Told ya!

I told ya that I selalu hot2 chicken sh!t when it comes to blogging! Sorry friends, I bukan sengaja x nak update tp mmg lately ni bz betul kat office. Malam plak, walaupun mata x boleh lelap awal tp ilham x jugak dtg..itu pasal byk sgt postings yg tertunggak..hopefully, I will be able to update this blog soon. InsyaAllah. Do come back ye? :) Thanks!

Jakarta - Di Tanah Abang, Wang ku Melayang ;p

Second day of the trip was dedicated for shopping. Shopping list dah ready. Currency converter table pun dah bagi sorang satu sebagai reference. Selama sebulan dua ni, just dok baca pasal betapa happening nya shopping di Tanah Abang. So today aku dapat gak menjejakkan kaki kat situ. Alhamdulillah.

Umpama dream came true! Ahaks!

We started our shopping mission as early as 8.30am. No breakfast! Gigih kan? ;p At the Grand Cemara hotel, it is very easy to get the bluebird taxi. Memang ada taxi stand kat tepi hotel. Staff hotel pun akan tolong panggilkan taxi.

Tips: kalo nak naik taxi di Jakarta, make sure that it's bluebird taxi. Byk taxi biru juga, tp bukan bluebird. Make sure ada tertulis bluebird di cermin depan. Kenapa? Sebab taxi bluebird charge guna meter & sgt reliable.

So the charge from hotel to Tanah Abang was only RP10K = RM3.50 utk distance sejauh 2km. Murah kan? Mmg jalan straight saja ke Tanah Abang, patutnya 10mins dh boleh smp. Tapi dek kerana macet di tahap gaban, maka terpaksa lah taxi driver menyelinap ke jalan tikus / jalan2 belakang.

Bila nampak je bangunan color hijau itu, excited lain macam!
Berbunga2 je rasa di jiwa! ;p

Tapi to tell the truth, I really hate the external surrounding. Sgt packed dgn vehicles, manusia and tak bersih.Kat sana x de alam flora agaknya, itu pasal kotor. Ala2 pening kepala tengok keadaan jalan raya yg mcm x de sistem. Kalau ada sistem pun, nobody cares to obey! Semua pun suka hati je bila nak belok, bila nak berenti, nak cilok etc. Serabut! Tetiba terkenangkan betapa damai nya memandu di Msia! This is serious! Macet di Jakarta ala2 20 kali teruk dari macet di Jalan TAR ketika di hari sabtu penghujung bulan ramadhan!!!


Lagi satu yg merimaskan ialah peminta sedekah yg kebykannya kanak2. Menyendeng saja sambil berbahasa Malaysia "makcik, tolonglah makcik." Apa conclusion? Conclusionnya mmg berlambak2 lah org Malaysia dtg berbelanja kat sini smp kanak2 ni semua pun pandai cakap mcm org Msia! ;p


Tapi bila masuk je bangunan Tanah Abang, block A, mata mulalah ala2 aktif dan bercahaya! Tak perlu lagi nak minum innershine tiap2 pagi ye utk pastikan mata bersinar ;p Ya Allah, byknya barang2!!! Especially bila pukul 9am kami dah start nak membelek barang, so suasana belum sesak sgt. Best!! Ala2 mcm nak tolong peniaga bukak kedai je lagaknya ;p


Tanah Abang ni ala2 pasar payang Trganu / pasar baru Bandung yg siap ber aircond. Keadaan kat dalam tu selesa dan cerah. Ada escalator, ada lift. Memang jawab nya sehari suntuk (belum tentu cukup!!) lah diperlukan utk tawaf 8 tingkat bangunan ini!


Food court di tingkat 8. Mmg byk masa dihabiskan di sini coz kami breakfast, tea breaks & lunch di sini.Makanan nya sedap2 ok. Bila the kid and baby meragam pun, kitaorg akan naik lepak2 di sini. Memang x de keje lain lah, asyik naik turun escalator ke tingkat 8 saja lah. Surau ada disediakan di tingkat 9. Facilities mmg selesa. Money changer pun ada utk emergency case yg ala2 di antara hidup & mati di Tanah Abang! Hahaha.. So,what else would you ask for?

