Indonesia Guide

[hulawho]

any nice and cheap hotels or hostels you can recommend for Bali? thanks!

[kimdimatulac]

hi sis reamae and laey, we're staying at Sultan Hotel. Is that near Mangga Dua? What malls/establishments ang malapit dito where i can possibly shop?

[mademoiselle]

For Hotels near Mangga Dua you can try Novotel, Hotel Ibis and Le Grandeur. Personally di ko type yung Mangga Dua it's like Divisoria, think Tutuban Mall, 168 etc., mas naeenjoy ko talaga yung mga malls nila kasi marami ding shops na wala dito pero meron sila

Sultan Hotel is far from Mangga Dua kasi from Central to North Jakarta plus the terrible traffic

[laey]

^^kung yan yung nasa Senayan, sa tingin ko malapit ka sa Senayan City at Plaza Senayan. Malapit ka din ata sa Monas at sa Museum nila. Di pa ako nakakapunta dun.

Mas malapit kasi ako sa Grand Indonesia at Plaza Indonesia. Kung mas type mo malls, pwede mo din yun puntahan siguro mga Rp25K to Rp30K mula Senayan City. Pero mas madami kang options sa Senayan City.

Madaming malls dito - Kalapa Gading Mall, Central Park, Taman Anggrek, Grand Indo, Plaza Indo, Blok M, Plaza Semanggi, Pluit Village Mall(?),etc, pero dahil malaki ang Jakarta (North, South, East, West, Central), medyo magastos sa pamasahe, mabilis pa metro ng taxi. From Grand Indo to Kelapa Gading Mall - est. Rp50K. Kung balikan ako naka Php500 na ako kaagad.

Mas malls nila, pero mas gusto ko pa din sa SM. hehe. Wala akong mabili e.  Pero try niyo pumunta bago magLebaran (end of Ramadan), ayos ang mga discounts.

[kimdimatulac]

^^thanks sis mademoiselle for the info. actually, the company booked our hotel so I don't have a choice. seems like i won't be able to go to Mangga Dua then. i just thought of going there kasi it was mentioned here nga na it is a haven of good bargains. what shops do they normally have sa malls there? have you been to senayan city mall and plaza senayan? how pricey are the items there? dun ko na lang plan bumili ng mga pasalubong since according to the website of sultan, they are 5 minutes away from those malls.

^hi sis laey, i've been waiting for your response. hehe thank you you mean mas madami choices na malls na pupuntahan sa senayan city? ano kaya pwede mabili from the malls as pasalubongs? meron bang parang local brand ng jakarta for apparel like bench, etc.? or would you know if may department store sa senayan city and plaza senayan? if food naman pasalubong, ano kaya pwede?

[laey]

Sa Senayan City (mall nga pala ito), mas madaming options dun at katabi niya lang ang Plaza Senayan. Walking distance lang.  Ang Grand Indonesia din naman, katabi lang ng Plaza Indonesia at ng EX. Medyo di lang pangmasa ang mga stalls don.

Eto ang mga department stores sa mga malls na naalala ko.
Grand Indonesia – Seibu (May kamahalan, sa Plaza Indonesia, di ko maalala kung meron man)
Senayan City – Debenhams (Pwede na, Mayroon ata tayo dyan sa me Rustans, di lang ako sure)
Plaza Senayan – Metro
Plaza Semanggi – Centro

May Sogo (not the motel  ) Department Stores din sila, di lang ako sure kung sang mall. May Marks and Spencers din karamihan ng mga malls.

Batik kasi naiisip ko pag Indonesia. May mga mura naming batik, yung sa malls, medyo may kamahalan. Kung bibili ka ng pasalubong, mas okay siguro sa Ambasador mall. Mas mura dun. Kaso parang Divisoria Mall din yun pero sa tingin ko, mas maayos ng konti sa Mangga Dua. 

Ako kasi nung first time ko umuwi, yung mga produkto na lang nila dito ang binili ko na wala sa Pinas. Tora Bika Coffee, Indomie, Silverqueen Chocolates, Chitatos, at keychains na sa Airport ko na lang binili, wala ng oras e. 

Try niyo din food nila:
Soto Betawi, Soto Ayam/Daging (Chicken/Beef), Sate Ayam(Chicken), Martabak

Sabihin niyo lang "Jangan Pedas" baka kasi mapasubo kayo sa anghang ng pagkain nila dito.

