Request by Friends - Tips for travelling in Indonesia

Before departing

1. The power socket in Indonesia is a two pin type. For camera & handphone charging for those charges that uses 3 pin type, you have to buy a universal travel adapter/converter. A good unit could be bought from Tesco for less than RM20-00.

2. Convert Ringgit into Rupiah at money changers at your local town. Forget about converting your money at the airports or in Jakarta. They would charge you steep comissions.

Tips in Jakarta

Airport – there are bus coaches that can take you direct from the Bandara to Bandung (Bandara means Bandaraya Udara – airport la – apa lagi!). Not sure of the fare per person. Only available during day time.

Beware : at the airport/harbour/busstop/trains take good care of your belongings. The situation is just the same all over Indonesia. There would be porters running around to make a grab at your belongings, “kononnya ngak apa-apa, sekadar menolongin saja..” (even though the distance travelled tak sampai 3 meter from the Bandara’s exit to the taxi/van), they will charge you for it. They woule prefer to be paid in Ringgit or other foreign currency. The use of the airport trolleys are free, get one for your personal use at its designated place, but if you take one from a porter, they would charge you for duit kopi.

The cheapest and safest mode of travel from the Bandara to Jakarta (several locations) would be via airconditioned specialised DAMRI airport busses. It will cost Rupiah 20k one way to the various terminal. Please determine the destination before boarding i.e. Block B, Rawamangun etc.

Kalau naik teksi to reach Jakarta– in addition to the taxi fare in the region of Dua Ratus
Ribuan rupiah.. you will also have to pay tol charges!

Try to avoid travelling to Bandung on saturdarys or weekend. It is just a waste of time stuck in massive traffic jams.

If you are staying in near Sarinah area (near Tanah Abang the most happening place for Malaysian) – there is a travelvan company by the name of BARAYA – they call it “Travel” which would cost you Rupiah 35k per person. It departs every hour till 10pm. Believe it or not, Baraya operates in Sarinah Mall’s McDonalds. They have no ticket counters at all – just open table dalam McD tu. It is some sort of a win-win situation for McD as Baraya passengers would patronise McD.

If you prefer a luxury travelvan, then consider taking Cititel. Cost per person would be Rupiah 65k and the terminal in Bandung would be located in Jalan Dipatiukur – right in the heart of Bandung.

Security is tight near any American establishment in Jakarta – would you believe that to enter McD you need to go through a metal detector! Shake hands & make small talk with the policeman that guards the metal detector. He will allow you to take photos of you and you family @ the metal detector.

In Indonesia, before boarding a taxi ask the driver : Argo? If the ansyer is “iya” the taxi uses the travel meters. Look around for the sign “Tarif Bawah” to enjoy cheaper rate. Try as far as possible to blend in or else they’ll play around with the pricing of goods (if in Tanah Abang in Jakarta or in Pasar Baru in Bandung). Dishonest taxi drivers also tends to take a longer route! If you have a GPS and the latest GPS maps, switch it on!

Having a pocket pc helps. One can download the latest Bandung Map (with its attractions). Another alternative – just upload the map unto your handphone camera or digital camera (assuming that your camera has the zoom future to look at the map clearly). Fumbling around with a physical maps would invite enterprising Indonesian travel guides (tah betul tah tidak) to provide “assistance”.

Attractions in Bandung - Shopping

The many factory outles (FOs) in jalan Riau/Dago.Amongs the best would be the Secret Outlet, Stamp, Cascade, For Men, M&M, Banana something... and many more. Paling best, yet mahal sikit, would be Rumah Mode, located in Jalan Setiabudhi. (note : the list is endless...you have to have a good eye to spot/distinguish fake products).

For Pasar Baru Bandung – it is the same as Tanah Abang. They have high quality kain cotton here for sale. Please take note of our own Malaysian cotton prices – mahal giler.

