i will be heading to bintaro in january for a short stint.. seems like it's a bit hard to find accomodation there for rental any tips?

anybody got tips on how to navigate jakarta using the BRT? unfortunately google maps doesn't really show which stops are the BRT stops hence it's hard to see which BRT is nearby my area :/

would be going for 2 weeks at bintaro hehe

thanks for the photo! now have to find out which attractions are nearby which stop

i'm going bintaro for an industrial attachment. so after work plan to go travel around if possible. interested in the pulau seribu but not much information and bad reviews on it. also not sure whether its worth the hassle to go the bandung in the weekends and rush back.

haha yeah that's what i thought.

so my plan was to explore those famous shopping centres on one day, and maybe go the theme park the other day. maybe blok M during weekdays as its kinda near bintaro on map.

Kota is where those plaza indonesia are located right? haha the price is quite cheap la a bit negligible

can have a look at the new pondok indah mall as well. biggest now in southern jakarta

Internet in Jakarta is really unreliable. sometimes the speed is fast sometimes its snail paced.

yeah below rm150 per way is acceptable. u could also have a look at malindo their prices are decent as well and the fares already include 20kg luggage.

not sure about the hotel but RM1000 for 3 days is quite enough unless you are into high end shopping and eating. Yes you can find stuffs in kl but personally i feel the fashion is more updated in Jakarta. malaysia mostly gets out of season stuff.

you can always take a blue bird taxi. many taxi companies will come and harass you once you leave the departure hall so be sure the recognise the blue birds properly. their taxi queue is to the left of the arrival hall. their drivers wear their uniforms.

there's the transjakarta bus way if you can figure it out to move around jakarta. otherwise their taxi fares are pretty ok (without the crazy jam). beers are not exactly cheap in jakarta though but it will still fit your budget.

yeah i agree that the design is very nice though they are currently renovating one of the wings now when i was there 2 months ago. blue bird taxi can be the more expensive ones though. express taxi is slightly cheaper.

nope. garuda and KLM was way over budget for me i got ~RM140 for Malindo last time

not really but they can see that you are trying to communicate with their local language and may get better treatment than ang mohs (in terms of being ripped off ).

bus is really really cheap but you have to know how to take lar. though if it rains then the ride wont be fun

yeap those are the top few malls. plaza indonesia and plaza senayan is like our star hill in terms of the shops on offer. be sure to try the magnum cafe at grand indonesia and anomali coffee if you know how to read a map and search for the shop

What is your budget and what is your aim of staying in Jakarta?

hmm maybe you can check agoda.com for hotel prices in the range. those that i have visited seemed quite pricey haha.

well you can visit the grand indonesia mall or senayan city mall their cinema seats are really good but tickets are on the high side.

Magnum cafe! in grand indonesia

Since Malaysia has just opened it's first Magnum Cafe store I also want to jump on the bandwagon la

Magnum Cafe, Grand Indonesia

On my trip back to Jakarta back in January I had the opportunity to visit the first ever Magnum Cafe at the Grand Indonesia Mall. The decision to visit this place came as a surprise as my friends and I were wondering were there any special things to visit at one of the largest shopping mall in Indonesia.

DSC00275 by zstan, on Flickr

It seems to be a very popular attraction here in Jakarta as there was a really long queue line leading from the entrance. Fortunately there wasn't much people on the day we went. Having said that, we still couldn't just walk into the cafe just like that and had to wait to be seated by the captain. However, once we entered the cafe we were simply blown away by the interior decoration and the sheer size of the cafe.

DSC00301 by zstan, on Flickr
The open kitchen

DSC00280 by zstan, on Flickr
Pre-made Magnum with toppings


Magnum Cafe by zstan, on Flickr
Huge seating area with comfy seats


True to its name, Magnum cafe serves all kinds of Magnum ice-creams that they had ever produced. From the original Magnum classic to Magnum Almond to Magnum Gold, they have it all. What's amazing is that they had recreated the Magnum ice-creams into amazing and delicious dessert dishes.

DSC00283 by zstan, on Flickr

We were really spoilt for choices as we flip through the menu trying to decide which one to order as they all looked really yummy! Basically there were two choices: you could DIY your Magnum Ice Cream, choosing the various types of ice creams on offer and add your toppings, or order the ones that was already pre-designed. After contemplating about 10 minutes or so we decided to just go ahead with the chef recommendations.

