samyeap.com

Updated: 18th Oct’08

Two weeks ago, I became a millionaire instantly when I was in Jakarta. However, having Rp 2,900,000 for a five days trip doesn’t make me richer financially but definitely richer in experience.

I was with another 2 friends ( a guy and a girl ) and my girl friend’s mum for the first 2 days before my guy friend and I decided to stay in the central Jakarta while my girl friend and her mum continued to stay with her father in Tanggerang - suburb city of Jakarta.

I have managed to get sufficient information from the net before my trip to Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor and  Punchak which all located at Jawa Timur Jawa Barat. For those who likes to travel to Indonesia by backpacking, here are the links for you to start searching for information.

1. www.wikitravel.org

2. www.asiaexplorers.com

3. www.tripadvisor.com

4. http://www.interpower.com/ic/guide.htm

5. http://www.jakchat.com/forums/

6. http://www.streetdirectory.com/travel_guide/indonesia/

7. http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/index.jspa

I personally found tripadvisor very useful, especially the forum. It helped me a lot during my trip in Jakarta and Bandung.

Below are the schedules during my trip in Indonesia.

30th April

Arrived in Jakarta at 22.40pm and head to Tanggerang where we slept in my friend’s father’s house.

1st May

Depart to Bandung. We visited Tangkuban Perahu followed by Ciater Hot Spring and shopping at the factory outlets. Over night at Grand Sereela Hotel.

2nd May

Continue shopping and went back to Jakarta in the evening. Over night at Tanggerang. ( We are supposed to go to Taman Safari at Punchak and Bogor but we run out of time due to shopping in Bandung ).

3rd May

Depart to Central Jakarta. Stayed at Le Margot Hotel at Jalan Jaksa, near to Gambir Train Station and Monas. Shopping at Tanah Abang and Mangga Dua ITC. Went to Milles Discotheque, EX Plaza and past by Sarinah Store and Hard Rock Cafe.

4th May

Took a jeep to Bogor and Taman Safari in Punchak.

5th May

In the morning, we went to Taman Mini Indonesia. Arrived in Penang at 10.30pm.

To summarise, this trip is an eye-opener for me. A lot of things that has been said about Indonesia is not true, at least this is what I found out during my trip over there.

However, Jakarta to me is not a tourist friendly city. Every where you go, you will be in traffic jam or Indonesian called it majet. The city is very polluted and crowded with people. The third thing is Indonesian are more open minded compared to Malaysian. I will tell you why later. Lastly, there are still a lot of friendly people around Jakarta who are willing to help you.

Well, I always thought that Singapore is the best place to shop during its mid-year sale. But I was wrong the moment I entered the factory outlets in Bandung especially Rumah Mode. You can find lots of original branded clothes and pants such as Armani Exchange, Nike, Burberry, Hugo, Armani, Giordano and England. Most of the shirt cost between RM 20 to RM 40 while the pants cost around RM 40 to RM 80. If you like shopping then Bandung is the paradise especially for men. Besides being a popular shopping paradise, Bandung is famous for its hilly scenery where you can find tea plantation all the way up to Tangkuban Perahu. Some parts of Bandung looks like Cameron Highlands.

The botanical garden in Bogor is a tad over rated. I didn’t like the place except the Istana Bogor which is located inside the garden. Penang Botanical Garden is much much better than the Botanical Garden in Bogor. The latter is poorly maintain and there are not many things to see. You can take out this place from your itinerary.

Next, the most worthwhile place to visit is the Taman Safari in Punchak. It is a very large place and  have a lot of animals. Every time, the animals get very near to our jeep, I will get very excited.

Lastly, we visited Taman Mini Indonesia in the morning on 5th of May. Nothing much to see except the many types of houses found in Indonesia and several museums. I get bored after a few rounds in the Taman Mini.

That’s all for now. Stay tuned for the details info on Jakarta, Bandung, Bogor and Punchak in the upcoming post.