Our hotel (Alila Hotel Jakarta) was in a rather scruffy area of the city, which smartened up as we got closer to the National Monument. Perhaps this was because the Presidential Palace was just across the road?
Plenty of people were sitting around in the park, but two things came to our attention: the pigeon coupes and the policemen! I was a bit reluctant to take photos of all the security arrangements in the park, but they were clearly getting ready for trouble. It turned out that there were anti-Israeli demonstrations planned for the next day, as the Americans were moving their embassy to Jerusalem.
Near the National Monument is a statue of Mohammad Husni Thamrin, a political thinker and designated National Hero of Indonesia (1894-1941). I have a lot to learn yet about modern Indonesian history, but not enough time to digest it right now.
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