Tag: City Tour Jakarta

Introducing The Jakarta Transportation Mode, Transjakarta Busway

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Once you step into Jakarta City, you will see a lot of vehicles on the street. As the capital city, the city has a very dense population. This causes a lot of traffic congestion problems in many parts of Jakarta. With the intention to solve this problem, the government came up with a plan to provide proper Jakarta Transportation to make the citizens choose to opt out using private vehicles. Therefore, the Transjakarta Busway was established. For a glance of this mode of transportation, please check here: https://www.jakartawalkingtour.com/transjakarta-bus/

Since its establishment, the Jakarta Transportation has undergone a lot of changes and improvement. From the number of corridors, tracks, and even bus type, size, and colors. As for now, the Transjakarta Busway has established more than 14 corridors around Jakarta. The integration map of those corridors can be found here: https://transjakarta.co.id/peta-rute/ The bus type has divided to BRT (rapid transit bus) and non-BRT. The BRT bus will stop and depart from normal Busway shelters that spread around Jakarta, meanwhile the non-BRT bus will also stop and depart at bus stops with a sign at the side of the streets.

Aside from only Jakarta Transportation, there are also Transjabodetabek that cater to commuters that live outside Jakarta as in Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi. This reflects on the corridors’ number code, for example, B11, that runs along the route of Bekasi to Jakarta on corridor 11. S for Serpong, T for Tangerang, C for Cibubur, and so on.

The fare is relatively cheap for Indonesian, with IDR3500 per person and no additional charge for transiting between corridors. An electric money card is needed as a payment method to ride the bus. Nowadays, most of the buses use gas as their fuel and buses which use gas have a blue color paint on the bodies. Some of them are electric buses, and the color is soft green.

The operational hours for this Jakarta Transportation vary depending on the corridors. The earliest departure is from 5AM and the latest is 12AM. One thing that a visitor must notice is, there are a special double decker buses with a special route for tourists that want to see around the roads in Jakarta while riding buses with the best view. It is better known as “Jakarta Explorer” with seven options for route theme. You can choose to explore history, culinary and art, modern Jakarta, and so on. Say no more, prepare your card, tap in, and you are ready to go!

Going Around Jakarta with Jakarta Transportation

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Along with the continuous development of Jakarta as a capital city, Jakarta Transportation also undergoes a lot of improvements as today. There are already many options to go around Jakarta using public transportation.

Jakarta Transportation is divided into two types, intra-city and inter-city transportation. For intra-city transportation in Jakarta area, we have Transjakarta, Microtrans, and MRT (Mass Rapid Transit/Moda Raya Terpadu). These types of transportation modes are provided to people who want to go around within the Jakarta area. Transjakarta are big buses that you can ride from the Transjakarta Busway shelters, Microtrans is smaller vehicles like car or used to called “angkutan kota”, and MRT is train like transportation that you can ride from subway stations.

For intercity of Jakarta Transportation, there are options like KRL Commuter Line, LRT (Light Rail Transit/Lintas Rel Terpadu), and also Transjabodetabek. These modes are intended to provide transportation for people outside Jakarta area, including Bogor, Depok, Tangerang, and Bekasi, hence the name of “Jabodetabek” area, as many people commute from other cities while working in Jakarta or vice versa. The routes and fares for each mode are usually provided on their respective websites.

These modes of Jakarta Transportation are meant to provide people with decent public transportation so people will opt out using private vehicles to solve traffic congestion problems in Jakarta. The fares are relatively affordable for Indonesians, starting from IDR3500 or less than 1USD. You can even ride for free on Microtrans as long as you carry an electronic money card.

Stay tuned for more information about how to ride, routes, and fares for Jakarta Transportation. See you in the next articles!

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : Scotland Guests

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This week, our friends come from Scotland named Liam and Marianne. They both took annual leave from work to travel to some well-known places in Indonesia. Jakarta was the last city to visit before they head back home so we decided to make their visit memorable. I took them to few historical places, such as Jakarta Old Town, Cathedral Church, Istiqlal Mosque, National Monument and Menteng area.

front of bedug in jakarta mosque

The largest ‘bedug’ in Jakarta

inside the istiqlal mosque

The Grand Mosque Istiqlal Jakarta

 

The weather was so hot and humid when we walked around, especially in National Monument. We arrived by 12 am and lucky us, there was not too much people, we got a chance to go to the rooftop and enjoy Jakarta’s view from above. At our walk home, around 20 people gathered at front gate and apparently they are bikers community who has been cycling all the way from Denpasar to Jakarta! What a tough people!

After walked down half day, we went to Suropati Park in Menteng and had a little rest, chatted about the exclusive Menteng area. This park really is an oase in the middle of bustling city, so calm and peaceful. Perfect way to wrapped up our walking tour!