Basically, brg2 mcm henbeg & kasut kebykannya di tingkat 7 and 6. Then accessories rasanya tingkat 5. Pelbagai jenis brooch, gelang, hiasan sanggul tudung etc. Tingkat lain tu lebih kepada baju2 mcm jubah glamor berbatu berlian ala2 nak pegi dinner atau malam anugerah AIM, baju kelawar yg cantik2, t shirt, baju muslimah, baju mandi muslimah (adooiiiii murahnya!), telekung, pakaian dalam, kasut, baju kanak2, barang2 utk lelaki etc.

Eh sebut je lah apa benda nak! Semua ada!
Itulah aku kata, it's like a dream comes true!

Kebaya and kain lace di tingkat bawah and di block B. Mmg cantik2 ya amat lah. Kalau feeling potongan badan mcm patung2 tu semua, silalah borong!! Rasanya ramai perempuan Msia yg balik from Jakarta akan bergaya ala2 nyonya mener berkebaya lace and kain sarung batik jawa yg malatops!

End up kami spent sehari suntuk di shopping heaven ini! Dari kedai baru nak bukak sampai lah kedai dah tutup! Itu pun masih x complete lagi list. Esok pagi kena repeat balik nampaknya. Ada plak barang2 dlm list yg tertinggal. Esok misi ke sini harus lah ala2 Amazing Race, coz masa dah suntuk!!! Terlanjur dah smp ke sini, ambik kesempatan utk beli barang utk percubaan meniaga secara kecil2an..


Kalau tahu mcm ni lah gayanya, x payah lah aku susah2 buat research pasal tempat2 menarik di Indon. Tak perlu lah spent time baca forum yg beratus2 pages and membaca reviews kat tripadvisor.com! Kalau beginilah, 5 saat je aku perlukan utk buat itinerary trip ni..

Kalau geng2 perempuan nak dtg Jakarta ini, aku suggest korang plan itinerary korang mcm ni:

1st day: Tanah Abang
2nd day: T. Abang
3rd day: Tanah A
4th day: TA

Senang kan?????? Memang berbaloi!!!!! ;p :p :p

*to be continued.

Jakarta Beyond Shopping (Part 2)

Apart from kawasan haiwan bebas, taman safari is also divided into many amusement parks. For more info, pls visit http://bogor.tamansafari.com

However, due to the time constraint we were not managed to cover many parks. Memang park nya tak lah se grand genting or sunway lagoon..tp best juga. Ada byk animal shows percuma! Managed to experience the sea lion show. Best!! Dapat jugak berposing dgn sea lion, walaupun geli geleman sebenarnya..and it's so obvious dlm gambo tu ye! hahahahaha..

Surau, toilets and food court pun ada disediakan, so memang sesuai utk "berumahtangga" kat dalam park ni sehari suntuk! Nak stay for night safari pun x de masalah coz ada disediakan bungalows, jacuzzi etc..Menurut kata pak supir, hotel pun banyak. So next visit, kalau ada rezeki mmg nak stay one night kat Bogor. Nak explore taman safari puas2.

So first day of the trip just pegi taman safari je. On the way back, masih macet sepanjang jalan. Keletihan sungguh! Al maklumlah, we started our day pukul 3am smp lewat petang tak rest2 lagi. So cakap pada pak supir, terus saja hantar kami pulang ke hotel. Tak payah lah nak dinner di puncak etc. Travel with kid & baby ni x boleh lah nak all out sgt kan?

Actually, kitaorg dah checked in hotel before ke taman safari. So balik hotel, mandi, rest and order room service saja. Hotel Grand Cemara is a 3 star hotel. Overall ok. Nanti citer panjang pasal hotel ok.

Esoknya ialah hari shopping sedunia! Tanah Abang, here we come!!! Tapi x de pic lgsglah! X sempat u ols! ;p

*to be continued.

Jakarta Beyond Shopping (Part 1)

When I told my friends that my next trip would be Jakarta, pls guess what was the first auto/default word came out from their mouths????

"SHOPPING!!!"

Of course, it was definitely one of the main reasons why I chose to visit Jakarta,
but I think Jakarta has more to offer than just shopping.

But what?? Clueless.

