Jakarta is Indonesia's sprawling capital on the northwest coast of Java, a megacity of 30 million people that serves as the country's political, economic, and cultural engine. The old Dutch colonial quarter of Kota Tua (Batavia), with its grand VOC warehouses now converted into museums and cafés around the historic Fatahillah Square, offers a glimpse into the city's past, while the National Monument (Monas) and the vast Istiqlal Mosque — the largest mosque in Southeast Asia — represent its modern national identity. Jakarta's extraordinary street food scene, from soto ayam to nasi goreng eaten at open-air warungs, is reason enough to linger.