[pink_baby]

Just got back from Jakarta! When I read here na puro malls lang ang Jakarta, I thought boring pala ang Jakarta. But no! Their malls are first class! As in maganda pala! For me walang sinabi ang MOA sa Grand Indonesia! Favorite ko ang Grand Indonesia! The way they designed every establishment, every floor may theme pa, I super LOVE the food court na may bamboo sticks...basta masaya ang maganda malls nila! Kaya kahit malls lang pala sa Jakarta, ok nadin kasi experience din puntahan ang malls nila! Plaza Senayan and Senayan City is also great, madami selections sa Metro Dept. Store! We felt we were lucky because all the malls we went to were on sale when we went there last week. Enjoy sa Jakarta! Ask niyo lang ako if you have questions, habang fresh pa sa memory hehe

[laey]

^that's great to hear. Love ko din Grand Indonesia. And the foodcourt, I love it, too. Pero love ko din SM. Natuloy din ba kayo sa Bandung? 

[kimdimatulac]

thanks a lot sis laey for the comprehensive list of pasalubongs! that's of great help kasi di na talaga ako masyado makakaikot pa. i'm travelling na on thursday. sana may mga sale pa. Ambasador Mall seems to be near lang din sa Sultan but i might visit na lang if i have extra time. mukhang ang sure shot ko na dapat puntahan is senayan city and and plaza senayan since magkalapit lang sila. so it's like hitting two birds with one stone. i just learned din na we're going to Dufan for some teambuilding activities but i doubt if i would have time na tumakas and go to Mangga Dua.

^^sis pink_baby, yung Metro Department Store meron din sa Senayan City or sa Plaza Senayan lang? would you know kung may mga sale pa this weekend? Lastly, would you mind giving us an idea kung ano ano mga napamili mo from Jakarta?

[pink_baby]

^hi sis kimdimatulac!

Sis wala akong nakitang Metro sa Senayan City, sa Plaza Senayan lang ata. May Sogo dept store din in Plaza Senayan, pareho ding sale pero mas nagustuhan namin mamili sa Metro Baka sale pa sis kasi buong October ata sale

Napamili namin mostly branded shoes and bags. Super dami selections nila ng hush puppies for men and other brands, basta madaming shoes for men, nagenjoy dad ko kakapili. He frequent our malls here and sabi niya konti lagi selection kaya happy siya sa Jakarta Women's shoes like Guess, Elle, Pierre Cardin, Clarks, basta madami din! I didn't really know madami pala design ang shoes ng Pierre Cradin! They even have Pierre Cradin lingeries on sale! Sa handbags, ayun Elle din, Pierre Cardin, basta halos lahat ng brands na maisip ko. They have so many Guess bags too! Mas madami designs doon kesa dito and on sale too! I know paulit ulit lang brands na binabanggit ko kasi yun yung mas tinignan ko eh pero madami pa talaga

[kimdimatulac]

^oh thanks a lot sis pink_baby!! mukhang masarap nga magshopping sa jakarta ah.. excited nako! 

and last na sisses, what time open malls nila? hehe sorry super limited time talaga..

[pink_baby]

10am ata open na sila hindi naman kami nagtry magpunta earlier than that kasi

[arielle]

safe kaya magtravel kung mag-isa lang ako sa jakarta? 

[kimdimatulac]

Hi everyone, I just got back from Jakarta. Just like sis  pink_baby, enjoyed my stay there too. Although they can be considered as a bigger Manila lang, i find their people more hospitable than Filipinos. Our counterparts from Jakarta really went the extra mile and took care of us up to the last minute of our stay. Compared din to our other SEA counterparts, Indonesians yung pinaka-jive ng Manila office namin. We are on the same wavelength so we didn't have a hard time adjusting to them.

True, madaming malls sa jakarta and sophisticated at that. They have the biggest mall in SEA, it's Grand Indonesia. Di ko napasok 'tong mall na 'to but looks very nice sa labas pa lang. I went to the following places during my 4-day stay:

Senayan City Mall - It's an 8-floor mall with a 4 or 5-floor Debenhams Department Store. We ate at Urban Kitchen which is like a sophisticated food court. They have various dishes there (Korean, Indonesian, Japanese, American, etc.)

Plaza Senayan Mall - shopped at Metro department store. They were on "Big Sale" for the whole month of October. As per our Indonesian counterparts, this time of the year is really a Sale season in Jakarta.

FX Entertainment Center - Lifestyle Center full of restaurants. They have a giant slide in the mall that starts from the 8th floor down to the ground floor. Spiral slide siya and you have to wear a helmet. My colleagues and I weren't able to try it though.

