8.6.13

Jakarta and Its Surrounding Area Tourists Guide

i just arrived from singapore today and this trip truly made me realize that indonesia, even jakarta, is way better than singapore. for example, i went to marine life park which is said that it has the biggest aquarium in the world. at the first journey, while walking around this aquarium, i saw indonesia's richness. damn!!! seriously guys. frankly speaking, we have the most beautiful, colorful, gorgeous, even the biggest amount of fishes of them all. oh don't you believe in me? you can prove it by yourselves (just believe in me for god sake).

i've gone to singapore for many times - not too many, but more than one (not to be arrogant), but i think this one was really inspiring. i don't know why this suddenly popped into my mind, like how i thought singapore looked like jakarta and many more. i think jakarta needs ONLY to improve these things to be worth proud-able: citizens, traffic, environment (includes rubbish), and self-awareness.

there should've been more tourists, from all around the world, to come to jakarta this day. although those things can't be fixed in a short time - ikr, jakarta has a lot of tourists attractions worth visited. i have to admit that singapore is really creative and brilliant in pulling the tourists to come. the people follow the rules and they aren't afraid to rebuke the rules breakers. that's why i feel jealous of singapore.

btw imma list up all the things in this post so you guys, i hope, might be curious to visit jakarta - i'll also list up some cool places located outside jakarta but it still can be reached with car in less than 6 hours from jakarta.

kidzania
none of jakarta folks doesn't know about this attraction. we have this cool edutainment! although this attraction made for kids, but this attraction still can't block its amazement. i'm 15 right now and probably too old for this stuff. to tell you the truth, i still wanna visit and play in kidzania.

it's located in pacific place mall, 6th floor, south jakarta. this attraction lets the kids to do some adults jobs. they can be a fireman, doctor, racer, presenter, adventurer, dubber, actor, radio announcer, designer, baker, electrician, cashier, lawyer, police, and many more. there's also a disco, university, and bank. you guys gonna be given a debit card and check. kidzania has a currency called kidzos - i've already had 900 kidzos yay. you can shop with your kidzos or use them in the factories. there're a lot of factories here, like ice cream, noodles, cookies, and mineral water. the limit age of kidzania is around 3-17. seems interesting?

dufan
dufan is the biggest theme park in jakarta. it's located in ancol dreamland complex. tbh this park is totally crowded. so that i prefer to buy "premium" ticket. it's like the fast track of dufan. obviously it's much more expensive than the regular one. it costs around rp. 300000/person or usd 30, while the regular costs around rp. 125000/person or usd 12.5. but believe in me, once you pay for the premium, it's gonna be worth it.

remember, dufan is freakin' crowded. trust me, if you pay with the regular cost, you'll only ride 2 booths for 5 hours. you'll get some privileges if you're a premium customer: you don't need to queue - you're gonna be prioritized, you'll have a lounge to rest - the parents can relax here while their kids are playing, and also you can play a booth for many times - for example i wanna ride the big wheel for 5 times, your dreams gonna come true.

pantai segarra/segarra beach
it's also located in ancol dreamland complex. actually, ancol has many beaches. but i prefer this one for sunbathing. the others are too crowded.

this beach is so sterile. you can't bring mattress, food, and drink. too many conditions? no. the beauty of the beach gonna be more enchanting if you follow the conditions.

gelanggang samudera
it's located inside ancol dreamland complex. if you wanna watch some animals shows: seals, dolphins, belugas, and many more. there's also a 4d attraction here.

sea world
it's a complex of sea miniature located inside ancol dreamland complex. it keeps a lot of colorful sea creatures of indonesia and others. there's a moving horizontal elevators where you can observe big sting ray, shark and other fishes under the aquarium. you can touch some fishes in some area too. 

waterbom pantai indah kapuk
it's located in north jakarta, quite near from ancol. it's a big water park. jakarta has a lot of water parks, but i prefer this to visit. in my opinion, this park is not too hot and also not too crowded. it has various exciting slides. you should try the excitement someday.

kota tua/old jakarta
all of the old buildings in this site look admiring. but, there's something really important needs to be fixed to enhance the beauty of the site, which is the criminals. you should be careful with your precious, like phone, wallet, or jewelries, while coming to kota tua.

but don't worry, outside that problem, this city is beautiful. this city keeping tons of histories of indonesia from the colonial era. it also has some museums. there's fatahillah museum which collecting lots of stuff used in the colonial era. there's also mandiri museum. the building used to be a bank and collecting stuff related to old banking activities.

my dad also said that there's a kinda trip around kota tua but it's usually held at night. well if you like 'creepy' atmosphere, you may try it. however, kota tua also offers ontel (oldies bike) service to go around kota tua at the day.

