Jakarta 2016

We decided to hop over to Jakarta last month (sans the kids) for our anniversary trip.  My last visit was back in 2012. This is my 6^th visit to this bustling capital city of Indonesia. Since it was only us, we decided on a reasonably-priced, and fuss-free hotel that has a good location – Holiday Inn Express Thamrin.

Holiday Inn Express Thamrin is strategically located in central Jakarta. The Grand Indonesia mall is only a stone away (7 minutes’ walk). I did not intend to do a lot of sightseeing, because I’ve been to most of the places on interests before. Main agenda – eat and shop. It’s about an hour away from the airport, and if you take a cab, it would cost you about SGD 20-30, depending on traffic. And traffic was horrible! You can book the “blue bird” taxi at the taxi counter, located just outside the immigration exit. I’ve never used any other taxi companies other than Blue Bird. Highly recommended.

 Here’s my take on the hotel

1.        I’ll say it again. Awesome location!

2.        Room size is just right for 2 people. We are out most of the time in the day, so it’s good for us. Now, if you have kids, you might find this a little cramp.

3.        There’s no pool, which is fine with us. You might want to think again if you are bringing kids. 🙂

4.        Breakfast spread is average, but they do have a “to-go” pack if you are in a rush (consists of coffee, sandwich and muffin).

5.        Efficient housekeeping. We had a little trouble with the door lock, and it was fixed right away. Room is cleaned daily and toiletries replaced daily too.

Overall, it’s really a good base to explore Jakarta. Highly recommended for business and couples.   

 

Remember my agenda? Eat and shop. So here’s my take on shopping malls and restaurants. I came to Jakarta with a list of things that I wanted to buy and eat. 

Malls

1.        Grand Indonesia Mall
One of the biggest mall in Jakarta that is literally filled up with international brands. Definitely not a place for bargain hunters. But I love this mall because of its dining options. I went here for all 4 days when I was in Jakarta and ate in different eateries all the time. There’s a cinema on the top level and I must say that I love the experience of sitting on a bed and watching “Captain America”

 

2.        Tanah Abang Market
Biggest textile market. Bargain hunters, please come here. Local’s wholesalers paradise. It’s a huuuuggggeee place. About 10 minutes taxi ride from where we stayed. One thing I learned – when you see something nice, just buy it. Stop telling yourself “it’s ok. I’ll come back in a while”, because you may never be able to find the shop again. There tower A and B and too many corners. It’s a mess, but I love to shop here. The “I love Jakarta” t-shirts go at 6 for SGD10. Great place to buy souvenirs. It closes at 4pm, and opens at 5am. Best to go right after breakfast and leave by 2pm, because the traffic there gets really crazy. By 3 pm, you can see some shops closing as the owners make their way to the streets of Jakarta to sell their stuffs, at a higher price.

 

3.        ITC Mangga Dua
Shoes, jewelry, textile, cushions, luggage, electronics etc. Basically, anything that you want, you can find it here. A place for bargain hunters. Prices for clothes are slightly higher than Tanah Abang. Everything else is reasonably cheap. I came here at 9am, and some shops are still close. And the shops here closes late (9pm or so), so you can opt to come here later. And don’t forget to get freshly preserved mangoes here. Simply delicious!

 

Food

Unlike Bali, majority of the people in Jakarta are Muslims, so halal food is widely available.

Mangia Rasa Indonesia

Grand Indonesia Shopping Town
West Mall 5th floor
Jl. M.H. Thamrin, Central Jakarta
Phone number: +62-21 7279 9674
Opening hours: Everyday from 10am to 10pm (midnight on weekends)

Colette & Lola
Awesome looking cakes!

 Fook Yew – Shanghai Bistro & Bubble Tea Lab
Loved their crab steamed bun.

 
Sushi Grove
Try their Unagi Don!

 
Popolamama
Italian food with a reasonable price tag.

 
Warung Leko
Never leave without trying the Gurame fish.

 
Magnum café
Ice cream at its best!

Shuttle train (SG – JB)

Johor Bahru (JB). Great place to find food at a reasonable price, especially with the current exchange rate (1 SGD = 2.93 RM). Typically, I get to JB by car. On the average it will take you about 30 mins to drive across including Custom clearance. However, during peak period (Public holidays, eve of Public holidays, school holidays, Friday nights), it will take you around 2 hours or so. There were times when I was stuck in the jam for about 4 hours. For current traffic conditions, log on to www.onemotoring.com.sg

So over the weekend, I decided to try out the shuttle train to go to JB. It’s now called the Terbrau Shuttle. Kids were super excited because it’s their first time travelling on a train to JB. The last time I took a train to Malaysia (Malacca to be exact) was probably 30 years back. Back in the days, almost everyone I knew took the train to Malaysia. And because travelling on 2^nd class or 1^st class cabins were too pricey for us back then, we normally took the 3^rd class cabin. Free seating. So yeah, imagine the chaos! So my memories of taking the train to Malaysia consist of smelly toilets, being pushed around to get seats, squeezing myself in between my siblings in the seat compartments, and getting yelled at for repeatedly asking “Are we there yet?!!!” Hahaha!

