Trippin' time: Monumen Nasional (MONAS), Jakarta

During my first trip to Jakarta back in 2013, I was unable to enter the park around MONAS. I only had a quick picture with MONAS at the background and that was just it. So during my second time, my uncle and aunt made sure that my sister and I would be able to at least see the park or enter the MONAS. Too bad the lines were quite long that day because there was a field trip going on. (We went on a Saturday, by the way.) 

I read online that it's not advisable to go to MONAS on a weekend because the tendency is that much more people would visit the park compared on weekdays. But we went there on a Saturday anyway. Good thing it wasn't that crowded that day despite it being a Saturday. The odds were in our favor since it was also our last day in Indonesia and I really really wanted to go. Ha ha!

Monumen Nasional (MONAS) is a tower located at Merdeka Square in Central Jakarta. It was built to commemorate the struggle for Indonesian Independence. Aside from the monument, it also has a museum inside, which we weren't able to go. Maybe next time! Hehehehe. Oh and it has a park around the monument that has a lot of souvenir vendors, bike rentals, mascots, etc.

Here are a few snapshots I took at MONAS

The view of MONAS at the Entrance/Exit Gate

My sister and I

Selfie with this Mascot - okay so for every picture with a mascot, a donation in a must. I think any amount would do. I guess this is to compensate for the hotness the people inside the mascot feel every time they wear this.

okay so I obviously loved taking selfies with the MONAS

Cute Strawberry trashcans. Makes throwing trash more encouraging

stairs that lead to the entrance to the museum

Big park around MONAS

Souvenirs! they allow haggling just as long as you're nice =)

Shirts for sale too!

Hats for those who want their crowning glory to be protected on a Sunny day. I hope the seller had sales that day... it was cloudy all over Jakarta that particular day.

Bike rentals! my sister and I rented this bike for Rp 30,000. At first the one in charge priced us Rp 70,000 then we haggled it down to 30,000 with the help of my Aunt and Uncle who were both fluent in Bahasa Indonesia. Yeay!

We just had to take a picture with these two mascots. They were both so cute! Love their headdress =)

So I always make it a point to visit MONAS whenever I'm in Jakarta. I'll probably go back next year if my aunt and uncle will not be busy. Plus I'll tag along my husband with me for sure so he could enjoy Jakarta as well.

So whenever you're in Jakarta, don't forget to drop by at MONAS. All the taxi drivers know where it is. Oh, and it's located at Central Jakarta =)

XOXO,

AVI

Hotel Stay Review: Pullman Hotel Jakarta

The last hotel my sister and I stayed in during our 8-day trip to Indonesia was the Pullman Hotel Jakarta. Our uncle and aunt decided to book us here since they wanted us to experience all that this lovely hotel has to offer. We stayed here for three days.

The hotel was located just in front of Plaza Indonesia which was convenient for me and my sister when we did grocery shopping and bought lots of wafers and biscuits to give to our family and friends back home in the Philippines.

View of the room from the door

Bathroom... has two sinks. Great for me and my sister when we brushed our teeth at the same time. We didn't need to take turns.

le toilet

Free 2 bottles of water inside the bathroom, and face towels were changed everyday.

Shampoo, Conditioner and Shower gel. Smelled really nice.

Our beds. Very comfy. And ooohhhh another hotdog pillow.

There was enough space for our bags. On the right side is the wardrobe cabinet.

Coffee and Tea maker. They replenished and coffee everyday too.

I noticed that Indonesian hotels provide three pillows, one of them is a hotdog pillow. Which was really nice. I had something to hug while sleeping.

Right in front is Plaza Indonesia. That's the LV store.

So the bathroom could be seen from outside so the curtains have to be used to get some privacy while taking a shower.

a fraction of the view of the lobby

additional amenities

the gym. I think it has everything.

The swimming pool.

Nice place to just chill out

I loved the furniture at the lobby

This was just right outside the hotel in between Plaza Indonesia and Pullman.

The walkway connecting Pullman Hotel and Plaza Indonesia. Very convenient.

Facade of the hotel

Plaza Indonesia.

