Author: Vera T

A copywriter who is passionate about travel, photography, coffee, & books. She makes a copy while sipping coffee.

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : German Guest

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It was nice Saturday when I met Allegra and her two friends, Patrick and Lisa, from Germany.  Before meeting me, they often came to Indonesia, but they had no chance to explore wonderful part of Jakarta. So, as their request, I helped them plan a City Tour Jakarta and guided them while strolling around the city.

Jakarta Walking Tour

City Sightseeing at Syahbandar Tower

What I learned from them, they enjoyed to see how people do their daily works, as a fisherman, as a seller at local market, as a pork butcher, et cetera. Patrick, the only male guest who joined Jakarta Walking Tour, said he wants to know ‘the process’. For example, a fish which sold on the supermarket, he wanted to know where are the fish came from, how to catch the fish, how long fisherman sailing ship to catch the fish, and every process before the fish touch down the supermarket. He wanted to know from the very beginning.

He says, “When I know exactly from where and how the fish or the goods can be seen in front of me, I can start to appreciate small things. Because, then I realized that even the fish is so small, it comes from somebody hard works”.

Jakarta Walking Tour

At Fisherman Boat

So, he was very happy when I tailored him to go to North Jakarta to meet some fisherman and strolled around fish market. He finally can meet fisherman in person, not in whisper only. Hahaa.. It was something that he cannot found on his country, Germany.

Jakarta Walking Tour

They also felt happy when I took them to local market. I encouraged them to eat anything they never seen before. Guava, a tropical fruit, they do not know what it is like before. Patrick said, he had drink guava juice before, but he did not know what it is really like. Lisa and Allegra, do not know Guava at all, that was their first time taste Guava.

Jakarta Walking Tour

Sunda Kelapa Harbour

 

In city tour Jakarta, I also treated them with some local snack in the market, such as lemper ayam (chicken filled glutinous rice), gorengan (fried foods), candied orange, cakwe (fried breadstick), coconut milk popsicles, et cetera. They all felt happy to eat something that they never taste before. It was a surprise for their tongue! 😀

allegra 3

So, the day when they joined City Tour Jakarta, I as a local guide feel very grateful. I was happy to meet such humble friends from Germany who dare to face ‘the reality of Jakarta’ (got stuck in traffic, jostled in the public bus), want to try something new, and have a big curiosity about what happen in Jakarta. Lisa, Allegra, Patrick, I must thank you!

Jakarta Walking Tour

Source :  http://goo.gl/NhzQ4q

 

 

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : London Guest

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Welcome to Jakarta Mr. and Mrs. Lynch! It was an honor to host Becky and her husband, Jonathan, on their honeymoon in Jakarta. Yup, they were a newly married couple from London, and spent two weeks to catch a glimpse from city to city in Indonesia. Jakarta is the city that became their first stop, they booked 5 hours of City Tour Jakarta, and I became their first local friend in Indonesia. Hehee..

Jakarta Walking Tour

We are all shy at the beginning :p

The most memorable experience with them was eating Chinese food on Gang Gloria, small alley in Jakarta Chinatown local market. We sat side by side – eating, drinking, chatting – while people passing by our backs. Tasty food, hot weather, and coconut ice drink, unforgettable moment. :’)

Jakarta Walking Tour

Enjoying Coconut Drinks at Chinatown

Then I tailored them to stroll in street artist alley, show them our famous gem stones. Becki bought one ring with green stone on the top of it, it was her first souvenir in Jakarta, ‘batu akik’ a.k.a. gem stone! 😀

After that, we continued our city tour Jakarta and I took them to Chinese local market. It was almost Chinese New Year, so the market was full of people who need to buy things for New Year. Red clothes, red envelope, fruits, candies, red-hanging lamps, red decoration, etc. Back then, we could see red colour things sold everywhere, the market surrounded by one main colour, RED!

Jakarta Walking Tour

In Front Of De Maria Church Jakarta

I must say, it was the tour of light. Unexpected thing came when I ran City Tour Jakarta with them. What does it means? It means we saw different kind of light on that day. Lights from hanged Chinese lamps on 50 metres street, lights of the gem stones, and in the end of our tour, we saw the lights of Monas Jakarta.

