I was in Jakarta for the weekend. Come to think of it, it never crossed my mine that I would be visiting this city anytime soon, not especially if it's my own trip. Well, so what brought me here? If it's not because of a dear friend, I wouldn't fly here for 1 night and having to take AirAsia because that's the most economical way to do so. He's having his debut fashion show and I have to come to show my support for him. I'll leave the fashion talk for my next post.
Air Asia has its own budget terminal which is Terminal 3 and it's new and modern unlike Terminal 1 & 2. When arrived at the T3, there's only 2 immigration counters opened, resulting in a long queue. I have done my research about taking taxi in Jakarta because you won't want to get yourself into trouble here. The only taxi a tourist should take should be from the Blue Bird Group which includes Blue Bird & Pusaka taxis which are economical and Silver Bird if you want an executive taxi. If you can't find any Blue Bird taxis, just take the free shuttle service to T1 or T2 arrival area to take the taxi.
Staying at Four Seasons Hotel
Air Asia has its own budget terminal which is Terminal 3 and it's new and modern unlike Terminal 1 & 2. When arrived at the T3, there's only 2 immigration counters opened, resulting in a long queue. I have done my research about taking taxi in Jakarta because you won't want to get yourself into trouble here. The only taxi a tourist should take should be from the Blue Bird Group which includes Blue Bird & Pusaka taxis which are economical and Silver Bird if you want an executive taxi. If you can't find any Blue Bird taxis, just take the free shuttle service to T1 or T2 arrival area to take the taxi.
Staying at Four Seasons HotelThe trip from the airport to our hotel at Four Seasons in Kuningan took almost an 1 hour and a little bit more due to traffic congestion. Make sure you have enough cash for the taxi because there's a charge of Rp 10,500 for toll and a fare of Rp 120,500. Don't forget to prepare Rp 150,000 for airport tax on the return trip! It's very kind of my friend to put us up at such a beautiful hotel. I love the rooms because it's cosy and the beds are heavenly. Both of us almost didn't want to leave the beds alone and she even suggested that she would transport the bed back if there's such thing as a Doraemon magic door!
One unique thing we noticed about the buses here is that these are no ordinary buses. Look at the doors, it's too high for anyone to get onto it and thus, look at the bus stands! It's not on ground level but it's located on a higher platform. From what I knew, this is a shuttle for some areas and then they also do have the normal buses for other areas.
Living the Jakarta life
But, to live the high life of Jakarta, we decided to treat ourselves to a posh taxi. No, we did not come in those two white Porsche Panamera but we took a Silver Bird which is a Merz E Class taxi to Plaza Indonesia which is just opposite Grand Indonesia, the two shopping malls. The Blue Bird has a fare that starts at Rp 9,000 and the Silver Bird starts at Rp 15,000. A 10 minute taxi trip on a Blue Bird will cost around Rp 12,000 and the Silver Bird around Rp 25,000.
Honestly, with those prices, I can now declare Malaysia taxis are way too shitty. The taxis in Jakarta are at least a Toyota Vios, just like Bangkok and even taxis in Manila is better than our Protons! There's no price haggling with the Blue Bird taxis and the drivers don't stink.
The malls in Jakarta are pretty big too. The one we went to on the 1st day is called Grand Idonesia and as its name suggests, it's pretty grand with all the big names like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. It's as big as our Mid Valley but the number of shops is just 1/3 of our mall. The place is spacious and there's even a big fountain in the mall. The restaurant area is very well decorated and it looks like a dreamland castle with trees and stone walkways.
For lunch, Hue Gee and me went to the food court called Food Louve at Grand Indonesia and I wanted to try some local food. After staring at the menu for the longest time, I decided to go for the Ayam Penyet which is a local Indonesian cuisine consists of a spicy, crispy fried and smashed chicken served with a variety of greens, sambal belacan and white rice. I wanted to see the difference between the ones I had in KL and here in Jakarta. Actually I don't think there's any big difference except that the chicken here tend to be smaller. heheh...
Well, I don't really love Jakarta but I'll say it's not too bad either when compared to KL. One thing though, it's quite difficult to get a taxi from the mall. But on the good side, there's always a doorman at the mall to help you hail a taxi and open the doors. I love the service and the spaciousness of the malls. It's nice not to be stepping on each others toes when shopping on weekends.
More stories to come...
One unique thing we noticed about the buses here is that these are no ordinary buses. Look at the doors, it's too high for anyone to get onto it and thus, look at the bus stands! It's not on ground level but it's located on a higher platform. From what I knew, this is a shuttle for some areas and then they also do have the normal buses for other areas.
Living the Jakarta lifeHonestly, with those prices, I can now declare Malaysia taxis are way too shitty. The taxis in Jakarta are at least a Toyota Vios, just like Bangkok and even taxis in Manila is better than our Protons! There's no price haggling with the Blue Bird taxis and the drivers don't stink.
The malls in Jakarta are pretty big too. The one we went to on the 1st day is called Grand Idonesia and as its name suggests, it's pretty grand with all the big names like Louis Vuitton and Gucci. It's as big as our Mid Valley but the number of shops is just 1/3 of our mall. The place is spacious and there's even a big fountain in the mall. The restaurant area is very well decorated and it looks like a dreamland castle with trees and stone walkways.
For lunch, Hue Gee and me went to the food court called Food Louve at Grand Indonesia and I wanted to try some local food. After staring at the menu for the longest time, I decided to go for the Ayam Penyet which is a local Indonesian cuisine consists of a spicy, crispy fried and smashed chicken served with a variety of greens, sambal belacan and white rice. I wanted to see the difference between the ones I had in KL and here in Jakarta. Actually I don't think there's any big difference except that the chicken here tend to be smaller. heheh...
Well, I don't really love Jakarta but I'll say it's not too bad either when compared to KL. One thing though, it's quite difficult to get a taxi from the mall. But on the good side, there's always a doorman at the mall to help you hail a taxi and open the doors. I love the service and the spaciousness of the malls. It's nice not to be stepping on each others toes when shopping on weekends.
More stories to come...
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