Grimy walls lean and crack from relentless traffic rattling centuries-old foundations.
The stench from putrid canals and exhaust fumes chokes the air. Batavia, the old quarter of Indonesia's heavily polluted and overcrowded capital, Jakarta, was once among the world's richest trading ports. At the height of Dutch colonial times, it was known as the Queen of the East. Its warehouses were packed with precious spices waiting for galleons to carry them half a world away to Europe. Nowadays, the precinct, also known as Kota, is poor, neglected and rundown.