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : US & France Guest

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I don’t usually group someone with another person when running Jakarta walking tour. But, Johanna, a guest from France, let me run a tour with ‘additional’ guest, Susan, who came from Washington DC. What happened next? They both surprised me.

Témpé” and “Peté” are Their Favorite

Johanna, who has a plan to travel across Indonesia in three weeks, loves ‘peté’. Peté is a local fruit that usually paired with sambal (chili sauce). It has a bitter (a little bit) and a crunchy taste, because you can eat it directly, freshly, without being cooked first. What made me surprised is…. peté for some people, including me, is a food that we must avoid, so I was laughing when Johanna said, “I like it!”

Source : suaramerdeka[dot]com

Source : suaramerdeka[dot]com

If you eat ‘peté’ too much, then your urine will smell soooo bad for one or two days after you ate it. Even if you already flush your toilet a couple times, the smell is still there, lingering inside your toilet. That’s why when someone eat ‘peté’, some other people will feel ‘eeeeww..’ and imagining about bad smell in the toilet, lol..

And, how was Susan? Did she like ‘peté’ too? Unfortunately, she was not there when Johanna tried peté at Padang Restaurant. She already back in the hotel after one day strolling around Jakarta Chinatown and Jakarta Old Town area with us. In our walking tour, Susan said, “I like témpé, we have it on the (United) State, but we don’t cook it in as tasty a way!”

tempe jakarta

Tempe

So…what’s came to my mind is Susan should eat ‘témpé’ when we had lunch together. Oh, wait, I didn’t wait until lunch to let Susan and Johanna taste local foods.

We ate coconut milk popsicles, called ‘és potong’.

the best popsicle in jakarta

We tried fish cake, called ‘pémpék’.

Pempek (Fish Cake)

And so on…

I should say thank you for my friend, Meta, who joined the tour, also Susan and Johanna, to let me understand customs and habits in their own country. Thank you and see you when I see you! 😀

Jakarta Tour Reviews

Jakarta Tour Review

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : Holland Guest

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I always feel excited when meeting people who attend the same university with me. That was happen when Anne and Laura said, “We came to Jakarta to study in University of Indonesia”. At that moment, I was thinking, “Oh well my friends, let us start our Jakarta crafting day and share stories about University of Indonesia!” 😀

Anne and Laura both came from Holland. Their main reason to choose studying in Indonesia is that they can have better access to travel across this beautiful country, starting from Sumatera (meeting an orangutan), Yogyakarta (enjoying sunrise at the top of Borobudur temple), Bali, Lombok, and so on…

How about Jakarta? In Jakarta, I cannot give them beautiful forests or beaches to see, so we played together by painting local crafts.

It was something that they did differently with usual weekend. In Jakarta, malls and department stores surround us. Those are easy places to choose when we want to hang out with friends. But with me, I let them to experience something different, let’s get back being children once again for one day! \m/

Jakarta Travel Review

 

Happy Birthday Jakarta! #JKT488

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June is Jakarta Festive Month! Today, June 22th is Jakarta’s birthday, so there will be a lot of festivals that would be held in Jakarta around that time. So, you will have an opportunity to come to one or two festivals while you are in here. What kind of festivals are there?

1. Jakarta Fair Kemayoran (JFK)

This is an event to celebrate Jakarta’s birthday. It is usually held for a full month from June to July and took place in Jakarta International Expo Kemayoran (JIExpo). There will be many vendors from all over Indonesia who sell various kinds of products and you can watch music shows at night in here.

2. Jakarta Fashion and Food Festival

It is held around May and June. This festival includes fashion festival, food festival and night carnival. In year 2015, it is open from May 13th until June 7th. This year, the event took place in Summarecon Kelapa Gading, but for every other year, the location might changes.

jakarta shopping tour

 3. Jakarta Great Sale Festival (FJGS)

If you like shopping in Jakarta, then this festival will be perfect for you. You can shop around malls in Jakarta and get a discount up to 70{9e84ad3adf7f6649419c3d34c511cc75d18ba3101b1ac61299241cdd2f2cd7ab}. This usually held around June until July. Here are the Jakarta Great Sale schedule in each mall in Jakarta whose participate this year :

Central Jakarta Malls :
– Grand Indonesia: 26-27 June 2015
– Plaza Indonesia: 12-13 June 2015
– Senayan City: 3-5 July 2015

South Jakarta Malls :

