Bird’s eye view of Jakarta. Courtesy of the Ministry of Culture & Tourism, Republic of Indonesia

I have become quite a fan of Indonesia statistics recently. One that appealed to me on visiting Jakarta last week, came from a local airline CEO, originally from South Africa.

Warwick Brady, the CEO of Mandala Airlines, told me that Indonesia's aviation market is still larger than India's.

This bite-sized fact from Brady, previously with Air Deccan in India, surprised me. Though perhaps it shouldn't have, considering that Indonesia, east to west, covers four time-zones, and is roughly as wide as Europe, made up mostly of islands. So unlike India, where the road and rail network is so developed, Indonesia's air network is critical in connecting this huge archipelago.

Maybe the reason it surprised me more was that in travel circles, you don't hear as much about Indonesia as you do about India. For those who follow the nation, this is maybe a blessing - the country has long had a fractious relationship with the news media.

Sure, the media picks up on random "yes, they're really crazy" facts about the country, such as the recent semi-ban on yoga that involves chanting.

But usually the balanced stories are lacking. Religion aside, there are other quite understandable reasons for this. In news circles, "balance" is often provided by PR companies, who send out bright glossy images and stories about new restaurants, bars, hotels and attractions. The reason we get relatively little from Jakarta is mainly because, in recent times, Indonesia has been quietly prospering thanks to its domestic market. So what little PR activity there is, is mainly Bahasa-Indonesian, and mainly sent locally.

Witness the rise of mega-malls like Pacific Place or Grand Indonesia in Jakarta, which to me make anything in neighbouring Singapore or Kuala Lumpur feel quite tired. Last week in Pacific Place for the first time, I wondered at a mega-mall that has a seven-metre high yacht, set in water, as a key feature of its food court. This place is mall-tastic, if you like that sort of thing. Even if you don't, it's well worth a several-hour wander.

At the Alila Jakarta, amidst the attractive white walls and brown leather finishings, with acid jazz pumped into the lobby and free high-speed broadband pumped into the all the rooms, you can easily mistake this place for Paris or Berlin, though with much friendlier staff.

And at the swinging Cork and Screw wine bar in Kuningan, I found myself wondering about the much-touted alcohol import problem, which I'm told is now easing. Judging by the fact the restaurant was fully booked on a Thursday, business really didn't seem too bad.

Nor is business news hurting the media here too badly. I met with the editor of TimeOut Jakarta, which had just closed its third issue after opening in late-2008. Across town, I shared a beer with some of the editorial team from the Jakarta Globe, a crowd of well-seasoned editors who told me about the relatively smooth launch recently of the city's second English language daily - bucking a global trend for newspaper shrinkages. Supported by the massive Lippo Group, the paper doesn't appear to be feeling the heat of the recession yet, at least.

And talking to business people in the city, few believe that Jakarta will be hurt in the quite the same fashion as other cities in ASEAN. Assuming the mid-year election runs smoothly, and the smart economic policies of the current government can continue under the next coalition, Indonesia is cautiously predicting 5 percent growth this year, a figure that many would be happy with.

A tough first quarter, no doubt. And a much tougher year for key sectors such as oil production, compared with recent times. But the economy is certainly in stronger shape than it was a decade ago.

For now, Jakarta will happily stay under the radar. Sometimes, no news really is good news.