10+1 Things to Do in Jakarta

1. Visiting shopping malls.

While in Singapore, visiting shopping malls is THE only thing to do, in Jakarta, although it's still people's favourite, it's not the only one. Some famous malls include "Plaza Senayan", "Kelapa Gading", or everyone's favourite "Mangga Dua" (NO, that's not a franchise of "Mango" in case you are wondering).

Before you are wondering "Hey, am I really in Jakarta?" when you start to notice that there's very little difference between shops in leading malls in Jakarta and in Singapore or Hong Kong, I must tell ya "You ARE in Jakarta, don't worry man."

2. Giving Appropriate Tip to Taxi drivers and waiters

With relatively lower price of food and service here, it's just appropriate to give some tip. Must I remind you how low their salary is? Some people barely can survive, so if you are wondering where to throw away your rupiahs, thank me that I give you such wonderful suggestion: to their hands.

3. Becoming a millionaire
You don't need to work harder and longer. Welcome to Indonesia, a place where SGD 150 can make you a millionaire (yes, that's 1 MILLION rupiah :))

4. EAT, EAT, EAT... Slurrppp

Singapore needs a book called "makansutra" or "XX best foods in Singapore". In Jakarta, you can throw a stone and find some good local delicacies.
Some famous restaurant like "Lembur Kuring", "Ayam Goreng Bu Suharti", among others are some of the best foods I have ever eaten in 22 years of my life.

If you think Indonesian foods here in Singapore are nice, I must tell ya, don't blame me if you can't sleep for 3 days imagining the food you've just eaten because THEY ARE CRAZILY JUST TOO GOOD!!!

Some foods to try: ayam bakar, gurami asam manis, satay.

You almost can't go wrong eating in Jakarta, so if you tell me you eat McDonalds there, I only have 1 sentence for you.. "Kacian deh lu!!" (Poor you, in English)

Note: if you can't take spicy food, tell the waiter so, because the sambal (chili) there can be very, very spicy for non-Indonesians.

5. Visiting Ancol, Monas, and Sea World.

Well, my explanation might be inaccurate, coz I visited those places more than 10 years ago. But still, those places are very good even until now, according to my friends and relatives.

6. Visiting Mangga Dua.

I know I am repeating myself, but good things are worth repeating. It's a must-go place for girls whose favourite places are Bangkok and Hong Kong only because 1 thing: shopping. With amazingly cheap price (even cheaper if you can bargain), shopping-addict will find this place a dream comes true.

Famous phrase: "Aduh, mahal sekali. Boleh kurang nggak?" (That's too expensive, can it be cheaper a bit?"

7. Meeting Agnes Monica's fans in a restaurant

In Singapore, people don't care when Christopher Lee passes through them, Jakarta people will shout in disbelief when they meet their favourite celebrities like Agnes Monica. BUT BUT BUT Don't ask the person beside you "who is she/he?" because they will look at you with disbelief as if you don't have television at home.




And btw, if you meet someone beautiful with mixed accent (Indonesian and funny English), that person might be Cinta Laura (Google it :))

8. Sleeping

Don't feel strange if people sleep at 10.30 and wake up at 5.30am.

9. Macet

It's a common reason here if people are late for meetings and say "Aduh, macet tadi. Sori ya" (Sorry, just now got traffic jam). Welcome to Jakarta.

10. Eating

If you can only remember 10% of this post, the 10% is this: EAT! In this city, you can find good foods with amazingly cheap price, from Chinese food to Korean, from Turkey to Western, from Japanese to Singapore and Hong Kong food.

WARNING!!! 11. Gaining Weight

Most good things come with side effect. For this case, here it is.
When you go shopping for clothes, please make sure you choose 1 or 2 sizes bigger than your usual size, because with the food like that, I BET 1000 rupiah that your size will never be the same after you come back from Jakarta.

Alternatively, make an appointment with your gym buddies to go to gym afterwards. Don't say I don't warn ya.

Welcome to Jakarta!