Midnight Visitor Interview with Stumble Abroad

Good morning, Salamat Pagi.

How’s the weather like in your city today? Hope you have a nice day!

We have done an interview with Ana from Stumbleabroad recently. Stumbleabroad is a fabulous blog about expat life in Jakarta. Ana has a regular column on Friday about real people living and breathing in Jakarta, both Expats and Jakartarans.

You might want to head over to Stumbleabroad to meet some of our own Jakarta people? To read our original interview, click here.

Or you can simply read below. Hope you like it.

{Fabulous Jakartan Friday}

Sarah, the Stylish Aussie Mom

Tell me more, tell me more

1. First, tell us a little bit about you. What’s your background? Where did you grow up? How long have you been living in Jakarta for? What does your family look like?

We are Anna (aka Miss D), John and Sarah from Sydney, Australia. We are an expat family of three. We lived in Melbourne where Sarah got her MBA in Monash University and John worked in a multi-national company.

When Miss D was a baby, our family moved to Sydney and has been living there ever since. We actually fell in love with Sydney because of its beautiful beaches and warmer weather. Sydney is also closer to the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast, which are our favorite holiday destinations during winter time.

One day, after we move back to Australia,  we might move back to Melbourne when we retire to join our extended families there.

2. Is Indonesia your first post abroad? What’s the hardest thing about being an expat in Indonesia? What did you struggle with the most?
Indonesia is our first post abroad, although we have traveled often in both of our working lives. We never thought we were ever going to visit Jakarta as a tourist spot back in Australia. Bali is much more well- known in Australia. Many of our friends have visited Bali before, not Jakarta.

The hardest thing for us as expats in Indonesia is being away from family and friends. Other than that the language barrier, the traffic jam, and the pollution all take their tolls.

We raised 4 beautiful chickens back in Sydney. Leaving them behind to come to Jakarta is one of the hardest things for us, especially Miss D. You can read our chicken story here.

Some days, on a gloomy rainy day like today, we wonder why we are here, in a strange city in Jakarta. But, most days, we try to live a normal, balanced life.

Do you want to see our emotional feeling about the city of Jakarta? Have a read of this poem we wrote: our city.

3.I love your blog Midnight Visitor! Why did you decide to start a blog? What’s the best thing that has come from blogging?

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Jakarta 3 Day Itinerary

31 Days In Jakarta Day 21

Dear readers,

How are you today? It is a cloudy day here in Jakarta. The raining season has truly kicked in. How is the weather like in your city? We hope you have a relaxed Sunday.

Okay, we understand that our love for Jakarta is growing and one day trip is not nearly enough for this city. We get that.

So below we present our very own MidNightVisitor’s 3 day itinerary for Jakarta.

We hope you enjoy it.

Day 1

Please refer to Jakarta 1 Day Itinerary here.

But when think about it, actually, if you plan to stay in Jakarta for 3 days, you might want to give Taman Mini a chance. Spend one whole day there so that you do not have to rush yourself. It deserves one day as there are also Bird Park, Reptile Park, Water Park and other attractions in Taman Mini. There are live performances at certain time of the day or week as well.

Day 2

Now we have two options here,

A) On the second day, you might want to go to Taman Mini and spend a whole day there.

You can hold a huge snake in the Reptile Park here if you’re brave enough. More on this later.

Or

B) Even better, go to Taman Safari.

This is a must visit attraction. We have been there many times and Miss D really likes it. In fact, all of her friends like it. Of course, the most fun part is you get to hand feed the animals from your car window. How good is that?

Taman Safari is an open range zoo featuring a live drive by into the safari itself. It is located in the middle between Jakarta and Bandung, takes 1-3 hours to go there, depending on your luck on the traffic :D.

Go on a weekday if your schedule allow as the traffic can be really bad during weekends or holidays.

Oh, riding elephants is second best to actually hand feeding deers. Miss D loved it.

Day 3

Why not go to Ancol, the beach side of Jakarta? It will certainly take a whole day and it is actually closer to the airport. There is a maritime museum in Ancol and some nice beach walks. Ancol is also the home of Dunia Fantasi (meaning Dreamland in Indonesian), a theme park with lots of carousel, roller-coasters, and some extreme ride. It is a really big place and make sure you carry a map if you visit. Beware, it can be really hot if you spend the whole day there.

If Ancol is not the best choice for you, why not spend some time on the museums in Jakarta. Like many other metropolitan cities, Jakarta has many museums on offer, such as the National Museum of Jakarta, Jakarta History Museum, Jakarta Fine Arts Museum and many more.