Back then, we arrived around 6 pm in Monas Jakarta Park, the tower started to shine with colorful lights. It was red, blue, green, yellow, and purple flashed the Monas Jakarta Tower, the colour switched in a moment. Yes, it was a beautiful thing to see.

Jakarta Walking Tour

At Monas Park Jakarta

It was also nice to know a lovely couple from ‘Harry Potter land’, I saw their strong connection by myself. Becky was outgoing person, cared by Jonathan who was very quite and thoughtful in every decision he made.  I hope their may have a lot more happy life in coming days, and had wonderful things to remember on our City Tour Jakarta. 😀

Jakarta Walking Tour

Source : http://goo.gl/GHTsBO

 

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : Cape Town Guest

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It  was a unique experience when I ran City Tour Jakarta with Francois. From the beginning, I had difficulty to say his name in a right way. So, on that day I asked him ‘how to spell your name’ couple times, back then I really felt bad about it.

But, in every bad situation always had a bright side.  The good thing is…now I can remember clearly how to say or spell his name, Francois, it’s Frank – ko – a – se. Finally I can speak in French, LOL 😀

Jakarta Walking Tour

Francois is enjoying painting

Okay, back to the topic, so how was city tour jakarta going on?

I must tell you, it was ‘funny’. Funny because it seems Francois became my tour guide, not me. He has a lot to tell about his country, about art, about his own business, about everything.  So, in Jakarta Walking Tour not only he knew something about Jakarta, but I personally learnt things from him.

He said that Jakarta and his home town, Cape Town, has some similarity. Back to the colonial era, a lot of Javanese people started to live in South Africa, consequently we had language in common. Such as, office, in Jakarta I called it ‘kantor’, and in Cape Town he called it ‘kantoor’. Honestly, I feel…wOw. Glad to know interesting fact like that, really. :O

Jakarta Walking Tour

Soldier Uniform at Bank of Indonesia Museum

Then, I took him to Fine Art Museum, I found that he had a big interest in art, painting, and pottery. He can stand still, stay silent when was looking over a painting. Good for him, in that Museum we can see many legendary painter’s art works from Indonesia, such as Basuki Abdullah, Affandi, Raden Saleh, S. Sudjojono, et cetera.

I also knew him as an open minded-traveler, because he wants to try something new as I suggested. While we strolled, I made him taste some snacks and traditional drinks, such as selendang mayang (Jakarta’s traditional ice drink), kue cubit (traditional pancake), and cendol ice (made from coconut ice milk, jackfruit, brown sugar, and ‘cendol’).

Jakarta Walking Tour

Selendang Mayang Ice Drink

In the end of City Tour Jakarta, I personally felt really hard to say good bye because he was like a ‘guru’ to me, tell me a lot about culture, life, and how to run a startup business. So, we took an extra little time to chat in Sabang Street, found a good restaurant (Natrabu, a Padang Food Restaurant) and drink coconut ice drinks while we discussed about everything.

Jakarta Walking Tour

Chit-chatting with my friend, Ari. (Photo taken by Francois)

 

Definitely, run a City Tour Jakarta with Francois was a one time experience that I will find not so easy to forget. Oh, and one more thing, for you who love  a nice frame on Instagram, you can found his photo works on @fvs2 (p.s. he has a very good eye and unique perspective, trust me! 😉

Jakarta Walking Tour

Source : http://goo.gl/GHTsBO

 

 

Wayang Museum Jakarta

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Indonesia‘s Shadow Puppet Theater is well known as a part of local tradition with very long history. Every tribe in different regions in Indonesia has their own kind of puppet, we call it ‘wayang’. As a traveler, you might need to go all over the place to know deeply about various kind of wayang in Indonesia. But, for a glimpse? You should visit Wayang Museum Jakarta, because they have it all.

Wayang Museum Jakarta

Wayang Museum Jakarta

The Wayang Museum Jakarta is located in Jakarta Old Town area (Kota Tua), West Jakarta. It opens from 9 am to 3 pm with IDR 5 k entrance ticket per person.  The Wayang Museum Jakarta open almost every day except for Monday and any of Indonesia’s national holidays,  because museum’s maintenance should be done once a week.

Shadow Puppet (Wayang) made from Cow Skin

Shadow Puppet (Wayang) made from Cow Skin. Beautiful, isn’t?