DSC00286 by zstan, on Flickr

Wafel d' Antwerp by zstan, on Flickr

DSC00289 by zstan, on Flickr

As the waitress served our Magnum ice-creams on a huge platter, we were really excited to sink our teeth into wonderful looking dish. Truth to be told there was nothing really special with the taste (although it's certainly up there) but the visual appeal and the plating of the Magnum ice-cream as well as it's various toppings was so satisfying. The cost for the two dishes above cost 123, 000 rupiah (~RM34) which was still acceptable.

They even have outdoor seatings if you are keen to enjoy the outdoor breeze. Apart from ice-creams, they also serve proper main dishes such as spaghettis so overall it can be counted as a proper restaurant as well.

DSC00290 by zstan, on Flickr

Personally I highly recommend this place if you ever come to visit Jakarta. Prior to this post, there was no Magnum Cafe in Malaysia but they had just opened their doors today at Mid Valley and perhaps at many other more shopping malls. Dream come true! I don't have to fly to Jakarta anymore to satisfy my cravings. I can't wait to try the ones in Malaysia. Hopefully they will be just as good, if not better.

DSC00303 by zstan, on Flickr

P/S:

There was also another outlet in Pondok Indah Mall 2 which only offers the DIY Magnum Ice Cream and not the full fledged menu. Hopefully the Malaysian one offers the full range.

2 weeks in Jakarta (2014)

In January 2014 I had the opportunity to head over to Jakarta for a 2 week stint with a pharmaceutical factory. This is a really good opportunity to see how drugs are actually being manufactured and a good exposure on how the manufacturing industry actually works. This was also my first time being out of the country for a long time (yeah 2-3 weeks is probably really short compared to those who had the opportunity to further their studies in overseas for years). It was also an eye opener to see how life is really like in my neighbouring country and it is always good to see it with your own eyes rather than reading it on the media.

So, with my two friends and I we left KLIA via Malindo Air. This was also my first time taking this airline and I was rather impressed. The seats are definitely much larger than Air Asia's and they have in-flight entertainment as well as providing some snacks for guests even on a short duration flight. About 2 hours later we safely arrived at Jakarta International Airport (Soekarno-Hatta International Airport). It was indeed a huge difference compared to KLIA back in Malaysia as the whole airport seemed pretty runned down.

DSC_8761 by zstan, on Flickr
Blue Bird Taxi.

As soon as you leave the departure hall, throngs of people will come and approach you to take their taxis, as it is the only way of transport to the city centre anyway. Based on multiple reviews online, the best choice was to take the Blue Bird taxi as they are the most honest operators amongst the others as they run strictly on meter. To get their stand you would have to turn left and find their signage. Be careful of other operators claiming that they represent Blue Bird though.

Generally taxis are really cheap compared to the fares in Malaysia and it was our main mode of transport whilst travelling throughout Jakarta every single day. It is cheap, IF you are not stuck in the notorious Jakarta jam, which may leave you stuck in the cab for up to hours just to get from one point to another in a relatively short distance. Blue Birds (usually Toyota Vios) can be easily found roaming on most streets of Jakarta and most, if not all, shopping malls have dedicated taxi lanes just for Blue Bird. Perhaps one day, a taxi company in Malaysia can at least be this honest by sticking to the use of meters.

DSC00485 by zstan, on Flickr

From the airport, we then headed to Bintaro, Southern Jakarta (which was a 40 minute drive) where our placement site is located as well as our accommodation that I've somehow managed to find online on Indonesia housing websites, Wisma Tobana. Upon reaching the area with the help of Google Maps, it was quite apparent that security was really laxed, especially in this area. There are many houses around that aren't gated and even their main door was not locked! We actually couldn't find where exactly was Wisma Tobana and then mistakenly entered the house above. Fortunately nobody was home that time, only their house keeper was around who politely told us we were in the wrong house. After clarifying with the locals we then finally found our place of stay, which was actually located behind a narrow alley. The whole building was rather decent but I shall blog about this in another post. After checking in and leaving our luggage, we then headed out towards the main street to explore and find out where exactly is the factory.

Nasi Padang by zstan, on Flickr

Apparently the location on Google Map of the factory was rather inaccurate as the factory was located in the opposite direction. Fortunately for us it was only a 15 minute walk along the main road (Jalan RC Veteran) from our home. Having said that, every morning and evening we had to endure all the smoke emitted by the never ending traffic which consists mostly of motorcycles. It was a huge challenge to cross the roads as the road users often show no mercy as they fly past. It often required someone to actually to stand in the middle of the road to stop the incoming traffic before people could actually cross the road. Not having any road bumps or zebra crossing throughout the entire stretch of the main road did not help matters.

Our working hours for the two weeks were quite crazy as we had to start at 7.30 in the morning. This was probably the earliest I've ever been to work. It helps a bit when the sun rises here at about 6am. On the plus side we get the go home at 4.30pm! Apparently this working hours only apply to the factory side. Normal businesses still follow 9-5pm working hours.

