
Patung Pemuda or The Pizza Man in 1978
It’s been a while since my last post. We (my husband and I) spent a few days in Jakarta. We did not do much by way of touring the city. Too busy visiting friends and spending some alone time without cats, dogs and the normal daily routine of running our home stay.
We did manage one day out in town – basically fabric shopping, but on the way we passed some areas that are part of my memories of Jakarta since the 70’s.

The Pizza Man in 2015
One of these is the Patung Pemuda Membangung or the Monument of the National Development by the Youth. To Jakartan’s and expats in Jakarta he is affectionately known as The Pizza Man because of his plate of flaming pizza (actually just a plate of flames). The Pizza Man was erected in 1972 and has proven that his plate truly holds the eternal flame, yet he seems to have a problem shutting his mouth. He was built to symbolize the contribution of the young people of Indonesia to the development of the country – past, present and future. His plate of eternal flames is meant to symbolize the spirit of never-ending development. And how Jakarta has developed since this “young” man was placed on the roundabout!
The location is an island in the middle of a roundabout with major roads leading to it. Unfortunately there was construction going on at the time we passed by, but I am sure this will not be the last time I pass by “The Pizza Man”.
You cannot visit Jakarta without seeing many of the famous statues!
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