So, to solve that "mystery," I've spent around two months reading online travel forums, stalking travel blogs,talking to people from Jakarta, etc.
(Up to the extend that people thought that I was so into my academic research! ;p )


Finally, I found another treasure of Jakarta (of course, apart from the malls)..

TAMAN SAFARI INDONESIA,
CISARUA, BOGOR.
http://bogor.tamansafari.com/

So the first program of the trip was to experience the hidden treasure, which is located about 3 hours from Jakarta (it is very much depending on the macet situation ye). So it's better for u to start your journey in the morning so that u could reach the safari early. Trust me that it has so many fascinating things to offer, and you don't wanna miss a thing!


Macet was everywhere! Serious! Since I woke up at 3am, so I decided to take a nap.. Lagipun, bila dah macet non-stop, ala2 bosan plak nak enjoy the scenery! Layan tido and let other family members melayan pak supir bersembang. Macam2 plak topik, dari pelancongan, politik, artis, etc!


Bila terjaga je, dah sampai ke kawasan yg menaiki bukit..masih sesak ok jalan tu..kiri dan kanan banyak kedai2 makan, jualan hasil tani, kedai runcit and etc...senang cakap, macam berasa dlm sebuah pekan di pinggir bukit. Terselit jugak beberapa buah F.O, tp kurang menarik lah! Kalo menarik, sah2 dah suruh pak supir tu berenti kan kereta serta merta kan? Definitely x boleh challenge deretan F.O. di Bandung! (Mode: Rindu plak kat Bandung!)


Pak supir singgah di sebuah restoran makanan Padang. Restoran biasa saja tp ok bersih. Memang perut tgh lapar sgt coz we haven't eaten anything yet since 3am! So as usual, masuk je ke dalam restoran, terus pelayan hidang lauk yg ala2 20 jenis! Efficient giler u ols!! Sorry sgt x sempat pun nak take pic, al maklumlah kebuluran! Sedap sungguh lah masakan Padang ni..especially the sambal! Minuman yg dihidangkan ialah teh tanpa gula. Bagus, kurangkan gula dlm minuman adalah amalan hidup mulia! ;p


Lepas makan nasi, nampak pulak kerepek pisang cheese (sale cheese) yg sgt2 dirindui!! So beli lah sepeket, beli gak tempeyek kacang tanah..murah harga kat sini, rugi x borong banyak2!! Rugi gila! Total costs makan 6 adults (termasuk supir) ialah RP196K = RM68 oklah tu coz makan byk x hengat donia! Kalau kat KL rasanya, mmg x dpt lah harga ni.


Continued our journey to the taman safari dlm sejam lagi..tp dah nampak lah banner2 utk promosi kan tempat ini. Dlm 3km before sampai ke entrance, dah start nampak deretan orang jual carrots yg kurus2. So if you plan to feed the animals, sila beli carrots di sini. Kitaorg dpt RP10K = 5 ikat carrots. Excited! Excited! (Lupa nak ckp, I am not an animal friendly person, but I was excited to go to this place! Sgt ironic lagi misteri nusantara ok! Kucing pun sebenarnya aku takut!!! )


Entrance fees kat sini kitaorg bayar RP595K = RM208.50 utk 6 adults. Lebih kurang RM35 per person. Sgt worth it! Masuk je terus kereta dikerumuni zebra! Animals ni mmg tahu, kalo ada kereta datang, mmg murah le rezeki aku dpt makan carrots! So make sure u beli carrots in advanced ok, kalo tak mmg kesian sgt kat animals tu semua...They were expecting!! Macam2 animals yg akan datang! Part ni mmg agak tension dgn pak supir. Nak tahu kenapa? Sebab cermin kereta penumpang belakang x boleh bukak!! So if korang nak hire supir ke sini, sila specify, make sure semua cermin kete boleh berfungsi dgn baik! Tension gila kot!!! Padahal dah email the itinerary earlier. Hanya boleh bukak the sliding doors on both sides tp mana berani kot tiba2 kena sondol / tanduk dgn binatang tu sumer, sapa nak tanggung???

Taman Safari ni sgt sgt sgt luas! (Ini bukan typo, tp mmg purposely nak emphasis betapa luasnya tempat ni!). The best part, it has been compartmentalized into many gated areas..cth. macam area zebra dgn kambing sama, then ada area HARIMAU, area SINGA, area gajah, etc. Ya Allah, memang menjerit2 dlm kereta bila HARIMAU berjalan ke arah kereta nak beramah mesra!! Tidak dibenarkan membuka cermin kereta kat area2 binatang merbahaya ni semua. Nak cari nahas??

