Glodok and Pasar Tanah Abang

It is really quite easy to get around Jakarta and the surroundings. Their Busway system is confusing but quite efficient in getting you where you want to go. You just need to pay 3,500 rp and you can then transfer from one bus shelter to another via sheltered walkways without ever leaving the Busway system.

On this Sunday morning, there was some sort of walkathon going on. And the number of people involved, all along the road as far as the eyes can see.

We visited a few markets today. First there was the Pasar Tanah Abang which is within walking distance from our hotel, about 15 minutes slow walk. It is actually a building, almost like an old shopping mall, which sells clothes, men, women, children. But what is more interesting are the roadside stalls around the market.

 

 

There are stalls selling all kinds of fruits, shoes, toys, food, goats and even birds. However, the one thing they didn't have and which I was looking for, was keropok.

So we took the Busway to Glodok, which is supposed to be the "Chinatown" and searched there. Here the Pasar Glodok is even more interesting. The goods available here include Chinese medicine, Chinese artefacts, a whole selection of electronic goods, a wet market in the basement, all kinds of candies and biscuits and even rosewood furniture. I found what I was looking for, prawn keropok, fish keropok, emping keropok and even sugared dried prawns.

Once again, the streets surrounding the "pasar" were more interesting. It is a street market where you can get almost anything. Golden nail clippers, stuffed toys, traditional combs, pots and pans, slippers etc etc etc. Things I have not seen for a long time were also available there. It was definitely worth our time to travel there. All kinds of street food was also available. Unfortunately, I was too engrossed in looking and shopping that I did not take many photos of the place. Next time I will remember to photograph more to show you what I mean.

Weekend Getaway

I spent almost the entire day travelling, on an airplane, in a taxi and in a mini-van but mostly on the TransJakarta bus system. I flew into Jakarta on an early morning Air Asia flight and took a taxi from the airport to the hotel near Sarinah. The flight took about 1.5 hours and surprisingly the taxi took only 30 minutes to get me to the hotel.

The rest of the day, I spent travelling to visit my friend's family in Bogor. The journey was really long (about 3 hours) and took several transfers on the TransJakarta system. By the time we reached the house in the Ra Al Kompleks, it was almost 4pm. The one interesting fact is that the current Indonesian President has is residence just across the road from the kompleks, which is like an estate of government housing.

Along the way, there were so many roadside stalls selling my favourite fruit, I could not resist but to ask my friend to bring me out on his motorbike. We had a feast.

Followed by cooling off with some of the sweetest coconut juice I have ever tasted. No sugar syrup needed.

After that it was the trip back to Jakarta and the hotel. Being a Saturday night, the traffic jam was unbelievable. Took us more than 4 hours to get back.



Universal Studios Singapore - Officially opened

Universal Studios Singapore had its Official Opening last Friday 27 May 2011. Before that, USS had a soft launch on 18 March 2010. Over the past year, I had the opportunity to visit USS for a couple of times. And here are some of the attractions I enjoyed.

 

 

 

 Doesn't it look absolutely fun? Makes me feel so young again. You've got to experience it yourself.