A last minutes trip which I had like one week to prepare for. It was also the first time I was travelling alone to a city I've never been to, and to a branch which I don't know anyone there. The fact that there was a riot/protest there a few weeks before that didn't help my jitters. But I was a Malaysian, and Indonesia was practically considered my neighbour. Plus, I spoke fluent Malay (sadly better than I speak Mandarin....)
I stayed at Grand Sahid in Central Jakarta. I was supposed to stay in InterContinental, but it was fully booked and I couldn't afford the more pricier rooms. So for some reason, I got booked into a junior suite in Grand Sahid instead. It was ridiculously big for me. I had a whole living room to myself. It was so darn cosy that I spend most of my time there. Wifi was free, plus fruits daily. But I never did finish the fruits they gave me, so I only got one plate through out my 3 night stay. The banana was my own, in case I got hungry or something....
Jakarta wasn't rough, but still I was travelling alone, so I didn't want to take any chances. I highly recommend getting around by taxi. Download "My Blue Bird" apps for taxi booking. It was my first time booking a taxi via apps, and it was a breeze! No booking charges. Just state from where to where, and when, plus paid by method. I could even book in advance (which I did but later cancelled as I couldn't find a wifi spot).
Anyway, I made my way to Grand Indonesia on my first day there, and spend from 11am to 4pm wondering around there. I had Bakme for lunch there, something I've always wanted to try, and it was delicious. Grand Indonesia was huge! About 2 buildings of 8 storey each. There was a Indonesia Menari 2016 event there, and I spend almost an hour watching it. It was super awesome. I uploaded some youtube videos of it, so I'll also share them here at the end of this post.
As I didn't want to spend money on room service, I decided to buy back some food. I wanted to try their KFC, but I found this Korean Fried Chicken Shop that was newly open and was offering one-for-one. I wanted to just get 2 packs, but due to language problem, I ended up with 3 packs of chicken. But OMG, it was freaking good!
I also spend sometime at their supermarket and got myself some kid staff. They have so many Hello Kitty tissue papers that I can't help getting a few for myself. And as I have a huge TV in my room (2 TVs actually), I decided to get some snacks to entertain myself. I truly love being on my own, and travelling alone makes me realise how much I love it. It was just so peaceful.
But anyway, all good things must come to an end. I had to work the next two days. It was rather stressful and I went back each night exhausted and fell asleep instantly, sometimes in the middle of chatting with my colleagues in Singapore whom I was trying to support as much as I could.
Interesting thing about the place I work, it was almost like a small Japan. The building I was working at was occupied by mainly Japanese company. The basement was full of Japanese restaurant. But I refused to eat anything but Indonesian food! And OMG, Indonesian sambal is creamier and nicer than Penang Sambal! I am so in love with the food there! It felt so much like home. Anyway, above it a Nissin company at the basement of InterContinental. That's me standing next to a giant cup of Nissan. I'm not really a fan of this brand, although I do love their Singapore Laksa flavoured cup noodles which my roomie Bella introduced me to.
The long and the short of it, it was an enjoyable trip. I left on Wednesday morning (more than 1 hour to get to the airport). With not much time to shop at the airport, and right back to work upon landing. My job is hectic. I love travelling. But I also love my life! Not sure how long I'll work here, but it had been an awesome year where I get to travel to many places for free. Because of that, I don't feel so desperate to take my own leave to travel. Even so, I've been back to Penang 3 times, Japan 2 times, India 3 times......
Anyway, enjoy some of the awesome dance of Indonesia Menari 2016!
It's kinda like zumba. And it's so sensual! I wanna learn to dance like that. It looks fun, cute, and sexy!
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