So back to Terbrau Shuttle. Tickets can be bought online,https://intranet.ktmb.com.my/e-ticket/login.aspx. It’s SGD 5 (one way SIN-JB), and it’s RM 5 (one way JB-SIN). Please print your e-tickets in hardcopy. The gate will open only 30 mins prior to departure time. Customs clearance will take you about 10 mins. The good thing is that at any one time, there’s only 1 train that departs from the station, so the customs clearance for both Singapore and Malaysia will not take you more than 15 minutes. The journey itself is about 5 minutes long. Yeap, no traffic jam. We did saw a long trail of cars as we passed by the link bridge, and they were probably stuck for hours since it was the Easter holidays. We took the 4.30pm train and arrived in JB at 4.35pm. It’s free seating but seats are comfortable and there’s enough seats for everyone on board. It was a very pleasant experience, and I will use the shuttle train again when I go to JB. And maybe in the near future, I’ll try taking the train to Kuala Lumpur. 🙂

Ho Chi Minh

I took a few days off and went to Chi Minh city for a shopping trip!

A few tips:

1.        Be prepared for the heat and humidity. Sunblock, sunglasses, hats are essentials. Bring along bottled water to hydrate yourself.

2.        Crossing the roads can be scary. DO NOT RUN. I repeat. DO NOT RUN. Walk slowly to cross. The vehicles will go around you instead.

3.        Food is a plenty. Halal food too. You will not starve.

4.        Best buys: Anything that’s custom made. Pants, dresses, shirts, skirts, blazers. Very affordable. Love their Japanese cotton.

5.        Vietnamese people are really lovely. If you do not wish to buy from them, just say no politely, with a smile.

6.        Bargain, bargain, bargain. Bargain really hard. 60% off the said price.

7.        Remember to try the Vietnamese rolls. To die for!

8.        If you are the type who loves to shop for branded items, this is not the place.

I had a great time shopping. And I will return. I think Ho Chi Minh has just become my favorite shopping paradise. Move over Bangkok! 

Routine

Since both kids are in the same morning session, our daily routine has changed a bit.

6 am – Rise and shine. The kids and husband will be taking their shower while I prepare breakfast.

6. 25 am – Kids + husband will have breakfast while I take a shower and change to work clothes. The husband will clean up the breakfast table and toss my breakfast in a bag for take away.

6.50 am – Quickly gulp down my tea and off we go.

7.00 am – Drop the kids off to school and drive to work.

7.00 am to 8.00 am – Probably the most important time of the day. The time we talked/discussed/make plans. And I’ll have my breakfast in the car. Sometimes, we drop by for another cup of coffee/tea if time permits.

8.30 am to 5.30 pm – Work

5.30 pm – As we drive back home,we talked about our day -work related. I try not to talk about work once we are home.

6.30 pm – Pick the kids up from my Mum’s.

6.40 pm – We freshen up while the kids do their own stuffs

7.00 pm – Dinner for us. The kids already had their dinner at grandma. This is where we talked about their school day.

8.00 pm – Kids complete their unfinished school work/do revision/read/pack their bags. I’ll work with them while the husband do laundry.

9.00 pm – Lights out for the kids. I’ll do some ironing/housework/surf the net/online shopping etc.

11.00 pm – Lights out for us.

And….the alarm will ring at 6 am again…

I have not had this routine for a looong time due to the nature of my previous job. So I welcome this routine with open arms. 🙂

District 21

District 21 is an indoor adventure park (much to my delight because the weather that week was scorching hot!) located in the heart of IOI City Mall in Putrajaya. From where we stayed (KLCC area), it should only take us 45 minutes. But GPS went crazy and we reached in 1.5 hours. The mall is huuuugggeeeee!

Before we got the tickets, we did a sneak preview and I asked the boys if they are up to it. Both boys did a massive “yeay!”, and off we went to get tickets. Please note that this park is suitable for kids (and adults) who are adrenaline junkies, and above the height of 120cm. In my opinion, best for kids above the age of 6. 🙂

Please be properly attired. Shoes (trainers) and long pants/something slightly below the knees. You would not want to end up with bruises on your knees. Do pay attention to the height and weight restrictions at each station. The safety of your kids and yourself cannot be compromised.

Here are some of the stations that we tried.

1.        Roller glider – The kids did not meet the weight requirements, so only me and the husband tried. It’s like zip lining, which goes around in turns at super speed! Must try for adults!

2.        Go pedal – Great for the whole family. You can to go in pairs and race down the track. Human go cart peddling. You might think that you can go 5 rounds, but after 3 rounds….I said “OK! I’m done!” Hahaha!

3.        Low ropes – The kids did this, like 4 times. It’s a low ropes obstacle course for kids. And they love this the most!

4.        Launch pad – Trampoline for the whole family. Jumping up and down, playing basketball, doing somersaults. What’s there not to like?

5.        The Maze – Ok, this was the most exhausting for me. Lots of climbing, crawling, and navigating through tunnels. The kids went thrice. Me? Once…heh heh

6.        Free fall – This is like bungee jumping…the mini version.

7.        Power Station – Interactive climbing area. Rock climbing, wall climbing, rope climbing, pole climbing

8.        Tubby ride – Snow sledding, minus the snow. Super fun!

We spend about 6 hours here. And because re-entry is allowed, we break for lunch at a nearby Korean restaurant, and went back into the park. All in all, I think it’s a fantastic park for kids (something different from the usual theme park/water park).
Do drop by if you are at Putrajaya!