Dunia Fantasi - theme park. It's quite old but they have very interesting rides. Must try: Tornado and Hysteria.

Harum Manis - authentic Indonesian restaurant.

Ambassador Mall - Their version of Greenhills/St. Francis Square. I'd say na some items almost same price lang dito but they have styles that are not yet available here. Maybe those that came from Bangkok, nauna dumating doon.

Plaza Semanggi - another high end mall pero di ko masyado naikot coz kumain lang kami doon.

I'd say they have a better business district than ours in Makati. Mas bago and mas maganda architectures ng mga building doon.

[pink_baby]

^welcome back sis! I agree in most of the things you said! Sayang hindi mo napuntahan Grand Indonesia, mas ok siya sa loob sis, by far the best mall I've been too ever! Sayang hindi ko napuntahan FX entertainment center, I would have tried that 8 floor slide! mahilig ako sa mga ganun eh hehe Buti sis nakahabol ka pa sa sale! Ano mga napamili mo? Where ka pala nag-check in sis? Glad you enjoyed your trip

[kimdimatulac]

^thanks sis! i bought mostly clothes and dresses from Metro Department Store and Ambassador Mall. I bought a genie pants, a maxi dress, slacks, and a dress that looks like one of those that you'd find in Forever21. sayang sis, the giant slide looks fun pa naman. kami din eh nasasayangan na di namin na-try. because one, closed na siya when we ended and two, lasing na mga officemates ko. hehe

At Carrefour Supermarket, bought the following for pasalubong:

Indomie Mi Goreng Instant Noodles
Kappal Api Java Coffee
Tora Bika Capuccino
Beng-beng Chocolate
ABC Sambal Asli (spicy catsup)

Btw sisses, if you want handcrafted items for pasalubong, there's a wide range of choices sa departure ng airport. We bought some there. Ako may nabili ako na parang lipstick case na batik yung tela/ material. They also have nice magnets and keychains there. Tapos meron din mga pamaypay na batik yung material. HTH.

[laey]

^nice to hear that you enjoyed your visit here.  okay din ang sale during Lebaran Season since majority of Indonesians ay mga Muslim. 

safe kaya magtravel kung mag-isa lang ako sa jakarta?

I've met one, he's a Pinoy from Singapore. And he did alright. But I don't know if he enjoyed his stay. Indonesians are nice (generally) pero siyempre ingat lang lagi. And I agree that they're even more hospitable than Pinoys.

[arielle]

^ thanks a lot for the answer to my query. kagagaling ko lang sa jakarta , and di masyado nakaroam dahil one day lang halos ang time ko sa pasyal, and yung pinakamalapit na malls ay plaza and grand indonesia, which are high end malls, daming indo chinese na rich ha.. ang gaganda pa ng bihis. wala rin nabili kasi pag convert ko halos pareho lang sa sing dollars. 

i used the blue bird taxi, ang tagal ko naghintay almost 1 hr din, karamihan yata puro blue bird ang pinipili, plus you should review a little bahasa indonesia sa numbers, by number kasi ang tawagan, lucky for me, yung  university student nakasabay ko nagpalit kami ng number para mauna na daw ako and mag-guide nya yung taxi driver,, wow bait naman !  yung airport nila parang pareho lang ng NAIA natin. paglabas pa lang may mag-ooffer  na agad ng taxi,  ingat din dami rin daw colorum dun, kung san-san ka pwede ikot ng driver.

  milyonaryo nga ako sa indonesia, dali rin maubos pera ko haha,, yung display na prize nila sa food excluded pa yata ang tax dun kaya nagugulat ako iba ang prize sa menu.  sa batik keris ako nakabili ng pasalubong sa mall. 

[tulips28]

Just got back from Bali.. ala pa atang thread kc ng bali [textspeak!].. If anyone of you wanted itinerary and infos for bali tour, just send me an email or pmessage Im very much willing to share mine.. Bali trip was a blast!! Bali offers sooo many activities that you would definitely enjoy basta, it's a recommendable destination for adventurous travellers 

[tulips28]

Just got back from Bali.. ala pa atang thread kc ng bali [textspeak!].. If anyone of you wanted itinerary and infos for bali tour, just send me an email or pmessage Im very much willing to share mine.. Bali trip was a blast!! Bali offers sooo many activities that you would definitely enjoy basta, it's a recommendable destination for adventurous travellers 

@hulawho: sis, can you give me your email ad? I still could not reply to your message, ala pa ata ako kc rights to send a message. I'll send you infos