Gundala-Gundala. North Sumatra Puppet that will play when local people asking about rain to God

Gundala-Gundala. North Sumatra Puppet (3 metre tall) that will play when local people ask for the rain from God

For foreigner who want to hear wonderful story about Indonesia’s shadow puppets, Wayang Museum Jakarta can provide you a free tour guide who knows very well about  their wayang collections. I recommend you all to ask about that tour guide service in Wayang Museum Jakarta front desk, it is really worth it. The tour guide will explain to you about background stories of some play in wayang show, how to make wayang, and everything you need to know about wayang. Make sure you do not miss that free service in Wayang Museum Jakarta.

How to Draw Wayang Instruction on The Floor

How to Draw Wayang Instruction on The Floor

Beside various kind of local puppet shadows collection, Wayang Museum Jakarta also displays numerous dolls from countries like India, France, Cambodia, China, Germany, et cetera. It seems like puppet culture is a global culture that spread around the world.

Katakali Doll from Southern India

Katakali Doll from Southern India

Since 2007, Indonesian Wayang recognized as the world heritage of masterpiece creation by United Nation. So, I think Wayang Museum Jakarta should be a very interesting place to visit while you take a city tour Jakarta, right? 😀

Toko Merah Jakarta in Jakarta Old Town

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The Red Shop – well known as ‘Toko Merah’ – always become my very first place to start exploring around Jakarta Old Town (Kota Tua). Unfortunately, I found that not many local guide recommend Toko Merah Jakarta as an interesting place to visit when run a city tour Jakarta.

The fact is if I compare Toko Merah Jakarta with another tourist attraction place around Jakarta Old Town, Toko Merah might be put last on the list of visiting place choices. Less glamour, less attraction, no English speaking tour guide, and it is just a building, with no slide show, no history dioramas, no printed story, nothing.

Toko Merah (The Red Shop)

Toko Merah Jakarta (The Red Shop)

However, nothingness is not bad at all.

I realize that Toko Merah Jakarta offers us the silence, so we can absorb old vibe better than any place around.

Toko Merah's Main Lobby

Toko Merah’s Main Lobby

The building keeper told me that Toko Merah Jakarta was built in 1730 as the residence of the Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies Gustaaf Willem baron van Imhoff. Afterwards, the ownership of this building changed several times, and the building function is changed as followed.  Hotel, Bank, Hospital, Warehouse, and when Toko Merah Jakarta owned by a Kapitein der Chinezen of Batavia, Oey Liauw Kong in 1851, it became a shop and private residence.

It was cashier counter when Toko Merah had a bank function

It was cashier counter when Toko Merah Jakarta had a bank function

The Chinese Kapitein decorated the building, painted brick walls with red color, so it was known as Toko Merah. When he had decorated with his personal taste, he did not change the original building structure . Toko Merah Jakarta had kept Dutch building structure, with huge windows, double tall doors, high ceilings, hanging lamps, et cetera. So, the Chinese decoration blend with Dutch architecture until now. Quite interesting, right?

Lobby's Door

Toko Merah Lobby’s Door

Huge Window at 2nd floor

Huge Window at 2nd floor

Hanging Lamp

Hanging Lamp

So, when you do a city tour Jakarta in Jakarta Old Town area, make sure you put Toko Merah Jakarta on your visit list. You need to pay IDR 10 k for one person as an entrance ticket. Small money for a better understanding of Old Jakarta (Batavia) sounds remarkable, isn’t it?

Toko Merah is two building merged by its owner

Toko Merah : two building merged by its owner

 

One Day City Tour Jakarta

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A combination of bad traffic and limited time might not help you with one day chance to visit whole Jakarta. So, I give you 4 place which can put on your one day city tour Jakarta itinerary :

1. One Day City Tour Jakarta : Visit  Jakarta Old Town (Batavia)

Located on North Jakarta, Jakarta Old Town area is a place where you can find a lot of old building with Dutch architecture and museums.

Dutch Architecture Main Gate on The Red Shop Museum

The Red Shop’s Main Gate with Dutch Architecture

You also can found some museum in Jakarta Old Town area :
– Bank Indonesia Museum
– The Red Shop — currently closed for renovation
– Arts and Crafts Museum
– Wayang Museum Jakarta
– Fatahillah Museum
– Indonesia Post Office Museum

I suggest you to spend at least half day to stroll around Jakarta Old Town. If you do not have many time left, visiting Bank Indonesia Museum (Museum Bank Indonesia) and Wayang Museum Jakarta is a must, do not skip those two museums. Trust me.

