Let’s Meet the Last Dinosaur (Komodo) in Jakarta

Posted on September 27, 2015 by Marcello

More than 170 malls open in Jakarta, Indonesia. Is it a sign that Jakartans really are shopaholics? Hmm..we don’t think so, because our city is not only about malls. We have a lot of museums, some public parks, and the only zoo. Then, let’s talk about the special zoo that we have in Jakarta. The zoo that has Komodos in the corner of South Jakarta, called Ragunan Zoo.

Source : ragunanzoo.jakarta.go.id

As a pioneer in Indonesia, Ragunan Zoo has more than 250 animal species, 3000 animal populations, and more than 30.000 trees that we can see, such as Komodo, Sumatran Tiger, Gorilla, Parrots, Orang Utan, White Eagle, Sambar Deer, Anoa, Lizard, and many more. The animals live in a small area that surrounded by iron fence, just for the sake of safety. We can visit them from spot to spot on this 140 hectare park. It is nice to walk around here because the old trees give you fresh air to breathe in. You can also rent a bike or ride a tourism-train which often called “odong-odong” in here, if you want to go faster, further.

When does Ragunan Zoo open?

Ragunan operates from Tuesday to Sunday (7am – 4pm), they open earlier at 6am – 4pm on Sunday. You can enter the zoo only for IDR 4k /person for adult and IDR 3k/person for children. Wow! Can you imagine? We can enjoy the zoo less than $1! And also Ragunan is very special for us.

What is so special about Ragunan Zoo?

As a local, Ragunan Zoo is a place to hang out with friends and family and became a part of our childhood memory. We saw elephant by our own eyes for the first time at Ragunan Zoo, we know that giraffe like carrots too, and understand that not only cats and dogs can be refferred as animals.

And for you as a traveler, like we’ve mentioned before, there is a spot for Komodo. It is a place to breathe fresh air, relax while you can see many trees and animals from tropical forest. You can also claim to the world that you already see ‘the last dinosaur’ in Jakarta. :p

How to reach Ragunan Zoo?

You just need to prepare a small amount of money and take a Transjakarta bus ride (you can read about how to use Transjakarta here). Ragunan shelter is the last shelter on the 8th corridor of Transjakarta busway. If you plan to go there from Central Jakarta shelter, you need to get off in Bendungan Hilir shelter and transit to ride another two buses without any extra charge.

Or, as a second option, just go grab a taxi in your hotel lobby. :p

So, wanna play with komodo and see a lot of animal with your own eyes? Don’t miss Ragunan Zoo when you visit Jakarta. Lets find out how to visit Ragunan Zoo Jakarta with our customize tour here. See you around!

Credit photo header by www.ragunanzoo.jakarta.go.id

5 ‘Things You Will Found When Locals Celebrate Indonesia’s Independence Day

Posted on August 12, 2015 by Yupa

It is August and it is a special month for Indonesians. Why? Because August 17th is the independence day for Indonesia! People use to hang a national flag in front of their houses in this day. Suddenly, there are a lot of flag sellers in the street or offering flags or a pole to hang the flag.

Independence day, usually students in national school and public officer are required to attend a flag raising ceremony in the morning in schools or offices courtyard. And after the ceremony ends, they are free to go home to enjoy the national holiday.

Usually there are a lot of celebrations in independence day. There will be a lot of competition and fun games to participate. This series of competition is called “Agustus-an”. Usually it is held around the neigborhood or we call it “RT”. There will be a lot of competitions and you can get some gifts when you become a winner.

So, what kind of competitions you can join in? Here are a few of them:

1. Sack Race or “Balap Karung”

Balap karung is one of the most popular competition in Indonesia’s independence day, it is where you race with another person by running as fast as you can and become the first one who reach the finish line.

2. Climbing Slippery Pole or “Panjat Pinang”

Source : The Jakarta Post

There will be a pole with a lot of prizes in top of a pole, or in Indonesia we use a “pinang” tree, hence called “panjat pinang”. It is a competition where you compete with others to reach the top of the pole to get the prize that you want. The rule of the game is the fastest to reach the item, get to bring the item home.

3. Nightgown Soccer or “Sepakbola Daster”

This a sport that men likes and men will participate in this sport. But what makes it different from a usual soccer is that men who participate must dress in a nightgown. If you are a man and want to join, maybe you could borrow your wife’s nightgown or from your neighbor first.

