10 Things About Jakarta
Takeaways from a Jakarta Trip
1. I'm perpetually always in a jam, anytime anywhere. Jam is a norm, if you are not in a jam, that's a miracle..
2. You really need a local guide to go to the local places. Most of the people do not speak English, so it will be difficult if you want to ask for something. Even their food menus are in their language. Hence, it will be good to have a guide, if you do not know Bahasa Indonesia. If you go Muara Karang, the shops are opened by mainly Chinese, who speak Hokkien.
3. There are many developments and shopping malls in Jakarta, but there isn't much to shout about. Shopping malls are more or less like those we found from Singapore, so if you are looking for a culture in them, there isn't.
4. There are very nice cafes and food around the PIK area, most of them heard internationally. PIK is like Dempsey of Singapore and it was not popular before a restaurant named Tekko was opened. Since then, the area became crowded with restaurants and diners.
5. Uber and GrabCar are established here, so you can try getting around with it. I did not try this service as I had a driver with me. But I heard it is safe and the locals' mode of transport as well.
6. There is such service called GoJek which assists to buy and deliver food to you. You will need to download an app and also indicate the place that you want them to collect the item from.
7. There is also such service called GoMassage whereby we can call masseuses to come to our home or hotel rooms instead of us going out. I spent around IDR200,000 for 2 hours of massage. Bad part is they only bring baby oil. So get your own oils if you want something special.
8. We went to the supermarket to find some foods that we want to bring back. Hero Supermarket is like Jasons Marketplace where they sell a lot of imported food and condiments. Carrefour is like Giant Supermarket where they sell a wide variety of food and snacks. If you missed them during your trip, you can still buy from the airport. We saw some of the food that we could not find, but the airport charges USD and it is expensive.
9. Their nasi padang and chilli is always a must try in every part of the city and they never fail!
7. There is also such service called GoMassage whereby we can call masseuses to come to our home or hotel rooms instead of us going out. I spent around IDR200,000 for 2 hours of massage. Bad part is they only bring baby oil. So get your own oils if you want something special.