2012 Jakarta, INDONESIA

Hello...

Dah bersawang betul blog ni. Lama tak update. I wonder how the other bloggers could find time to write, especially the working mommy bloggers. I admire them women.. 

So sebagai azam untuk blog more often in year 2012, I wish to start off with the trip to Indonesia. 

We, Mr Daddy and I, have planned for the trip way way earlier, like in Jun-July 2011, I believe. We found a very very good flight deal by KLM. The return trip for the 3 of us cost about RM 700-ish. That was way cheaper than AirAsia, plus we got in-flight entertainment, food, 23 kg checked-in baggage + 10 kg hand luggage each, and the luxury of departing from KLIA. I don't know about you, but we were happy to fly off from KLIA, instead of LCCT. *peace* No offense, AA!! Because of KLM's super nice deals, my parents, Babah & Mama, and my sister, Iqah, also took the opportunity for an ad-hoc family trip (but without Angah, as he had to work). 

The trip was for a week, 31st Jan - 6th Feb. That was during a long holiday - with Hari Wilayah, Maulidur Rasul and Thaipusam - in a stretch. How nice!!!! 

JAKARTA

The first 3 days were spent in Jakarta. We arrived first, on 31st Jan ~8 pm WIB (waktu Indonesia Barat). The flight from KL-Jakarta was quite stressful for me because Miss Princess threw up all over my dress. She wasn't feeling well, and we missed giving her medicines prior to taking-off. Twice we paged the KLM flight attendants for assistance, but no one came. Pemalas betul!!! Nasib baik lah suami tercinta, Mr Daddy, sabar melayan my stresses. - I love you, sayang!!- So dengan gaya mommy mithali yang stylo, I wiped my body and Miss Princess' using the Pureen Baby Wipes. Memang very handy when you have kids with you. (Kalau takde kids pon boleh je pakai).

Bandara Soekarno-Hatta, to me, looked like Brunei International Airport, only bigger in size. It's the 1980-1990s building/architecture/feelings that I quickly could relate to. (Yes, I watched a lot of Mustika Filem   growing up, so I know. Trust me. Haha..). The customs clearance was quick. However, baggage claim took forever. It was an hour or so waiting for our baggages. It was even longer (1.5 hrs) when my parents & Iqah came to Jakarta.

Jakarta - Accommodations

We stayed at the Le Meridien Jakarta on Jalan Jenderal Sudirman, Central Jakarta (Jakarta Pusat). Some people may not like the location of the hotel, as there's nothing much surrounding the hotel except for business offices. The guests there were also business travelers, except for us. Everyone else was polished in powersuits with briefcases, we were in t-shirts and jeans, with a cute kid running around!!! Who can beat that??

Ms Princess with her 'Peace' sign... Pool time ya?

Too tired sampai tertido kat pool... 

Jakarta - The Indonesian Cuisines

Disebabkan kami adalah sepasang suami-isteri yang menyukai dan menghargai makanan, maka haruslah cuba makanan Indonesia yang asli, di Indonesia sendiri.

Malaysians in Indonesia, would naturally go for the Nasi Padang, that's the closest to what we have back home (at least in my opinion). Ye lah, Malaysians kan dah biasa makan nasi dengan lauk-pauk penuh satu meja. Plus, the lauk-pauk pon are not that much different from ours.

Rumah Makan Garuda Khas Minang Melayu

Lauk-pauk bersusun

Kan dah kata, penuh meja....

Pushcarts by the roadside selling more local cuisines

Dan lagi

Dan lagi

Bajai - local public transport (Indonesian tuk-tuk)

The next night, we wanted to try something else. Sunda katanye. So ini adalah cubaan supir kami, Pak Andi, membawa kami ke restoran bercirikan Sunda, Warung Desa.

Daddy with Pak Andi

Ayam Penyet & Gado-gado

 On my request, Pak Andi brought us to a famous Nasi Uduk eatery. Found out that this place was the same one that I've been reading on the TripAdvisor, the famous Nasi Uduk Zainal Fanani on Jalan Kebon Kacang.