Basically mcm2 jenis binatang ada. Unta, zirafah, gajah, beruang pelbagai spesis, kambing, binatang pelik2 yg tak tahu nama, ba alif ba ya pun ada dilepaskan bebas, so mmg sgt puas hati. Binatang2 pun aktif, tak payah kita plak nak pegi "kejutkan" mereka di dalam sangkar mcm pengalaman di zoo negara & zoo melaka! oopsss!!!


*to be continued.

Jakarta - Airport ku vs. Airport mu

Sorry coz it took me a few days to update this blog. It has been a busy week for me. Was no mood to even think of what to type ;p

This entry will be about my first day experience in Jakarta. Hope that it will provide some info especially for those who are planning to visit Jakarta soon. It might not be that entertaining but I'll try my best to make it as informative as possible. InsyaAllah.


The flight was at 8am, so we reached LCCT airport around 5.30am. Thank you to my lovely cousin sister for being extra-kind to send us to the airport. Please make sure u arrive early at the airport bcoz LCCT is packed 24/7, 24 hours per day! I just couldn't believe that it was so packed! Many people were queuing up at the counters, although the time was only 5.30am. Good business huh Air Asia? Super-good in fact!! Bravo Pak Cik Tony & team!

Luckily that we have checked in earlier via internet or else will be wasting more time at the check in counter. Please check in earlier ppl. U can either do it at the kiosk / via mobile phone / internet. The queue at the baggage drop counter pun punyalah panjang!!! Sabar je laa ok.

Traveling with a 3 yrs old kid and a 5 months baby made it more challenging. Time itu lah nak meragam, nak susu, nak dukung x nak jalan etc...bersabar lah..it was just the beginning of the whole adventure!

So kelam kabut2, sempat gak lah solat subuh pada yg boleh bersolat. And sempat gak beli pelbagai jenis roti as bekalan (or to be more exact, sbg brg seludup ;p ) naik flight..bukan nak makan dlm flight pun, utk bekalan spjg perjalanan to Taman Safari later.

Flight was almost penuh..may be ada le 1 or 2 je seats yg kosong. Everything was smooth. Semua on time, x de delay. Take off pun ok, landing pun ok. It took about 2 hours to reach Jakarta. Landed at 8am waktu Jakarta (9am Msia). Tp masa dah nak landing tu tetiba baby Aiiysh menangis kuat..ingatkan kot telinga dia sakit ke apa ...rupanya2 jari kecik molek dia tersepit celah kerusi!! Adoii siap berdarah lagi tuh..kesiannya lah kat dia.. tp Aiiysh baby yg kuat, kejap je dia dh sengih2 semula!

Jakarta airport x sebesar KLIA..Tp besar sket from LCCT. Immigration process was ok..tp lama sket laa...ada ke bukak 2 counters je? tp x byk soal, so cepatlah gak settle. Make sure u get ready your tiket balik coz dia nak tgk..as if lah aku nak duduk lama2 sgt kat Jakarta tu kan? Bags pun cepat je dpt..coz airport lengang..it was so quiet!

Chapter airport matters dah settle, skrg chapter mencari pak supir. Patutnya pak supir tunggu with my name on a piece of paper mcm biasa..tp x de plak..aiyoo, dh mula nak panik. Tried to call him, tp x dpt..Kenapakah??? Padahal dah roaming segala.

Paling irritating, ada sorang mamat ni dok memujuk rayu (memaksa adalah lebih tepat) utk beli SIMPATI, sim kad indon.. tension gila kot.. tgh aku sibuk dok refer to the supir's hp # dlm printed email (sbb tu next time sila save hp number supir dlm hp awal2! baru tak terkial2), rupanya mamat tu dh sekodeng number telefon tu and called the supir. Dia igt bila dia buat mcm tu, aku akan beli lah sim kad SIMPATI dia? Rupanya supir dok tunggu on the other side ..ada 2 exit rupanya..oh lega! Nama pak supir tu Pak Firdaus. Macamana servis dia? Nanti aku citer pjg ..

