THROWBACK POST:
Last year, I remember telling a bunch of my friends that I was going to Indonesia on September and they were like "WHY?". Basically they were asking why I was going there since Jakarta isn't really known to be a tourist destination and what not. I just replied "WHY NOT?". Then they kept on going on about Jakarta being just like Manila with the traffic and all. I didn't really pay attention to their comments. Hahahaha.
I have family who has lived in Jakarta for more than 20 years now. My aunt, uncle and cousin have fallen in love with the place. I decided to pay them a visit and see what the city has to offer. I'm sure Jakarta has a lot going on in there. Otherwise, my aunt and her family would not have stayed there for so long.
Five days vacation leave, APPROVED! Left the Philippines before 8 in the evening on a Friday night (the usual Cebu Pacific Manila-Jakarta flight time) and arrived half past midnight on Philippines time and a half hour before midnight Indonesian time (one hour difference).
My aunt, uncle and cousin fetched me at the airport. The airport was pretty far from the city center. I crashed in my cousin, ate Ysa's apartment - Sudirman Park Apartamen. It was a smooth 40 to 50 minute drive from the Airport. During the ride, I can't help but admire the tall buildings of the city that have moving lights in different designs on the building itself. I was tired from the four hour flight but looking at the buildings kept me awake during the ride.
Anyway, some snapshots of my amazing Jakarta Vacation.
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| Brought my laptop to keep me company during the 4 hour flight. Fail. The laptop died an hour later. I tried sleeping but I was too excited to arrive in Jakarta. |
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| Hello Jakarta Traffic. |
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| The famous MONUMEN NASIONAL This monument symbolizes the fight for Indonesia and to commemorate the struggle for Independence. It actually lights up during night time. Too bad I wasn't able to see it at night though. |
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| Beautiful view from the Apartment. |
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| Sunday: Went to SeaWorld Indonesia. This was located a bit far from the city center. My cousin, her roommate and I took a cab from the apartment going to Ancol, which was around 30 minutes away from the apartment. |
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| I just love what they did near the entrance. |
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| Hello there big fishy. |
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| More fishes. |
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| I just had to try this. I forgot how much this costs but it was below RP 100,000. |
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| THIS TICKLES!!!! :))) |
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| Me, Ate Kate and my cousin Ate Ysa with the mascots after exiting Sea World Indonesia. We gave tips to the mascots for letting us take a picture with them. |
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| OOoohhh Cable Car going to the beach side of Ancol. |
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| Inside the cable car. |
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| Sunday Buddies. Thanks for taking me to Ancol. Oh and somebody just had to photobomb us. Thank you very much! |
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| Monday: My aunt took me mall hopping. This shot was taken in a Thai restaurant in Grand Indonesia Shopping town. |
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| Just had to take a picture in one of the statues inside Grand Indonesia Shopping town. |
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| Tuesday: Went to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. I loved it here. It was like seeing all of Indonesia in one big place. On this picture, the history of Indonesia is being depicted by carved wood. |
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| Beautiful replicas of provincial Indonesian houses but don't look like replicas at all. I was amazed. |
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| Wednesday: Took a dip at the poolside of the apartment before leaving the city. My view from below. |
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| Thank you family for this awesome vacation. |
XOXO,
AVI
Tips:
When taking a taxi in Jakarta, get the SILVERBIRD or BLUEBIRD taxis. They are known to be the most honest and reliable taxicabs in Indonesia.
For Filipinos, the currency exchange could be approximately computed easily by just dividing the Indonesian price in Rupiah by 200. E.g. RP100,000 is roughly equal to 500 in peso.
Don't ever forget to bring a camera to capture those precious memories :)
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