The first shop

Nasi Uduk is something very Jakarta, as it originated from there, according to Pak Andi. It was something like our Nasi Lemak, but the rice didn't feel as lemak as ours. You would have the choice to have the rice with the gorengan (ayam, daging, or udang) and there's also sambal and kicap manis as the sauces. Something new to our tastebuds.

Home-made kicap manis for Nasi Uduk

The half-cooked gorengan. Akan digoreng lagi sikit before served

Ayam, tauhu, tempe, sayur

Nasi Uduk bungkus dalam daun pisang gitu memang nampak rare kan?

Teh Botol Sosro - teh wangi berperisa bunga-bungaan

Mr Daddy absolutely loved Nasi Uduk. He even ordered it from the hotel for the next morning's in-room breakfast, as well as in Sheraton Bandung. Huhuhu..

But not as good as the Zainal Fanani's

Jakarta - Shopping

1) MANGGA DUA
Before I came to Jakarta, the most famous place in Jakarta I've heard of was Mangga Dua. So bila dah menjejakkan kaki ke sana, haruslah ajak Mr Daddy pergi check out Mangga Dua itu.

Mangga Dua terletak di North Jakarta, the old town as it's famously known. Disebabkan kitorang hanya planned setengah hari je kat area Mangga Dua tu, so kitorang just pegi ke Mangga Dua Mall.

The mall was like our Pertama Complex, but with a bigger crowd of (Indo) people, obviously. Asal lalu depan kedai je, promoters die mesti akan panggil, "Boleh abang/kak? Belanjaaaaaaaa???".. Belanja tu, bukannye mintak belanja die, tapi die suruh beli la maksudnye.

Inside the Mangga Dua Mall

The shops and kiosks there sell everything from textiles, clothes (for adults & kids, inner & outer, stylo & tai-tai's, etc), imitation handbags and shoes of various qualities & grades, muslim's attires, souvenir t-shirts, etc.. I think you get the picture already. At the back of Lantai 2 (or Lantai 3), there was a row full of optical shops, which made Mr Daddy crazy, for a while. Harga murah gila katanye.

Di mana kami makan? Ada fast foods dan juga food court, tapi jalan punya jalan, tak jumpe kedai makan pon. Semua kedai jual barang2 je. Last2 makan kat Pizza Hut je. Dekat Lantai 1, dekat belah belakang sket. Kena keluar main building and masuk ke building sebelah (pon tempat shopping gak).

Ada jus alpukat (avocado) kat Pizza Hut.. Enak bangat!!

Penat2 setengah hari pusing Mangga Dua, just beli telekung baru sepasang for myself and kemeja style Indonesian Muslim sehelai for Mr Daddy. Total belanja was IDR 120,000.00 (lebih kurang RM 40). Hihi, puas hati dapat telekung baru yang best dan lembut tak sampai RM 20.

Dah penat tu, tak sempat nak jenguk Pasar Pagi, just bersebelahan dan bersambung dengan Mangga Dua Mall tu. Situ ada jual souvenirs banyak. Takpe, takde rezeki. Next time, kali?

2) THAMRIN CITY
Hajat di hati nak beli kain2 cotton untuk dibuat baju kurung anak-beranak, and kain kebaya utk Mommy. Dengarnya Tanah Abang yang famous for that. Tapi kata Pak Andi, kalau di Tanah Abang, lebih kepada orang beli borong. Kalau beli sikit2, baik ke Thamrin City. So, ikutkan je la.

Thamrin City ni tempat baru. Ada dalam 5-6 floors jugak la tapi tak semua full.

Pusing2 2-3 floors, takde ape yang menarik hati. Kain kebaya yang ada tak memuaskan nafsu shopping Mommy ni. So last2, kedai yang mencuri hati kitorang adalah kedai sukan (cam style2 al-Ikhsan & Royal Sporting House tu), and supermarket (untuk beli stock makanan). Hehehe, memang la Mommy & Daddy ni Sehati Berdansa, Serasi Bersama.