monas/national monument
it's the mascot of jakarta. it's a tall monument which is located in central jakarta and it has gold on the top of it. this monument has a museum on the ground floor. this museum tells the history of indonesia. if you wanna see the whole jakarta city, you can go by lift to the top of monas.

monas also has dancing fountain which dances every saturday and sunday, at 19.00-19.30 & 20.00-20.30. it's usually crowded. but if you're okay with the crowd, i think that's not a problem.

bundaran hi/hotel indonesia roundabout
i prefer you guys to visit this monument while "car free day" is being held. anyway, car free day is usually held on the weekend. there's no car and motorcycle allowed on certain roads. only bike and transjakarta bus allowed. in this special occasion, the road from bundaran hi to monas, and vice versa, is free from car and motorcycle. then it'd be better if you go to bundaran hi and say 'hi' to patung selamat datang (welcome statue).

taman mini indonesia indah/beautiful indonesia miniature park (literally translated)
it's a culture-based recreational area located in east jakarta. tmii consists of various parts: venues of indonesian provinces (models of each of the houses from indonesian provinces), religious buildings, gardens and parks, technological centre, museums, theaters, monuments, halls, buildings and other exhibits, rides, recreation facilities, lodgings and restaurants. i think i should give out the map.



situ babakan
it's a lake and surrounded with betawi culture, located in south jakarta. you can fish here, you can ride a sorta boat but you need to ride it like riding a bicycle - idk what it's called, and you also can try some betawi foods.

for those who don't know betawi is, it's a calling for one of indonesia's ethnic groups.

gedung gajah (elephant building)/national museum of indonesia
this museum isn't collecting anything related to elephants. this museum is called as 'elephant' because there's an elephant statue stands in front of the building. it's collecting archeological, historical, ethnological, and geographical objects.

it's located in jalan medan merdeka barat, central jakarta.

tugu proklamasi/proclamation monument
this monument is located in jalan proklamasi, central jakarta. the monument was constructed on the site of indonesian proclamation (declaration) of independence in 17 august 1945. the monument featuring the statue of indonesian first president, soekarno, reading the indonesian proclamation of independence with vice president, mohammad hatta.

sky rink jakarta
for those who like ice skating, you guys should come here. it's located in taman anggrek mall, west jakarta. 

taman menteng/menteng park
it's located at jalan raya hos cokroaminoto, menteng, jakarta pusat. it accommodates more than 30 species of ornamental plants. taman menteng also has various supporting facilities, such as a playground for children, indoor soccer field and basketball court. in addition, 44 pieces of infiltration wells were built in the garden area as rain water uptake. 

tebet
tebet is one of jakarta teenagers favorite spots for hanging out, eating, or shopping at some distros (distribution outlet). it's located between kampung melayu and casablanca, south jakarta.

kemang
the origin of kemang was a quite betawi kampong but it has been gentrified into an expatriate residentials. it is now a bustling area known for its international-oriented facilities such as traditional craft retails and night clubs. nevertheless, some of the original kampong still exists behind the high-class residentials.

malls
jakarta has plenty of malls, yet i will shout out worth-visited-malls:

1. grand indonesia (central jakarta)

it's located near to bundaran hi. this mall is so big that even crossing bundaran hi. if you want indonesian souvenirs, just go to alun-alun on the 3rd floor.

2. itc kuningan (south jakarta)

if you wanna find some cheap prized clothes you can visit itc kuningan. it a bit looks like lucky plaza in singapore.

3. pondok indah mall (south jakarta)

this mall is quite big and always enlivened by visitors. 

4. sarinah (central jakarta)

it's the nation's first air-con shopping mall. here, you will find all the clothing, cosmetics, jewelry, housewares, artwork and souvenirs. a must visit is to level 4 where you can find batik creations and level 5 which specializes in indonesian artwork and souvenirs.

5. pasaraya blok m (south jakarta)

the entire floor of this mall is dedicated to batiks and handicrafts (a better destination than sarinah in central jakarta, though perhaps a tad pricier).

6. plaza senayan (south jakarta)

it's located on jalan asia afrika near the gelora bung karno stadium. plaza senayan has 2 major department stores as well as high-end boutiques.

