer out of the area by means of stopping the opposite traffic and ruining everyone's day.
These traffic jams, even though it's been happening for years or even decades, it usually never gets better. This is mostly because of the irregular and unorganized infrastructure in the beginning, making it hard to improve the the roads. Not only that, the number of population with vehicles increase every year and significantly and it's not evenly distributed, most are residing here in the island of Java and at certain spots only.
It took almost 3 hours to get out of there and when we went out, all places were closed.... But we bought pizza on the way home so we got that going for us, which is nice.
All pictures are screenshots from the video I recorded while we were travelling here and I was at the middle so you can't really see things properly. But in case you wanna see how it is, here's the video below. Be warned though, it's unstable since I used my phone and held it in my hand instead of using a tripod. And it may cause nausea watching it.
So have you venture along these small roads? How's your experience and what's your opinion about this?
Last Sunday afternoon, me and my family were going on a trip to Puncak but the road heading there was closed. This is a usual thing that happens here because in order to prevent traffic jam, the usually two ways road is turned into a one way road. When it's early weekend, usually the ones going out of Puncak is closed and the ones going in are prioritized, while when it's late weekend it's the opposite.
Unable to enter the main road, we venture ourselves through an alternative road going through some really small and dense residential area, called "Kampung" in our language. The roads here are usually called "Jalan Tikus" by our people, which literally translates to "The Mice Road". These roads are extremely narrow, usually it barely fits two cars, some even barely fits one car since usually the main transportation used by the residents are motorbikes so it was not intended to be used by cars. These roads are usually used by people who are familiar with the area as an alternative when traffic jams happens and are everywhere, even in big cities like Jakarta.
The Things I Find Interesting
Cars Still Go Through Here Anyway
Even though barely fitting, car drivers (usually skilled ones) still use these roads anyway to avoid traffic jam. But usually, since it's really narrow and hard to navigate through, they become a nuisance and usually jam these roads instead, making the traffic jam worse for everyone.
 |
| When two cars meet, one has to stop and give some road |
People Who Live Here Owns One or More Cars
Amazingly, even when living in "Kampung" (small densed residential area, in case you missed it) with houses that barely fits a garage, some people actually own cars here. Houses in these area are usually small since, no offense, usually poor people live here. Yet, some people has the gut to build mansions here. We don't even own one, and our house is fairly big (Photsphere of my front yard).
 |
| That's a mansion in front of us |
 |
| That's truck being parked, it takes real skill to park that |
In Tourist Spot, It Becomes a Business
In tourist spot such as Puncak, alternating people to use these roads had become a source of income for residents. Usually guiding people, selling food and beverages, and managing traffic in the area. They are quite helpful at times but after giving tips to people in every intersection, it gets annoying. After our return to Indonesia, we found out that some of these "business opportunities" are even more extreme such as escorting customer out of the area by means of stopping the opposite traffic and ruining everyone's day.
 |
| In every corner, these guys manages traffic or pretend to sometimes |
 |
| Foods and drinks for those stuck in traffic jam |
It Usually Never Gets Better but Worse
These traffic jams, even though it's been happening for years or even decades, it usually never gets better. This is mostly because of the irregular and unorganized infrastructure in the beginning, making it hard to improve the the roads. Not only that, the number of population with vehicles increase every year and significantly and it's not evenly distributed, most are residing here in the island of Java and at certain spots only.
The End is Nigh
It took almost 3 hours to get out of there and when we went out, all places were closed.... But we bought pizza on the way home so we got that going for us, which is nice.
All pictures are screenshots from the video I recorded while we were travelling here and I was at the middle so you can't really see things properly. But in case you wanna see how it is, here's the video below. Be warned though, it's unstable since I used my phone and held it in my hand instead of using a tripod. And it may cause nausea watching it.
So have you venture along these small roads? How's your experience and what's your opinion about this?
Comments
Post a Comment