Then, mamat SIMPATI ni accompanied us naik lift utk ke atas coz our NAZA was parked kat atas. Terus dia bebel2 dlm lift " beli lah buk...RP30K saja..sudah ditolongin tp ngak mau beli! bla..bla..bla.." eh??? boleh plak ko cakap mcm tu kan? Elok2 aku nak simpati, terus jadi berapi. Malas nak layan!

Another tip, berhati2 dgn porter. Diaorg akan sedaya upaya nak tolong angkat brg2 u dgn bayaran yg sungguh over-rated!

*to be continued.

Jakarta trip: Shop Until U Drop Dead Gorgeous! (Traveling Tips)

Syukur Alhamdulillah, trip berjalan smoothly as planned.

However, due to the super-packed-shopping-schedule, I have not jot a thing in my travel log during the trip! Hahaha! This is rare & abnormal!

So now, I am clueless on what to type for this entry coz not only there was no notes on the trip, but at the same time, I have only a few pics to share!! ;p

Let me start with the basic traveling tips.

My Checklist

1. Hotel arrangement - Grand Cemara Hotel. Agoda confirmation slip printed. Google map dulu location and get the approximate distances from hotel to the places that u wanna go..ini supaya u tidak senang2 boleh dikelentong oleh taxi tak bermeter nnt!


2. Supir/ driver - deposit slip & emails pertaining the arrangement printed. No telefon supir juga sila save siap2 di dlm hp supaya x terkial2 nnt nak belek documents.


3. Money matter$ - prepared a few envelopes to ensure that we have put aside enough money for the basic expenses (Supir fees, hotel, meals, ANCOL entrance fees, Tmn Safari entrance fees, airport tax, etc). Ini sgt penting utk mengelakkan diri dari menjadi hilang kawalan semasa shopping! Maka duit balance saja le yg boleh diabiskan di malls etc!


4. Extra Empty Bags - hahahhaha bak kata pepatah, sediakan beg kosong sebelum memborong! ;p

5. Tentative itinerary & tips gathered from online research & friends. Make sure tahu mana nak pegi, bila nak pegi.. Masa itu emas! kalo baru nak argue among group members di dalam taxi, adalah sgt x efficient namanya! Buatlah briefing awal2 dgn all group members, so that masing2 tau rough idea abt the plans of the day and know what to expect.

6. To buy list - this is like endless!!!! Make sure tahu apa nak dibeli di mana, tingkat brp (if possible, nama kedai yg bg harga murah), harga brp (supaya senang nak implement negotiation skills) etc.. Cth: Kain lace, lantai B1&B2, Tanah Abang, RM20-40.. Detailed plan mcm ni akan buat your shopping experiences lebih efficient!


7. Roaming service - sgt penting! Ini kes malas nak beli simcard sana. Tp sila pantau calls/ sms yg masuk or keluar..takut nnt budget burst! ;p


8. Sila block segala fb alerts, twitter alerts etc jika x mahu menanggung beban bil ala2 ribuan ringgit! baiklah abiskan duit itu di malls!


9. Call bank to inform that u r going to which country. Senang nnt kot2 nak withdraw duit from ATM (kalo emergency case ala2 antara hidup & mati di shopping malls!) and nak guna credit cards (plural ye, byk cards!)

10. Tukar duit rupiah awal2..usually i pegi the one yg kat warta, bangi tu..rate dia ok. Jgn kat airport baru nk cari money changer!

11. Bawak lah biskut utk stand by, esp bila ber vacation with kids.

12. Buat currency converter table siap2, print, potong ikut size yg boleh disimpan dlm wallet. Percaya lah, it will be your best friend!! Cth spt dlm pic di atas :)

Best regards,
LeeN from TRaVeL-LeeN

And of course, paling utama:
Tickets and passports - ini adalah nyawa!

Jakarta Trip 3-6 Nov 2011

Hi all,

I will be away until Sunday.

InsyaAllah, will update stories on the Jakarta trip ASAP.

Hope that the trip will run smoothly as planned.



Regards,
Leen from TRaVeL-LeeN

Love-hate situation

I am so in love with traveling

BUT

I hate packing & unpacking so much!



Progress report: No progress. NONE! ;P