Do not change RM into Rupiah in Jakarta. The rates in Bandung is much higher. If you have USD, make sure the bank notes are still in very good condition. Terlipat sikit, they would simply kurangkan rate tukaran – aku dak kena ari tu!

Good Ole-ole from Bandung would be Kopi Bandrek (kopi halia/sarbat) but they also have other flavours to suit your taste. There are many brands, but the best that I had would be Kopi Bandrek Hanjuang (Hanjuang is a name of a place in Kota Cemahi, Bandung – I had the pleasure of being invited to visit the factory recenty. Hanjuang also produces micro hydro generators. I had shown a video footage of a portable micro hydro generators to some high ranking officer in my organisation – depa sume terkejut sebab tak sangka, they are more advanced than us!).

For ladies other than kain baju, langsir & tah apa tah dpea suka boring would prefer to buy pastries from Kartikasari. (note : they would not last long, lambat makan, berkulat!)

Another alternative for cheap ole-ole would be the various T-shirts cap Bandung. Look for it at Pasar Baru. Beli banyak >3 & always insist on discounts. (estimate 20 ribu/5 ribu per piece)

Arts & History

Visit Saung Anglung Udjo... (translation – “Rumag Angklung Udjo”) - have to check the times of the show. If you got extra time or have a tour guide, just ask them to lalu a place known as “Bandung lautan api” – no need for you to get down from your transport.. sambil lalu aje – a little bit of history lesson pun bagis juga for general knowledge. At downtown Bandung, there is a road by the name of Jalan Asia-Afrika – if the guide is knowledgeable, he would know why is named that way.

Nature

Tangkuban Prahu – to see volcano creater or kome pi rendam kaki air panas kat Ciater. (apalah sangat menengok benda2 ni..nothing much there in Tangkuban Prahu... tunjuk dalam National Geographic pun ada, kalau nak mandi air panas kat Kedah, Ulu Langat, Kerling & Rembau pun ada)

Food

Do try Sundanese dishes or Masakan Padang Sederhana (Sederhana is a brandname for masakan minang – sort of a franschise. A good Sundanese restaurant, Riung Sari would be located just in front of The Secret Factory Outlet. Rumah Solsis (near the parking lot of The Secret Factory Outlet) is a halal food outlet. All of its sausages are made in Indonesia (Jakarta) but they do not sell it elsewhere other than Bandung. Try yg paling pedas & paling power. Take it with “Frestea” (flavoured tea) a Coca-Cola licensed product. There are many flavours to choose from (ala... mana lak aku nak pi cari Frestea ni kat Malaysia). Minum “Teh Botol” tak main la. (Information on Rumah Solsis obtained from a relative that works there as finance manager).

And yet, there is another place recomended by by brother – Rumah Makan Raja-Raja Melayu. I have never been to that place, so I can’t comment.

Guide

It would be a great assistance to have a guide that speaks and understand the Malay language? It would only cost you a small upah of Rupiah100k for her time to bring you around Bandung town. Kalau convert duit Malaysia berapalah sangat. All tambang angkot & taxi guide & makan dia, kome la kena bayarkan, murah je.

Please drop me a line. You would not regret it!

Trip to Jakarta & Bandung, Indonesia

30/08/2008

From TTDI to KLIA's LCCT, we took a bus from KL Central. Cost : RM9-00 per person. Arrival time 45 minutes.

The flight from KLIA's LCCT to Soekarno Hatta International Airport, Jakarta was delayed for about 2 hours... initially we received a sms message a week before informing us that the flight was to be rescheduled from 10am to 2pm but upon arrival at the airport, there was an announcement that our flight was further delayed due to some technical problems. The plane was managed by Air Asia Indonesia and seemed to have aged.. as evinced from the creaking of the plane rear panels. The seats was covered with black leather but was in worn condition and we had chosen the plane's rear seats to enjoy easy ingress and exit. From high above the skies, we can see the shorelines of a town which we believe either to be Malacca or Muar, before the plane ascends far above cloud level.