7. cilandak town square (south jakarta) & la piazza (north jakarta)

these malls offer a plethora of eating opportunities.

in addition, jakarta also has lots of salons, spas and fitness centers. we have abundant facilities.

now, in this part, i will write down the places which located outside jakarta - located in west java and banten - you need to visit.

taman wisata mekarsari/mekarsari fruit park, cileungsi, west java
taman wisata mekarsari is one of the biggest biodiversity conservation centers of tropical fruits in the world, especially indonesian fruits. it takes 1.30 hours from jakarta via toll road. but, remember about the traffic jam, it may take 3 hours to go there. but don't worry, my advice is you should go earlier in the morning. it usually opens at 08.30 until 16.30. you only need to bring rp. 15000 on weekday and rp. 20000 on weekend/public holiday.

it's equipped with various tourism facilities, such as family garden, recreation lake, baby zoo, melon greenhouse, outbound, kids fun valley, falls building (puri tirto sari), and many more. you can go around mekarsari by a train. you also can pick the fruits by your own and bring them home.

for your information, taman wisata mekarsari has some economy packages. there's 'paket belimbing' or 'star fruit package'. it costs rp. 35000/person on weekday and rp. 40000/person on weekend. it includes outbound and train. there's also 'paket durian' or 'durian package'. it costs  rp. 98000/person on weekday and rp. 100000/person on weekend. this includes 10% discount for garden center - this is where you can pick the fruits and vegetable by your own, discount for the souvenirs, greenland tour, outbound, train, and banana boat.

taman safari/safari park, bogor, west java
indonesia has 3 safari parks which are in west java, east java, and bali. the west java one is the nearest from jakarta. it usually takes 2 hours to go there. but, it may take 4 hours to go there if there's traffic jam. so just like my earlier advice, you should go earlier in the morning. it opens everyday from 9.00 to 17.00.

you can go around the park by your own car and also feed the animals. there are a lot of people selling the fruits, which are the animals' foods, while approaching the entrance gate. there's also a theme park inside the park.

it also facilitates a night safari. if you wanna try the night safari but you're too tired to go back to jakarta at that night, thus you can stay at safari garden hotel which located near to the park.

kebun raya bogor/bogor botanical gardens, bogor, west java
it's located not too far from cibubur, the suburb of jakarta - that's where my house is. it takes an hour from jakarta, unless there's no traffic jam. always remember to go earlier in the morning. it opens at 7.30 until 17.00. there's a cafe inside the garden which is dedaunan cafe. i prefer you to enter thru the main gate. next to the main gate, there's an information center where we can ask for brochure and map about interesting objects inside the garden. at this information center you also can hire a guide - imo, the advantage of having a guide is you're gonna have a more effective visit.

anyer beach, banten
it's a tourist attraction with hot swimming water, a hotel and rental of resting sheds, boats, four-wheeled motorcycles, water scooter and a banana boat. it isn't less good with the one in bali. you can reach anyer for 3.5 hours.

there are still lots of worth visited places in jakarta and its surrounding area which located in west java and banten. but maybe i will post the others in another post.

it's kinda a really long post. i hope this post would be useful for those who read it. my last advice while visiting jakarta is keep aware with the traffic jam and pay attention on your precious - there's no any safe place in this world tho.

enjoy jakarta!

4.6.13

Movieworm 2.0

as i promised, in this post i will add some my-kind-of movies.

the great gatsby
this movie was set in the 20's. it told a story about a rich guy named jay gatsby. he always made a big party every week at his house and all people around new york always came to his house without any invitation or uninvited. no one knew why he held this party while no one also never met him in person.

one guy named nick carraway was invited to his party - remember, no one had ever been invited by him. it meant a lot then? why was he invited? imma give you some spoilers here, so you'd rather be careful while reading this post.

nick carraway had a cousin named daisy buchanan. she was married. gatsby was crazy in love with her - they had ever been in a relationship before gatsby sent to a war. this was why gatsby always arranged a party every week, hoping daisy one day would come.

this buchanan family was such a troubled family - however this family had already resulted a child. the trouble was tom buchanan, husband of daisy, had an affair with someone named myrtle wilson. daisy already had a feeling that there was something distracting their marriage.

one day, gatsby asked nick to arrange a meeting between him and gatsby. after the meeting, they started to fall in love with each other again. daisy always made a time to visit gatsby's house and therefore, gatsby never held a party again. his dream came true.

tom knew about his wife's affair. he felt jealous. he wanted to get rid of gatsby. he tried to find the background of gatsby. where did his richness come from?

the fact was that gatsby came from a poor family but he tried and worked like selling beers to get money. he was such an optimist guy. i'm inspired by his spirit, truly.

however, tom told lies to daisy about gatsby's how-to-be-rich. daisy was stressed out and she accidentally hit a woman with gatsby's car while going home - that woman was tom's affair. she died. tom was shocked when found out her corpse. he insulted gatsby for hitting his affair, which made myrtle's husband became very mad.

this story ended with gatsby's death. this story was so perfectly compiled, like how nick actually knew everything about gatsby and the buchanan family plus a plot-twist that made us thought that the buchanans were such evils. the plot was great and this movie's worth an oscar - for god sake, LEONARDO DICAPRIO AND TOBEY MAGUIRE MY SPIDERMAN.

