Jkt

Married people have the 7 year itch, similarly, I have a yearly itch… the itch to travel =p

So I begged and pestered my sister to travel with me and after a long deliberation, we agreed on a destination that most chinese won’t be interested in… Jakarta, Indonesia.

Here’s a brief post-travel log…Air Asia tickets aren’t cheap so I took KLM. Lagi best! Fare includes seating, luggage check-in, food, entertainment, more space and mat salleh(s) ;D

Touched down at Soekarno-Hatta International Airport around 6.30 p.m… the queue at immigration is crazy! Long and slow… kena scan fingerprints and take off glasses to have picture taken at the immigration counter lagi… bukan semua orang kena tau… ish… then met up with my sister who flew in from KK… saw Indonesian artist, Bertrand Antolin, at the airport!

Good thing traffic wasn’t too bad… stayed at Ibis Tamarin Hotel… not bad lar… good location… once checked-in we walked out for some street food… very unhygienic and there are lots of people asking for money by selling stuff and singing by the tables…also as if the air isn’t bad enough, everyone smokes… young and old, male and female… even in indoor air-conditioned restaurants! 

Early the next morning we took a cab to the National Monument… long walk… damn hot… then it’s shopping time… we took the bajaj! Most malls in Jakarta are high-classed and expensive… lots of food and beverage choices… the customer service is superb… personnel greet patrons and are helpful unlike you-know-where… the most striking thing I noticed is it’s safe to leave your stuff such as mobile phones on the table when dining… in Msia your phone can be snatched even when you’re talking on it! Managed to meet up with a brother who’s currently based in Jkt… had kopi luwak gold blend… nothing to shout about =p

Went to Dunia Fantasi-Ancol… it’s a huge theme park with games, water adventures, sea world, et cetera… before leaving we saw a filming crew shooting by the carousel… after that more shopping… continued to shop for the rest of the trip… 

Time flies when you’re having fun eh… we went to the airport early as we’ve been warned of the unpredictable traffic in Jkt… true enough… there was a demonstration at one of the busiest roundabout and we had to take a quick detour to bypass the closed road… then there was an accident on the highway… sampai airport also took some time to find the right departure hall… queued to drop the luggage… queued to immigration… then finally time to board and tata Jkt…