(Jakarta History Museum)

The National Museum of Jakarta is our pick. It is in the center of the city opposite the Monas. The National Museum of Jakarta is an archaeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical museum. The museum has a very good collection of artefacts from all parts of Indonesia, and the displays all have informative explanations. There are free tours in English but we missed it the last time we visit as the tour guide didn’t show up. But, it is for free, so you might try your luck and let us know if the free tour is good.

Still got energy after the museum? You might want to go to Glodok (the China town), the older part of Jakarta for a quick visit. If you want to feel the hustle and bustle of an older part of Jakarta, this is the place. The sights and the smells will linger long in your memory. Be aware of the pickpockets, though. Go visit Café Batavia in China town and chill out. Lots of expats go there at least once during their stay in Jakarta.

You can get cheap electronics in Glodok. But bargain hard as the prices on offer is very inflated when you are not a local.

We also bought our turtle, Indah, in Glodok. They sell all kinds of animals on the street of Glodok, from rabbits, birds, mice, to monkeys. You can easily spot them along the main street of Glodok.

Want something quieter than Glodok? If you happen to be in Jakarta on the weekend, you might like to try many of the buffets that Jakarta’s 5 star hotels offer either for lunch or dinner. These are real value for money and a must have if you love to eat like we do. Try the buffets at Ritz Carlton, Shangri-La, and Marriott. They all range at around IDR 288,000 per person (++ meaning add about 25% on top of the price for taxes and fees) with free flow soft drinks. If you enjoy free flow wine or alcohol, the price starts at IDR 488,000 (++, 1 USD = IDR 9,600)

For some of our readers, 3 days is totally not enough. Actually, this 3 day itinerary is so fully packed that you can easily extend it into a 5 day itinerary. So should we call this Jakarta 3 – 5 day itinerary?

Still not enough? Don’t worry, we will do a 7 – 10 day itinerary for Jakarta and beyond soon. These are also must visits for Jakarta and Indonesia.  So stay tuned.

Jakarta One Day Itinerary

31 Days In Jakarta Day 15

So you are in Jakarta, for just One Day!

Maybe you are having a business meeting in Jakarta and have a bit of spare time. Or maybe you live in the next city or country, and come by for a quick visit. Whatever the reason, here you are, in Jakarta, for only ONE DAY.

How exciting! What’s your plan? Anything you must see or do so that you don’t miss out the best part that Jakarta can offer?

Here is MidNightVisitor’s Jakarta One Day Itinerary:

Most likely you will arrive at Jakarta via the Soekarno International Airport. It is about  90 minutes to the Jakarta city centre.  Some will take a DAMRI Shuttle Bus to the heart of Jakarta.  But for us, we will just ride a taxi with a mere IDR 100,000 (1 USD = 9,600 IDR) taxi fare. Very good value for money, we would think.

Why not indulge yourself and stay in one of the excellent hotels in Jakarta. We like the Hotel Mulia Senayan because many of our expat friends stay there.

But really any other 5 star hotels will do. Jakarta has most of the world’s renowned 5 star hotels. Try the Shangari-la, the Grand Hyatt, the Marriott, or the Mandarin Oriental. They all have complete amenities, pools, gyms, beautifully rooms, and most importantly excellent restaurants and services.

For one day, chances are you will stick to the centre of Jakarta. Not a bad idea, as the city has much to offer.

We recommend you start at Merdeka Square (Independent Square). The National Monument (aka the Monas) is in the centre of the Merdeka Square. It is a tower of 422 feet tall and has a 35kg 24 carat gold tip. You can’t miss that if you are in the center of Jakarta.

From there, you can drive around and see the Istana Merdaka (the Presidential Palace), and the Istiqlal Mosque. The Istiqlal Mosque is the largest mosque in Southeast Asia, and can hold as much as 120,000 people. It is a spectacular building. Well worth a visit.

After that, you can go shopping at one of the shopping malls in the city. Grand Indonesia and Pacific Place are the two shopping malls we frequently visit. But there are many more. That will cost you the rest of your day for sure. Watch out, credit card. Here we come!

Shopping is not for you? Then go to Taman Mini: Indonesia in a park. It is a huge park over 250 acres and show cases full sized Indonesia buildings from 26 provinces in Indonesia. We normally spend a whole day there. But for one day visitors like you, please allocate at least half a day in this park. Admission is IDR9,000 (1 USD = 9,600 IDR) last time we visit.

Dinner time. There are so many restaurants in Jakarta. You sure will have a delicious dinner in no time. Try some local food, or any of the Italian, French, Japanese and Fusion food available. You won’t be disappointed.  There are so many trendy restaurants where you can eat while enjoying the night lights of the Jakarta city. Have fun.