Let’s face it, if you are new here, chances are that getting around Jakarta is a confusing and painful ordeal. If you can’t speak the language, you’re pretty much screwed and you probably wont know where you’re going. If you do know the language, chances are you forget or do not fully comprehend the directions you get from a passerby. Google Maps is there to help ease the pain, but due to it’s existing flaws, it can be far from useful. However, there are some tips and tricks that we would like to share to you that can optimize Google Maps’ true potential here in Jakarta.
As stated before, Google Maps can help you but it does have its flaws. Compared to other countries who are already fully integrated with Google Maps of their cities, it is still a mess here in Jakarta. Some places are not yet up to date and small tiny roads that can only fit motor bikes are shown in Google maps as normal streets, which can be fatal for those who drive a car to their destination. Aside from that, you couldn’t just type up “Jalan Apakah 2, no:3″ or something like that on the search bar and have the exact location, it will search to a place far from Jakarta, worse outside Indonesia such as Malaysia (since our language are almost identical to theirs).
The following guide will help you get to the place you want without the risk of getting lost. However, the key here is pre-planning.
What’s the first step?
The best way to find a specific location is to ask for its coordinates if available. How to find the coordinates? Ask the person you want to visit to go on Google Maps and find the house or location of the place and find out the coordinates. Let’s make Circle K Radio Dalam as an example.
Based on the image above, you simply right click the location and select “What’s Here”. Doing this will generate the coordinates of the location on the search bar in which Circle K in Radio Dalam is located. Simply type up the exact coordinates on the search bar on Google Maps and it will pinpoint the exact location (in this case, -6.252811,106.791117). Keep in mind that you can also input the coordinates into your SatNav device. Also, it won’t hurt to actually record the coordinates of your own home in case a friend asks for it.
I don’t know the coordinates of the location
There are ways to find an address on Google Maps in Jakarta without typing up the complete address or coordinates. One of them is to look up a nearby land mark (eg: McDonald’s Cilandak, KFC Pondok Indah or Circle K Tendean) and look it up online. When you could find this place on the map, you are pretty much home free, all you have to do is get there with the given direction on Google Maps and ask someone there for further directions. The best landmark to look for is the nearest petrol station (specifically Pertamina) because most of the people there know the area very well.
Here is an example, I want to visit my friend’s home at Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD). He said there is a McDonald’s nearby, so I Google Mapped it and this is what I got.
I may not know the location of my friend’s house, but at least I got the location or area that isn’t too far from it.
What about those pesky narrow roads?
Yes they can be troublesome when the GPS or Google Map asks us to go through it. An experienced driver (who probably won’t need to read this guide) can go through these streets with ease. Google Maps cannot identify this because universally, cars can go through streets and roads. Some streets can fit at least two cars, but some couldn’t even fit one. So how can we lookout for these?
This area is located in Bekasi Raya nearby Jakarta. Coordinates for this place is -6.183865,106.940457. Now take a look at, there are three types of roads here. If Google map asks you to go through the yellow road, you’ll be fine. However, you won’t be able to go through the gray roads because they are too small. The white roads are the ones that you have to watch out for; let’s switch to satellite mode.
This looks like a safe road to go through due to some clues. One is that the arrow we drew above is pointing towards a car fits in this road. Another is that this is area seems to be some type of residential or commercial housing. Either way, there should be an access for a four wheeled vehicle to get through the complex.
So that pretty much covers most of what you can do with Google Maps in the Jabodetabek area. Although this requires a lot of work, it can be useful for those with or without a GPS/Satnav. We hope that in the future, Google can improve and update the Google Maps here in Jakarta.