4. Tug of War or “Tarik Tambang”

I think this competition is not new for many countries. It is where you compete in a team and pull each other with one thick rope until one of the team fall to the ground first. You need a lot of strength and if getting dirty in the mud is not a problem for you, then this game is for you.

5. Eating Crackers or “Makan Kerupuk”

It is the perfect game for the one that is hungry. You can have fun while filling your stomach with crackers. You have to eat one full piece cracker that hangs over your head by some kind of rope. The fastest who finish eating will win the game. Even though it is not quite fullfilling, it will be enough to rise your appetite.

Source : kaskus[dot]co[dot]id

There are still a lot of other games or competitions, depends on the location that you lived in Indonesia. I guess there will be traffic jams and roadblocks too because of the games. So, instead of going to malls in national holiday, maybe you would rather join an “Agustus-an” game.

Jakarta Great Sale Festival 2015

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Yupa

If you are traveling for shopping purpose in Jakarta, June or July would be your best time to visit Jakarta. There are so many festivals that held around that in time in Jakarta to celebrate the birth of capital city of Indonesia, Jakarta. Jakarta Great Sale Festival is a festival whereas malls and shopping centers offer a great discount for their products, up to 70{9e84ad3adf7f6649419c3d34c511cc75d18ba3101b1ac61299241cdd2f2cd7ab}. For this year, this festival is held from 6^th of June until 12^th of July 2015 and will involving around 78 malls around Jakarta. Being a city that has hundreds of malls, Jakarta will be a perfect shopping destination.

Here are some malls that participate in the festival:

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

There are many other malls that participate in the festival and maybe you will find one near where you stay while in Jakarta, so don’t miss the opportunity to visit the place.

There are also some Jakarta malls which open a midnight sale event, and offer a lot of special discounts and gifts for certain products. Shopping at midnight doesn’t mean that you have to bring a flashlight and choose items you want to buy in the dark, so don’t worry.

Just bring sufficient money, and a list of products that you want to buy. You can also use your credit card off course, but remember, choose carefully and don’t go overboard or you may end up being a shopaholic with and empty wallet and a huge amount of debts. Happy shopping!

Jakarta Great Online Sale

Posted on June 30, 2015 by Yupa

Beside Jakarta Great Sale Festival, there is also an event that you would not want to miss if one of your hobbies is shopping. It is Jakarta Great Online Sale or JGOS. In 2015, the event took place from 22 June until 30 June 2015, which means today is the last day! This event is to promote Jakarta as a shopping destination in South East Asia with a tagline, “Jakarta Smart City, Smart Shopping”.

Since renting a place to sell products quite costly these days, many of the sellers choose to promote their products and make transactions online. This kind of method is called e-commerce. This year, 63 players will participate. They either offer a discount for their products or exchange coupons.

What Kind of Product Do Jakarta Great Online Sale (JGOS) Sell?

There are a lot of products, including:

Stores that offer fashion products including Zalora and Lazada.
Stores that offer electronic products including Bhinneka and Erafone.
Yes, since technology is improved a lot these days, we can even order transportation service via online. This is showed by one of the participant, which is Gojek, a new way to order “ojek” (public transportation with a motorbike).

There are also other stores which offer many more products such as voucher, books, food and house appliances.

If you don’t want to make such a fuss of going mall to mall to buy products that you need, this will be perfect for you. You don’t have to queue for a long time, or stuck in the traffic jam to go to the mall.

So what are you waiting for? Quickly make your order on Jakarta Great Online Sale event before midnight. If you have a smartphone, it is even better. Just swipe your phone and your order will be delivered right in front of your door. Just like magic!

Happy Birthday Jakarta! #JKT488

Posted on June 22, 2015 by Yupa

June is Jakarta Festive Month! Today, June 22^this 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 13^th until June 7^th. This year, the event took place in Summarecon Kelapa Gading, but for every other year, the location might changes.

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 :

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!

Should I Buy Indonesia SIM Card?

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Vera T

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.

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

Posted on June 14, 2015 by Yupa

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?

: Source : swa[dot]co[dot]id

: Source : rmoljabar[dot]com

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

Posted on June 13, 2015 by Yupa

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.

