Jakarta...part 1

Jakarta...my first time to this lovely city of Indonesia and it kinda reminds me of a place i've been to before...let me think....oh my, its exactly like Manila! If you don't hear the Indonesians talk, you would think you're in Manila. They have their own version of the:

1. tricycle which they call bajaj (a three wheeled contraption that ferries 2-5 persons to a nearby destination)

Jakarta version

Philippine version (photo by James Deakin)

2. jeep or fx

Indonesian version

Philippine version (c/o wikipedia although this is a private FX and not one for public transport but generally its usually airconditioned)

Aside from that, the streets look the same. They have beggars (in crutches or the child variety), vendors (cigarette and newspaper). The houses look the same....even the local restaurants look the same. We have our Mall of Asia...they have their Mall of Indonesia! Its just like being back at home after paying a fee to fly 4 hours from Manila to Jakarta.

So why did I go to Jakarta? Last year, I promised myself I would visit at least one (per year) country/city I haven't been to. So last year, I flew to Saigon, Vietnam where I met up my good friend Kim (who is based in Singapore). I truly enjoyed Saigon's food and I only spent around US$250 on my 4 day Saigon vacation (of course, not including airticket and my hotel). This year, I decided to go to Jakarta since I have a former colleague there whom I can visit. Nobody wanted to go with me so to Jakarta but this is ok since I'm so used to travelling on my own. I was originally flying via Philippine Airlines but luck would have it, Cebu Pacific came out with a promo fare that costs around US$ 130 (compared to PAL's US$ 250 fare). I immediately purchased my ticket (bought this around Feb or March). Next thing to arrange was my hotel. Fortunately, my friend living in Jakarta is married to the General Manager of Millennium Hotel Jakarta. One thing led to another and I eventually got my room for free! (isn't life good).

So on the day of the trip, nothing exciting happened. Flying via Cebu Pacific was uneventful (the plane was slightly late on its departure but this was nothing new of course). Landed in Jakarta (Soekarno Hatta is the name of their airport) and the airport of course, looked like the old NAIA 1 in the Philippines. There was a long queue to clear Immigration (very similar again to Manila's) and this was already like 12 midnight (I later learned there were like 5 flights that arrived at almost the same time as we did). I was quickly whisked away by the airport representative of Millennium to their limousine (of course, this was pre-arranged and I advice you do the same when visiting Jakarta...costs only around US$ 22 for an airport pick up). It was too dark and I was a bit disoriented on my way from the airport to the hotel so I couldn't really describe what I saw on the road. Got to the hotel around 1a.m. and check in was definitely a breeze. The Front Desk manager and bellboy escorted me to my Suite (gasp!) and was pleasantly surprised at the size of the room

my bedroom which is really a bedroom since there's a door that separates it from the living room and the toilet

skyline of Jakarta (this was taken the following day of course after i've rested from my flight from MNL)

the living room (my photo doesn't do it justice, would a SLR been a better option to shoot this?)

toilet with separate bath and shower

welcome pralines and fruits (not shown) with a personal handwritten note from the General Manager

The late night flight was all forgotten after I've showered and laid in bed. Their bathrobe is the thickest I've ever seen in a hotel. Can't wait to show you the rest of Jakarta....

Millennium Hotel Sirih Jakarta

Jalan Fachrudin 3
Jakarta 10250
Indonesia

T: (62-21) 230 3636
F: (62-21) 230 0880