– Ciputra World Lotte Shopping Avenue: 20-21 June 2015
– Gandaria City: 27 June 2015
– Kalibata City Square: 27 June 2015
– Kota Kasablanka: 4 July 2015
– Lippo Mall Kemang: 27 June dan 4 July 2015
– Pejaten Village: 27 June 2015
– Plaza Blok M: 27 June 2015
– The Plaza Semanggi: 10-11 July 2015

West Jakarta Malls :
– Central Park: 3-5 July 2015

East Jakarta Malls :
– Mal Taman Palem: 26-27 June 2015
– Arion Mall: 19-20 June dan 26-27 June 2015
– Cibubur Junction: 20-21 June 2015

North Jakarta Malls :
– Emporium Pluit Mall: 27-28 June 2015
– Mal Kelapa Gading: 20 dan 27 June 2015
– Baywalk Mall: 20-21 June 2015

4. Jakarnaval

This is a cultural parade that held in National Monuments or Monas. This is presented by DKI Jakarta’s government to commemorate the birth of Jakarta City. It usually features an art parade and parade floats.

Those festivals are held annually. So you don’t have to worry if you miss one of them. You can still join the festivals in the following year. There are also the other small festivals in each part of Jakarta. If you want to know more about it, you can visit DKI Jakarta’s government website. But for now, you already know when the best time to visit Jakarta if you like a lively atmosphere. Yep, June it is!

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : Italy Guest

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It was a perfect sunny day when I ran Jakarta walking tour with Francesca and Neil. I got an impression that I will start to like them, because we have something in common. We can smile and laugh easily. 😀

We started our walking tour in Monas, a national monument that surrounded by the largest park in the heart of Jakarta. And continue our walking tour to Jakarta Old Town and Jakarta Chinatown. I must say, we had a lucky day from the very beginning. We got a lot of chance to visit some place that usually will not open for public.

Where is it? The Amazing Tree House.

the tree house city tour jakarta

Usually, I cannot visit this house and just imagine what this tree house inside looks like from the outside. This place for photography purpose, and we must rent for the whole house to get inside it. We passed this house in the early morning and nobody is around. I asked the guard to take a peek inside and he allowed us to get in a while. See what you can see inside this amazing tree house in Jakarta!

the tree house city tour jakarta

Tree eats the house

Another lucky chance was a shadow puppet performance that held just for that day in June. Even we cannot understand Javanese language that shadow puppet master said, but the music was so amazing. They played with a full set of gamelan (Javanese music orchestra for shadow puppet performance) and brought two sinden (singer) that have magical and enchanting voices.

Since Francesca and Neil decided to stay long here, they asked me a lot of things about this city. Yes, we did a city tour, but actually we were talking, discussing, and commenting everything about Jakarta.

I was introducing Francesca local habits, customs, and some ‘tricks’ to live like a real local. How to take a bus ride, where to shop or buy specific things in Jakarta, and eat a lot of Jakarta snacks. It was not even a Jakarta Food Tour, but they had a full stomach in one day with me, lol.

coconut ice drinks

I cannot get enough to please the lovely couple I just met on that day. So, after hours of walking, chatting, and eating, I took them to a foot massage parlor in local Chinese mall. Neil, who was supposed to be stronger than Francesca and I, cannot endure the strong hand of his foot therapist.

It was hurt a little, but it’s for his sake. But, he can’t endure it and said, “I don’t care what he said, just stop it!” with a horrified face. I and Francesca cannot stop laughing at him. Hahaha…

But, when the therapist starts to do head massage, he really liked it. It was like he can took it forever, and again, we laughed at him harder and harder. 😀

After a wonderful Jakarta tour that we had, Francesca said to me, “When I found your website, it is really like oh my God this is what I looking for, and yes it is. So, I can’t wait for our Jakarta Food Tour next month!”

bank indonesia museum

Chatting with two local kids who speak English very well! Amazing kids in their young age

Yes, she and Neil want to book my other tour experience, Jakarta Food Tour. I am so touched that people enjoy a walking tour with me and had an unforgettable moment in Jakarta. This capital city is not a touristic city, but such a lovely city. People can fall in love so easily as long as they start to open their heart to love, something that I did since a long time ago. 😉

jakarta tour reviews

Should I Buy Indonesia SIM Card?

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Yes, you should buy an Indonesia SIM Card if you need to contact someone or make an internet connection through your phone when travel to Jakarta. Why is it important to buy a SIM card? Sometimes people need to contact you or otherwise, you need to contact your family, but you can not use your original SIM card in Jakarta, Indonesia, then the best option is to buy a new one to use temporarily. Find out more reason here.