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! 😀

Things You Should Bring For City Tour Jakarta – Part 1

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Yupa

As you know, Indonesia is a tropical country, with a sizzling hot weather in dry season and heavy rains in wet season. But, the climate is changing slowly. So, just in case, you must bring certain things that you might need when you are traveling in Jakarta. So, what are those things you need to prepare? Here are 5 things you should bring for city tour Jakarta :

1. Mineral Water

You will need to drink a lot because the weather will make you thirsty and sweat a lot. Aside from preventing dehydration, drinking a lot of mineral water could also provide a healthier body. You can bring your own bottle of mineral water or buy it in a minimarket or street vendors. But before you drink it, you need to look carefully for the expired date.

You can ‘steal’ it from your hotel!

2. Sunscreen

Ultraviolet radiation can be harmful for everyone, especially if you suddenly came to a different type of country with a different intensity of UV light. To avoid sunburn, maybe you can apply sunscreen first before you go out in Jakarta, but you need to make sure you use the one that match with your skin type. You can get one in a drugstore or minimarket.

3. Sunglasses

Sometime the sunlight in Jakarta can be really strong and hurting your vision. So, to protect your eyes from ultraviolet light, you might need a sunglasses.

Sun Glasses is a MUST!

4. Umbrella

This item is a must if you are doing a tour in Jakarta. Even it is on a dry season, rain can suddenly fall without a warning! In addition, you can still use it if the sunlight is too intense and dazzling.

5. Face Mask

Jakarta has a huge population, so there are so many vehicles running along the streets. Cars, motorbikes, bus, etc make the city full of pollutions. So, if you are allergic to dirty air or prone to asthma, you should wear a face mask when you are going to walk around in open air in Jakarta a lot.

Face Mask

Maybe you can avoid the fuss of bringing these item if you look at the weather forecast before you go out. Or you are already know when is the best time to visit Jakarta after doing little research about Jakarta Weather?

Well, it is up to you, but weather forecast or prediction cannot be right all the time. We are just humans after all. Better be prepared than be sorry, right? 😉

How To Bargain Like a Pro in Jakarta

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Yupa

As a foreigner, it doesn’t mean you can not buy things with a fair price and be afraid of being victim of a scam. You just only have to learn how to bargain like a pro. How exactly? I’ll tell you.

First of all, you need to know that Indonesia has many different kind of markets. Traditional market, modern market, or mix of both. In big malls, there usually a fixed price for everything. But, in semi-modern or even traditional market, you still can bargain for a cheaper price, especially when you want to buy a huge amount of products.

Types of market for you to show your haggling ability in Indonesia includes traditional market or usually called by locals as “pasar”, and trade centers like ITC, WTC, retail stores and etc. Chinatown is actually a good example. There are stores on every corner of the streets and it had trade centers nearby. If you are curious, you can check out the City Tour Jakarta Chinatown Tour.

How to Bargain Like a Pro in Jakarta : Learn Basic Conversation in Bahasa

When you want to ask the price to the seller, ask it in Bahasa. You can start with “Pak/Bu, ini berapaan? (How much is this?)”. And continue with “Harganya bisa kurang, enggak? (Can you give me discount for this?)”.

How to Bargain Like a Pro in Jakarta : Haggle The Price to 70 {9e84ad3adf7f6649419c3d34c511cc75d18ba3101b1ac61299241cdd2f2cd7ab} Lower

Second, haggle the price to 70 percent lower than the initial price. 70 percent?!

Don’t be surprised, it is actually quite common, and you will get the product at that price level, but of course it also depends on what you are buying. If you are afraid the seller will get angry if you do that, just say it jokingly with a smile on your face and you might want to persuade the seller with “Kasihlah Bu/Pak, buat penglaris.”

How to Bargain Like a Pro in Jakarta : Memorize Numbers in Local Language

You might want to memorize numbers in Bahasa, so you can know the exact amount of the price and you can use it to mention the amount you are willing to pay for the product.

How to Bargain Like a Pro in Jakarta : Take a Local Friend to Go Shopping

If you don’t have time to learn Bahasa and feeling not comfortable enough to shop alone in an unfamiliar place, your last resort is take a local to accompany you to go shopping.

You can choose which item you want to buy and just give the rest to your local friend. But, you need to remember that not every local people have the ability to bargain price. So if you want to ask your local friend to shop with you, ask the one who use to shop like a pro!

Now, if you are ready to take on the challenge to show your new ability, it is time to shop. Where can you start? First stop, Jakarta Chinatown of course!

Jakarta Walking Tour

Look Jakarta closer through walking

Category: Jakarta