3) PLAZA INDONESIA
I love this place so much. Sangat swanky, dengan retail outlets yang kiut miut, I didn't miss Pavilion or The Gardens at all.

Ms Princess la paling seronok sebab dapat lepak main kat playground at Plaza Indo.

Had a quick lunch kat Kitchenette. I loved loved loved it so much. Something like Delicious/Ben in Ben/Alexis-like ambience. Since kitorang masih kenyang dengan Nasi Uduk, so just ordered foods yang light2 je. I had Calamari Rings yang very2 soft. Bestnya!!!!!

Grand Hyatt is just above Plaza Indonesia. Azam seterusnya adalah untuk menginap di Grand Hyatt the next time I come to Jakarta. :-)

4) GRAND INDONESIA
This one is just next door to Plaza Indonesia. Nice jugak, and huge!

The facade

 

Tapi tak sempat nak jalan tengok semua shops. Yang sempat cuma dapat trim rambut Ms Princess je kat Kiddycuts. Tak ingat level berapa, tapi one floor up from the Gramedia's 2nd level.

The price list

Cool kan ade salon for kids camni? Ada mainan, boleh tengok video lagi. Ye lah, susah nak trim rambut budak2 nih. Ingat senang ke?  

Jakarta - Sight-seeing

Whenever Jakarta is pictured on TV, mesti ada tunjuk one of the 2 towers. It's either tower yang ada patung sorang laki & sorang pompuan pakai skirt kat atas tu, or tower yang lurus and ade bende kuning2 kat tip die. So, misi ke Jakarta haruslah ambil gambar di kedua-dua towers ini. Lepas tu baru boleh kata, I've seen Jakarta (or maybe just part of it).

1) BUNDERAN H. I (pronounced "Ha-I")
Roundabout in Central Jakarta yang selalu sesak siang malam, disebabkan kedudukannya (a) di tengah-tengah Jakarta Pusat laluan dari business district ke area perumahan sekitar Jakarta, (b) di tengah-tengah shopping malls & hotels terkemuka yang terletak di setiap empat penjurunya - MALLS : Plaza Indonesia & Grand Indonesia, HOTELS : Mandarin Oriental Jakarta, Pullman Hotel Central Jakarta, Grand Hyatt & Hotel Indonesia (H.I) Kempinski Jakarta. The H.I Kempinski is the first & oldest hotel in Jakarta and that's where the roundabout got its name from. Precious!!

2) MONAS (MONumen NASional)
I've seen this tower before, so haruslah mintak Pak Andi bawak ke sini.

MONAS ni, according to Pak Andi, kat dalam dia, ada lif boleh naik sampai atas, then tengok keliling Jakarta (macam Menara Hang Tuah kat Dataran Pahlawan, Melaka tu). Tapi disebabkan takde banyak masa, kitorang takde la naik.

The area was huge actually. It's a public park, memang cantik waktu malam. Ada kereta kuda gak yang boleh bawak pusing2 dalam taman tu. Tapi takde la kitorang nak pegi naik kuda malam2, kan? Tujuan singgah situ pon sebab nak amek gambar Monas tu ha.

3) HOUSING AREAS
Malam lepas singgah kat Monas tu, mintak Pak Andi bawak jalan2 ke area Jakarta Selatan, nak tengok perumahan (sbb dengarnya situ area perumahan elite and rumah cantik2). So Pak Andi bawak ke Kebayoran. Jauh ye jalan dari Jakarta Central nak ke Jakarta South tu. Rumah cantik2, tapi sorry takde gambar. Dah tak larat time tu.

Ni lah pengalaman ~3 days kami merayau-rayau di Jakarta. If you ask me, I love Jakarta. Especially Plaza Indonesia dan Jus Alpukat. Next time I come, I'll make sure I'll spend even longer there.

So... after Jakarta, we headed to Bandung....