To head from north to south through the centre of Jakarta is to go forward in time, from the pretty, old Dutch city of Batavia, Kota , in the north, to the modern golf courses and amusement parks in the south. Medan Merdeka , the giant, threadbare patch of grass marks the spiritual centre of Jakarta, if not exactly its geographical one, bordered to the west by the city's major north-south thoroughfare. The main commercial district and the budget accommodation enclave of Jalan Jaksa lie just a short distance to the south of Merdeka.