now you see me
i don't know how to express this brilliant movie. this movie mostly told about 4 magicians who fought corruptors by stealing their money and gave them all to the folks, like robin hood. but seriously their tricks were genius.

they were, at first, some amateur street magicians, but they were gathered by 'the fifth magician'. they did 3 incredibly huge shows. the police always tried to catch them, but failed.

the point of this movie is to find the fifth magician and catch the magicians. the plot-twist was incredibly unpredictable. for your information, morgan freeman took a part in this movie and that made me think that it was him, who was the fifth magician.

their trick were f@&#ing genius. you guys need to watch it.

black swan
the horror and the plot were really catchy. this is such a psychological horror thriller movie, so i love it! "i feel it, perfect, it was perfect."

well, i haven't watched any other brilliant movies. i'll make some others tho!

3.6.13

Challenges

i have no idea what should i write right now. i had some ideas about this post, but it just poof-ed away. well i guess i should just write about some challenges i've faced lately which have quite taught me on doing the living.

this is one of the challenges which i recently faced. around 3 weeks ago, i accidentally broke my friend's glasses. i didn't know anything about her before i broke her glasses. i felt guilty so that i took her glasses and tried to fix it. then i and my mom tried to look for the same frame. we found it although it was a bit bigger, at least it still looked the same with the one i broke. it took a quite long time for us to find the very same one, but we couldn't. so that i told my friend about that and she was okay with it.

yesterday, her mom called me. she confessed that her daughter couldn't see with her new glasses. she felt dizzy, she said. i told her that i found a new frame for the glasses and the lenses were still on the making. i said that they were gonna be ready in 5 days. all she wanted was to have the glasses back in a short time - she said that it was okay if i only gave her the frame, without any lens. i panicked. i felt totally guilty at that time then i told her mom that i would try to complete her demand.

i immediately called my mom after the call. my mom said that she had already paid for the lenses so that it would be bad if i just canceled the lenses. then i told my friend about it and she said that she was fine for waiting for 5 days for her new glasses.

i wanna share my second challenge i recently faced. it's kinda a failure. i registered to be gadis sampul 2013 and i had completed all the conditions to register like photos, completing the form, and listing my achievements. i was quite optimist to be selected as one of the finalists.

i waited and waited. and my mom bought me the magazine which included a page of the selected finalists. there was no me. my dad said that it was about luck. there were a lot of applicants so that my form might be forgotten to be checked out.

why the hell did i share these stories? am i complaining? i only realized some great advantages i got from facing all of them.

the first case has taught me on being calm in explaining something. i may have to face some people's negative feelings when i become a doctor. it taught to be calm in explaining the truth, maintaining their emotions, and also improving my mentality towards older customers.

for the second, this is a special case god has given me. this made me realize the importance of praying. i forgot to pray. and i also think that this is the best for me. i imagined if i was accepted, i wouldn't be able to focus on studying to become a doctor which is my main dream. maybe i will be very busy on my gadis sampul training if i'm accepted rather than practicing or discussing on how to be a good doctor. god also has given me the most precious thing i've ever got so far: i'm accepted as a my-dream-university-faculty student.

i believe, those aren't sorrows. they are learnings.

24.5.13

National Examination

i've just got my result today. although i know it's still not fixed yet, i have no idea why i cried when i knew it. i started to cry like i wasn't satisfied with it. i expected to get higher scores than the reality one. but i realized that i should've been grateful to god that this doesn't mean the end of the world. i still have a lot of things to do to reach my dreams.

i think i cried because i think this exam is about pride. it can lower your confidence if you don't get your dream scores. for example in my case, my school is one of favorite high schools in jakarta, even indonesia. then as a student of that school, i expected to get pretty high scores on this national examination. thanks to god my school is on the top 10 of schools which got high averages upon this exam in the whole Indonesia. 2 of my friends are on the top 12 of indonesian students in terms of national examination's averages.

and also in this case, both my friends had never been on the first rank in school examinations before. in my opinion, national examination requires a luck. you can even get high scores even if you're never on the upper rank.

indonesian high school's national examination include 6 subjects such as math, physics, indonesian, english, chemistry, and biology. i don't think indonesian score really determines your destiny - the answers are mostly opinions. neither do the others.

my father said that the national examination's result didn't specify the future. we don't need to give out our national examination result in our acceptance job. my mother also told me that i had to work really harder in the university and also while doing my job - they're surely the real determinations. high school was only a preparation for the real battle. just let the past go by, high school is only the beginning, not an end.

i still have a lot of chances in reaching my dreams. i don't need to worry. i will keep doing my best and hoping god bless me.