DSC_8770 by zstan, on Flickr

As for lunch, the factory canteen actually prepares food for the workers every single day so we need not go out of the factory to hunt for food (more money to spend on dinner instead)! Food wise was really an eye opener as it was a really typical Indonesian affair. One piece of small chicken, some tempeh, a bowl of really spicy soup, timun, lettuce, one serving of keropok (SOME ARE REALLY DELICIOUS) and refillable tea with a piece of fruit as dessert.

After the placement session has ended we practically have nothing much to do back at our rooms. So our regular night sessions are mostly in shopping malls or hunting for food along the main street. The shopping mall that we frequent almost every night was none other than Pondok Indah Mall which is one of the largest shopping malls in Jakarta with 3 wings. Fortunately there is a shortcut which takes us about 10-15 minutes from our place that bypasses all the crazy traffic jam. At first we were kinda worried that our area is rather secluded but when we saw this mall all our fears were pretty much cleared. This was also where most of our money went ._. During the weekends we also took the opportunity to explore areas further away from our area.

Pondok Indah Mall by zstan, on Flickr

Overall it was a really wonderful experience living 2 weeks in Jakarta as well as experiencing life overseas. Due to work commitments soon I foresee this opportunity would be getting lesser and lesser and I cherish every chance I have to go overseas lol.





This post has been edited by zstan: Nov 27 2014, 08:41 PM

Anomali Coffee

Similar to Malaysia, the cafe craze is real as well in Jakarta. You could find a cafe almost everywhere in the city. Since my two friends were coffee freaks they then went to research which are the best coffee shops in Jakarta. Over the course of 2 weeks we went to multiple cafes (though I was mostly just a visitor instead of a customer), and personally the best one I've been to was Anomali Coffee.

DSC00392 by zstan, on Flickr

This cafe has a few branches in Jakarta as well as Bali (although the ones in Bali wasn't that great). We went to the one nearby Senayan City Mall. Upon taking a taxi to the mall from our place at Bintaro, it was another 10-15 walk before we arrived. From the pictures of cars and motorbikes you can see that there were already many customers at the cafe itself even before lunch hour.

DSC00396 by zstan, on Flickr

I must say the design of the whole area was really nice, though there was really a lack of parking space. As soon as you enter the main entrance, the coffee smell greets you immediately as the coffee area is right in front.


DSC00398 by zstan, on Flickr

As you head up to the second floor, there is another coffee area which caters specifically to the crowd upstairs. This was really impressive as you hardly see a coffee shop back in Malaysia having two separate coffee preparation areas. I guess the regular crowds sort of make it worthwhile to invest in 2 separate but similar areas.

DSC00399 by zstan, on Flickr

As with other cafes, Anomali Coffee a huge variety of drinks as well as food. One thing i particular like was their Coffee Fusion, something similar to Starbucks Frappuccino. However, their flavours are just much more varied and tastier. Really hope that Malaysian cafes could try to do some of these instead of just serving same menu like every other cafe out there. Then again, coffee purists would argue that coffee fusions would be a joke.


It was also through this cafes (and other restaurants) that I witnessed how the Muslims here, at least in Jakarta, were quite conservative. There was hardly any restaurants displaying any halal signs, and people (Muslims) still throng it in bucket loads. For example, this cafe since it serves some alcohol in its Dark Choco Rum drink. The most was a signage indicating 'No Pork Served' since the majority of its customers do not consume pork. Indeed an eye opener comparing to the current state that West Malaysia is currently in.

Creme Brulle Coffee Fusion by zstan, on Flickr

Apart from drinks, Anomali Coffee also serves relatively nice dishes. This Chicken Cordon Bleu is certainly one of the most unique plating I've ever seen. Instead of giving you the whole piece of chicken meat, the meat was chopped into smaller pieces and made into these scallop looking thingy with a mixture of flour, cheese and other spices. Really nice.


Chicken Cordon Bleu by zstan, on Flickr

So if you happen to drop by in the area and have some time to chill, I would like to recommend this place although accessibility is a bit limited. Best way is to take a taxi from Senayan City mall or walk!

bank in your money in CIMB and withdraw in indonesia

no withdrawal fees. better rates also

when are u going? if during weekend better be sure to get train tickets early

nono i mean which day of the week. if go during weekend then good luck lol. lots of jakarta ppl also wanna go bandung one. i think can get 1 day before not sure

why night train? just 3 hours journey nia wor. u sure got night train?

u mean stay over night in the train or bandung?