What I LIKE about the hotel:

a.)  It lived up to its 5-star status.  Hotel was beautiful and well maintained. The total package - staff, housekeeping, restaurant, facilities and others were excellent.

b.) The hotel serves breakfast  at - SANA SINI restaurant (more on that later. I'll just make a separate blog about it). Bottomline is... food at breakfast was really delicious and there were many choices on the buffet. My personal favorites were the Grilled Panini, Waffles and Pancakes with just the right amount of Maple Syrup, Butter Croissants and Orange Juice.

c.) Convenience - it was just right in front of Plaza Indonesia. And right in front of Plaza Indonesia is Grand Indonesia Shopping Town. So there were two great malls near a very great hotel.

d.) Housekeeping - I liked their housekeeping. The one in charge of our room even left a note saying that if we need anything, we will just let him know by calling him. His name is Ramayana. (okay so this is standard at the hotel but it's really nice that they have this sort of thing for the guests. Makes the guests feel more at home)

e.) Staff - so my sister and I had this problem. We bought groceries to take home to the Philippines with us but we didn't know how to tie the box where we put everything. Their staff was kind enough to lend us tape and scissors and he even volunteered to tie the box for us so that we won't have a hard time bringing it at the airport. I forgot his name though, sorry. But yeah, I think everybody who works there is generally well trained.


What I DON'T LIKE about the hotel



-------------NONE------------------- LOVED EVERYTHING!!! hahahaha



I am definitely going to stay at this hotel next time. And next time I'm bringing my husband with me. Because I'll be married by then once I get to go back to Jakarta.



Pullman hotel is located at Jl M H Thamrin No 59, Jakarta Pusat, Jakarta, 10350, Indonesia


XOXO,


AVI

Hotel Stay Review: Grand Zuri Malioboro

The second hotel my sister and I stayed in during our 8-day trip to Indonesia was Grand Zuri Malioboro. The hotel was located very near their Jogjakarta Train Station -  a plus for us since we arrived at Yogyakarta from Jakarta via an 8-hour train ride. It was like a 5-minute ride from the station to the hotel (plus less traffic).

Outside JOGJAKARTA station. A mere 5 minute drive from the hotel

Hotel interiors - nice bird cage decorations

TripAdvisor Plaque. 

They offer welcome drinks. This was cucumber juice.

glimpse of our bathroom

our twin beds

cute red seat near the window

view from our window - small pool. We weren't able to try it though since we left our swimsuits in Jakarta.

don't know what that means. hahaha

Television plus counter

ample closet space and a safe

some essentials

their mini fridge. we didn't take anything from it. We didn't want additional charges. Haha.

bathroom offers - shower cap, closed toothed comb, toothbrush and toothpaste and round soap

inside the shower - a three-in-one soap shampoo and conditioner

showerhead

their hairdryer

closer look at their safe.

So they also have a Restaurant inside the hotel called CERENTI Restaurant where we had our breakfast everyday during our stay. 

Few Snapshots of the foodies

my favorite - orange juice

So I wasn't able to take the outside facade of the hotel because it was always raining during our three-day stay in Yogyakarta but as far as I could remember, the hotel had BECAKs and a BUS STOP just right in front of it. That gave easier access to tourists. We didn't have a chance to ride the public transportation though as we had a driver during our whole stay. There was also a wishing well outside the hotel and my sister and I dropped 1-peso coins and made a wish.


What I LIKE about the hotel:

a.) It was cozy and we slept very well. Wasn't that noisy either.

b.) Staff were very friendly and never failed to greet us with a smile

c.) There were welcome drinks at the lobby.

d.) Very environmentally friendly - they have this rule that they don't change the linens everyday unless really needed which was okay with me.

e.) Daily breakfast! Yeay!

f.) Malioboro (Yogyakarta's famous shopping street) was just around a 2-3 minute drive.

g.) Breakfast - CROISSANT! love love love their croissant. =)


What I DON"T LIKE about the hotel.

a.) Dinner - so a male staff came to our room during our first night and told us that they had this Chinese Buffet for dinner at Cerenti restaurant. So my uncle and aunt decided that we would eat there. We were quite disappointed because there weren't that many choices for a buffet plus food wasn't that delicious. I hope they could do better next time.

b.) There was this one time that my uncle and aunt ordered banana dessert for us that was delivered to our respective rooms. But housekeeping was not able to get the plate for washing. After our city tour the next day, we found the plates right outside our room - still dirty. And guess what, we found it again the next day when we went to the restaurant for breakfast. It was just a bit odd.

c.) Cucumber juice served at breakfast - not really delicious for me.


Overall, it was a nice stay and we were very contented. Room had enough space for two people and it was clean. I would definitely stay there again when in Yogyakarta.


Grand Zuri Malioboro is located at Jl. P. Mangkubumi, Kota Yogyakarta, Daerah Istimewa Yogyakarta, Indonesia



XOXO,



AVI