Most travelers use Jakarta as a starting or ending point -- catch a flight at Soekarno-Hatta, take a ferry to another island, and spend as little time as possible in between. The city's reputation is chaotic traffic, oppressive heat, and not much to see. This is a shame, because Jakarta has more character than it gets credit for.
The old Dutch quarter around Taman Fatahillah is where colonial Batavia comes alive -- cobblestone squares, warehouses turned into museums, and the Wayang puppet museum. The Monas (National Monument) towers over Merdeka Square, and directly below it, Istiqlal Mosque faces the colonial Gereja Katedral in a deliberate symbol of religious coexistence. Down at the old harbour of Sunda Kelapa, traditional wooden schooners still dock alongside the fish market.
Most backpackers never get beyond Jalan Jaksa, the strip of cheap hostels and restaurants in the center. But the Kemang neighborhood to the south has the best expat bars and restaurants, the malls of Senayan and Grand Indonesia are air-conditioned cities unto themselves, and the street food -- Padang restaurants, satay stalls, nasi goreng carts -- is outstanding. Jakarta is a love-it-or-leave-it city, and it takes a few days to start loving it.