The view of Jakarta city in the morning from our hotel front window.

While the rear window shows a stark contrast of the panorama.

Jakarta slum sandwiches between high rise and posh buildings.

 The ladies having morning chats by the river.

We check out from the hotel and pick up by Pak Dadan, who will drive us to Bandung. I guess it is still early; Jakarta seems to be extremely quiet.

 En route to Bandung, we request Pak Dadan to make a slight detour.

The traffic starts building up on the exit to Bogor. Unfortunately, we are trapped in a road closure, a system introduce by the government to ease the traffic congestion (in Jakarta they have traffic schedules. At a time one way will be closed to open up for vehicles from the other directions, vice-versa). Unlucky for us; but definitely not to these street peddlers.

Being stucked for about an hour, we are already restless over the wasted time. But the Jakartarians seem to be taking it easy.  Not a single profane word is heard, no shouts, honks or what so ever. They don’t even look stress. I guess they are already used to it. Malaysian drivers should really have this kind of patience.

People starts coming out from the car for fresh air while waiting for our turn to move.

 Soon after, we are allowed to move. Half an hour later, we reach Bogor.

Our first agenda of the day is to visit the Safari. But before that, we buy some fruits and vegetables to feed the animal from one of the many stalls that could be spotted along the way.

Welcome to Safari!

A warm welcome from our adorable host.

The safari gives you the chance for a close encounter with the animals.

Fate is not on our side today as it suddenly rains heavily. All the animals run for shelters.

The giraffes and deers.

The big cats.

It is still raining when we leave the safari. We continue our journey to Puncak, on the way to Bandung.

Puncak Pass in mist. Puncak, which literally means ‘the summit’  is a highland 2 hours drive from Jakarta. This is a view of the Puncak Pass taken from the restaurant where we are having our delayed lunch. It is a favourite place for Jakartarians to escape the hot and hectic city.

 Minutes later, the mist is gone and we have better view of the surrounding.

My models inside the restaurant enjoying the superb lunch and the astounding scenary.

After lunch, we are on the move again – to Bandung. It is a strenuous 3 hours journey from Puncak, via the old roads. Thank god the view along the way is wonderful, we lost track of the time.

We reach Bandung around 5.30pm, and stopping by this remarkable mosque to catch up with the afternoon prayer. It is simply out of the typical mosque structures without the ordinary domes and minarets. The kufi caligraphy that adorns the exterior is simply amazing.

The praying hall facing an orb with Allah’s name on it. Symbolic.

 The water and the view add to the tranquility.

 Another view of the mosque before we leave.

End of Day 2.

Half past 7am (local time) we are already in Jakarta air. Beneath us; rows of warehouses.

 Structures becoming clearer as we descend.

We arrive at Soekarno Hatta Airport five minutes past eight (local time), still feeling sluggish from our untimely journey from Kuala Lumpur (we woke up at 3am in order to catch our 7am flight; plus some drama at the airport -thank goodness, otherwise we would find ourselves in Jogjakarta instead of Jakarta as the flight crew misheard us and direct us to the plane for Jogja. Imagine running from one gate to another which unfortunately located at each far end dragging two kids and an old lady. I would like to recommend Air Asia to put a signboard to avoid future confusion and hassles).

My first observation when we landed is that the airport is quite small and aged for a capital like Jakarta, in total contrast of the new and posh Sultan Iskandar Muda Airport of Banda Aceh. Exiting the custom, our driver Pak Erwin is already waiting for us.

 With our jovial host and driver, Pak Erwin at Soekarno Hatta Airport.

Welcome to Jakarta!

To our (and our driver) relief, the street is exceptionally quiet and idle; perhaps because it is on long holiday.

We straight ahead to Taman Mini Indonesia Indah, abbreviated as TMII (Indonesian loves abbreviations!) a park that showcase Indonesia in miniature, something similar to our own Taman Mini Malaysia in Malacca.

There are many ways to tour around the TMII, from the tandem bicycles to the trishaw-like bicycles all available for rent.

Still tired and cranky from the lack of sleep, we opted for the easy ones.

The bird eye view of TMII. The house of Riau somehow resembles the Malacca house. Perhaps my ancestors were from there.

We bypass a lake with man made islands. That must be Sulawesi.

Off the cable car, we stumble into this cute lil’ performer.

It’s a bit pity though to see him being chained, strained and forced to do the act.

 DH and the kids seem to be having a jolly good fun.

 In front of Istana Anak Anak (Children Castle).

 Kids’ traditional dancing competition is eventually in place.

The young dancers in their colorful costumes.

But Ahnaf and Acha have something else distracting them. Kids will always be kids.

Jakarta is full of skyscrappers. We have neck pains from looking up to much all the way to the hotel. According to Pak Erwin, it is typical for apartments and condos in Indonesia to have 50 floors.  That is roughly half of Malaysia Twin Tower!

An ojek race us to the hotel. Definitely this three wheely is not our match.

The public bus. Note the high door to align with the height of the bus platform.

In Jakarta, street peddlers and beggers are a common sight, especially at traffic lights and congested areas. People will do anything in the name of survival. I salute that. But when seeing kids as young as my own peddling or begging for money, that is a sight that tear my heart.

Checking in Studio One Residence, Jakarta.

A secured hotel this is. Our chip-embedded proximity card.

One need to flash the card in the elevator and the room’s door for access.

We venture out again after refreshing ourselves. Pak Erwin patiently waits for us. We plan to visit Tanah Abang, a wholesale mall which is the talk among Malaysian ladies but unfortunately being a “Red Day”, it was closed when we arrived. Pak Erwin detour to Pasar Baroe instead, something like Bugis Street in Singapore. Found nothing interesting, he then brought us to ITC Cempaka Mas.

Inside ITC Cempaka Mas.

The colorful bags containing ladies praying shroud.

Mom’s doing the shopping.

It is already dark when we finish shopping. The time shows 6pm but it feels like it is already past nine. Traveling with kids and the elderly does not permit us to extend our day. After having our Minang style dinner, we retire to the hotel to rest.

End of Day 1.

P/s: To those interested to get the service of our driver, Pak Erwin can be contacted at +62081284111162.