From spas to shortcuts: What I learnt while house hunting in Jakarta

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Letter From Jakarta

![aaletter08 - Jakarta’s dense population of nearly 12 million people meant its 80-odd public cemeteries are often squeezed between apartments and houses. In 2008, when I first moved to Indonesia, I was shocked to open the balcony of an apartment I was viewing to look into a graveyard.

ST Photo: Arlina Arshad](https://cassette.sphdigital.com.sg/image/straitstimes/661fb58b423a1f727d08e5e8508f9b33155046cf5452e5e7f7561750545b0ca9?w=860)

Jakarta’s dense population of nearly 12 million people means they city's 80-odd public cemeteries are often squeezed between apartments and houses.ST PHOTO: ARLINA ARSHAD

JAKARTA – Back in early 2022, when many of Jakarta’s high-end apartments were empty due to the Covid-19 pandemic, I jumped at the chance to snag a prime spot in Central Jakarta.

Think top hotels for neighbours and a front-row seat to the Bundaran HI (“Hotel Indonesia”) roundabout, the city’s famous New Year’s Eve fireworks venue.

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