1. SIM Cards In Jakarta Are Cheap

Since the competition between providers is really strong, they try to offer services with reasonable price to win over new consumers. So, you don’t have to worry about the prices. It is quite affordable even for a local citizen, except if you want to buy a SIM card with specially arranged numbers or known as “nomor cantik”. For a normal number, you can get it for IDR 20k or IDR 30k for one SIM card.

city tour jakarta

2. An Easy Way To Contact Someone

Maybe you could contact your original SIM card provider to change the setting to make it available to use when you go to Jakarta. But just in case the service is unavailable, it will be more convenient for you buy a new SIM card instead in Jakarta for a temporary use.

3. Always Connect To The Internet

You should buy a new SIM Card if you always want to be able to contact someone, or you need to connect to the internet all the time. Of course there are some places that provide WiFi in Jakarta, but you cannot always find them. Maybe you can find them in restaurants, hotels, and malls. But if you are eating at a “warteg”, just don’t expect to find it. Besides, sometimes connecting to a WiFi will only get you a slow connection because many people connect to it as well.

There are many providers in Jakarta, but the recommended ones are Telkomsel, Indosat, or XL because they are big players and already covered many areas beside other providers. You can buy SIM cards in public places like malls, stations or cellphone stores near residential areas. It is quite easy to find actually.

So, have you decided what to buy? Then go straight to the store. Buy that SIM Card, use it in your phone,  and don’t forget to add Jakarta Walking Tour number in your contact list 😉

Places To Buy Daily Products in Jakarta

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If you are traveling to some places around the world for a few days, it can be quite bothersome if you have too many stuff to bring. Actually, there is a way to make your luggage lighter. How? Just bring your clothes and documents, and buy daily products such as toothbrush, soap, shampoo and etc. at your destination. Hotels or Inns usually already provide these, but sometimes they don’t match your preferences. So, where are the places you can buy those products in Jakarta?

1. Place to Buy Daily Products in Jakarta : Department Stores or Malls

There are so many malls in Jakarta and you could easily find at least one supermarket inside it. You can usually find Carrefour, Hypermart, or Giant.

2. Places To Buy Daily Products in Jakarta : Minimarkets

Minimarkets are located at office complex, apartment complex or near residential area and they are located at roadside, so it will be quite easy to locate and find them. Minimarkets that you will probably find are Indomaret and Alfamart. Look! They are quite similiar, eh?

3. Places To Buy Daily Products in Jakarta : Traditional Market

There are also stalls in traditional market that sell daily products. Sometimes it could be quite cheaper than any other places, but you should extremely careful because in traditional market there are also sellers who sell fake or expired products.

From three option above, you could choose which one you think would fit your preferences most. If you are familiar using a famous brand or more expensive products, you can go to malls. If you prefer to buy quite affordable and decent products, then just go to minimarket.

Off course if you still want to bring your own favorite products, you can prepare them before you go abroad and be sure you don’t miss anything necessary, especially if you are going to Jakarta. If you are going to join a tour in Jakarta, don’t forget to pack things you should bring for city tour Jakarta. Be prepared and see you in Jakarta!

Things You Should Bring to City Tour Jakarta – Part 2

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If you peek inside your bag and you can find sunglasses, mineral water, umbrella, face mask, and sunscreen, then you are almost ready to go to do a City Tour Jakarta.  Maybe some of you will response “Almost?? It is still not everything?”. Yes, that’s right. Although all of those stuff is nearly everything that you’ll need, but it is still not enough.  Don’t worry, you only lack some additional items to smoothen your tour in Jakarta and make it more pleasant to stroll in Jakarta.

These are simple items you might need.

1. Tissue paper

Indonesians use water a lot to clean themselves, so sometimes the public toilets don’t provide tissue because they think there are no need to provide it since the water is running. Toilets in modern malls usually provide tissue, but sometimes they ran out of it. So to be safe, you can bring your own tissue paper.  You can also it for another use later.

2. Small change

If you are planning to shop in a more traditional form of market, trade center or “pasar” for example, you have to bring small change because they don’t usually provide EDC machine to swipe your card and they might don’t have change for the amount you pay. It will also quite useful if you want to ride public transportations such as “angkot”, “metromini” or “ojek”.

3. Hand sanitizer

If you like to try various kinds of food in Jakarta, especially street food and you want to eat it right away, you can use hand sanitizer first before you eat because it can quite difficult to find a place where you can wash your hands.

city tour jakarta

4. Hat or cap

This item actually an optional one if you already brought your umbrella. But somehow there are males who don’t like to be seen using an umbrella because they thought it is not manly enough, at least in Indonesia. So, if you are a guy, maybe it will feel more comfortable to you to wear a cap.

5. Your feet

All set! Now you only need a happy feet and open heart to begin strolling around Jakarta. Put on some comfortable shoes and leave it to the guide to lead your way! 😀