Jakarta doesn’t have many green spaces but we’re very lucky to live close to Menteng and often spend our afternoons playing in the park. Our favourites are:

• Taman Menteng is the biggest one. It has a play area with slides and swings, a basketball court and a water play area at the back (although I haven’t seen it on in a while). The facilities could use an update but it is still an enjoyable outing. The park is very lively on weekends without ever being too busy. You’ll see young couple dating, people playing music, teenage kids playing basketball, Vespa and cycling enthusiasts getting together… Various events are held there throughout the year (yoga festivals…).

We’d usually go there on weekends, towards the end of the afternoon if the weather is nice, then cross the road to see the turtles at Menteng Central (a small mall) and have a quick dinner at Sate Khas.

 

• Taman Situ Lembang is Elliott’s favorite. He insists we go there at least once a week to go fishing. He takes his little fishnets and can play there for an hour (we buy the nets at the fish/aquarium market on Jalan Sumenep, across Chicory Bakery, also in Menteng). Fishing is quite popular there and we’ve gone so many times that we now know some of the Bapaks and children who also spend their afternoon fishing there (with real fishing lines!).

This park is smaller than Taman Menteng and is very peaceful, you’d almost forget you are in Central Jakarta.

I’d skip Taman Suropati (the third and last park in Menteng), which is quite small and located in the middle of a busy road (it feels more like a manicured roundabout than a park).