2. One Day City Tour Jakarta : Visit Jakarta Chinatown (Glodok, Petak Sembilan)

From Jakarta Old Town area, you just need to walk around 15 minutes to Jakarta Chinatown. You can take a glimpse of traditional market, local Chinese mall, or eat in Chinese food restaurant. And you can also find Viharas, Chinese Church around that area. But, to walk around Jakarta Chinatown is a little bit tricky, because there has a lot of small alleys, you do not want to get lost and wasting your precious time, don’t you?

A Glimpse of Vihara

A Glimpse of Vihara

3. One Day City Tour Jakarta : Visit Monas at night

Next, you can put Monas on your Jakarta Day Trips. National Monument or Monas Jakarta located in the heart of Jakarta. It stands 132 meter from the ground and it has 35 kilograms pure gold at the top of it. Actually, you can go up there to see Jakarta from the top of Monas Jakarta, but the queue is unbelievably too long, you better go to a higher building if you really want to see Jakarta from the top.

Image Courtesy : Media Indonesia

Image Courtesy : Media Indonesia

So, the second option (a better option, I think) is to visit Monas public garden at night. In 82 hectare area, you can see Monas Jakarta spread splendidly with colorful lights. Everyone can come to Monas Garden until midnight to do sport, recreation, etc.

4. Eat and Mingle at Sabang Street at night

Sabang Street is also known as Haji Agus Salim Street located on Central Jakarta, near Sarinah Mall and has various kind of restaurants, food trucks, or Jakarta street food. You can find Western, Eastern, Indonesian, and even Fast Food on Sabang Street. When sun goes down, Sabang Street get more visitors, people seems to never sleep!

Food Truck on Sabang Street (image courtesy : news portal okezone[dot]com]

Food Truck on Sabang Street (image courtesy : news portal okezone[dot]com]

For one day city tour Jakarta, we also recommend you to visit National Museum in Central Jakarta in the morning. They will tell you more about Indonesia’s culture and heritage in one place. At least you need 2 hours to see all their famous collections, a lot of interesting stuffs and stories. So, are you ready to explore Jakarta in one day? To get some help about arranging tour, go check our city tour offer here

City Tour Jakarta Reviews : Netherlands Guest

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Jeroen was my first international guest on Jakarta Walking Tour. Back then, I was surprise he believed me to tailored him to do City Tour Jakarta when I had no experience at all. He was the first international friend who trusted me to run this tour.

As a male guest in general, he just simply booked my city tour jakarta offer and did not ask further question. We just had two or three conversations by e-mail and one Skype call before the day. Then, Sunday morning we met on meeting point we agreed before and start Jakarta Walking Tour by taking a Transjakarta Bus ride.

Jakarta Walking Tour

Me and my friend, Vira, who joined the tour later, guided him to visit Jakarta Old Town. We visited some old building and museums on that area. I do not take much picture of our trip, because I have been busy  explaining history of the place to him. For example, we visited Toko Merah Jakarta, a 300 years old building that once become a Dutch’s governor house, bank, hotel, Chinese shop and always change the function from years to years. He also feels horrible when I told him that on third floor, Dutch imprisoned a lot of Chinese local people there in the past time.

Then, I took him to visit Wayang  Museum Jakarta. In there, he learn traditional story about Wayang and know one simple Wayang can be built from one month of hard work. He also see puppet from Netherlands, the same puppet in his mom house, but surprisingly he just know the story behind it on that day. I think it was funny, because Jeroen needs to fly across the sea to know his own local puppet story. :p

Jakarta Walking Tour

Right now, Jeroen and I still passing information about language and music of our own country. I feel glad, right now he learned Indonesia language in his home town, and know some ‘slang’ in Indonesian language from me. When we met on Jakarta Walking Tour, I taught him about ‘funky way’ to speak in Indonesia language.

So, I have a special message for him : “Hi Jeroen, makasih ya udah mau lakuin city tour jakarta sama gue.” 😀

Jakarta Walking Tour

Source : http://goo.gl/GHTsBO