Upon touch down at Soekarno Hatta international airport, we boarded the airport shuttle bus which transported us to the nearest arrival terminal. After having our passports stamped, we proceeded to the arrival hall where Antan Yas was already waiting... The cab fare cost us Rupiah120,000-00 (not inclusive of service charges & highway toll). Upon our arrival at Antan's house near Jalan Penggilingan, we were greeted by the three little hooligans... Azlan, the eldest, Husni and last but not least, Nasir. Tante Ima was at the Warung, cooking & manning the same. Warung Jam Gadang is famous for its Nasi Padang and her cooking simply jibe with my taste!.

31/08/2008

It would be Merdeka Day back in Malaysia, but for the five of us (me, my wife, Antan Yas & the three hooligans) the plan was to pay a visit to Taman Mini in Jakarta (The crowd was less as many Jakartan took the day off as the next day would be the first of Ramadan). We visited various traditional houses of many ethnic Indonesian eg. Rumah Minang, Batak, Maluku, Riau etc and had an aerial view of the whole Taman Mini after taking a ride in one of the two Skylifts.

01/09/2008

First day of Ramadan - the sahur was one of a kind experience - with a group of youngsters armed with drums banging their way with a catchy tune waking everybody in the neighbourhood for Sahur.... "Satu-satu.. saya bangun sahur...dua-dua ... can't remember the lyrics...but I got it all in my videocanm... and all the TV stations had the Puasa Theme... 90% of the TV shows esp Indonesian Cinetrons are all related to Ramadan. I noticed that although back home in Malaysia, a Fatwa had beed issued with the decree that all SMS related contest are deemed to be haram, all the telcos in Indonesia are having a ball organising contests that offered the participants with gifts eg money, motorbikes, house etc. Later I was made to understand that calls made to Malaysia via prepaid Telkomsel is way much cheaper .... for Rupiah 1000 you can talk at least for 1 minute (Roughly Rupiah 2,700 = RM1-00). So say good by to international roaming charges - sorry MAXIS. By the way, the prepaid starter packs are dirt cheap @ Rupiah 10,000 per pack. Some prepaid telcos in Indonesia also have some wonderful offers i.e free sms - no charge at all. The one offered by another provider, XL ,even provides dirt cheap charges for 3g data usage @ Rupiah 200 per hour. I repeat Rupiah 200 per hour.... so it is a small wonder that most people here have at least 3 mobile phones! One for local call (either free calls withing the locality), one for web browsing and lastly, for international calls!

02/09/2009

Took a trip to Bandung from Kelapa Gading. Rupiah 70,000 per person via executive van transportation - max 7 person with individual seat. Very confortable. Duration - 2 hours - highway akin to our PLUS Highway. The rate for toll charges are way cheaper than what we are paying to PLUS. We arrived at the van transportation terminal and barely five minutes, a relative pun sampai to fetch us - we so used to call her "adik Bandung" back in Malaysia to the extent that we actually had forgotten her real name! From the terminal we took the Angkot to her house in Jalan Setiabudhi... three (3) angkots to be exact. Bandung is quite small in size but I would not recommend anyone from Malaysia to rent a car unless the car comes with a driver... the massive traffic jams (especially on weekends) and the confusing signages would spell trouble.

After about an hour of rest, adik brought us "berpetualangan" to some of the famous Factory Outlets (FOS). ("Berpetualangan "in Indonesian language bermakna berjalan-jalan and not the other meaning that we are so used to back in Malaysia). Rumah Mode in Jalan Setiabudhi has a very impressive collection of branded goods - an export quality leather jacket by Hugo Boss , POLO or by G. Armani would set you back around Rupiah140,000-00 only - around RM80-00 aje. As to what type of brands available in the FOS would depend on the season. Burberry jeans, Osh Kosh, Hazard... just name it.. Bandung is indeed a shoppers heaven.

02/09/2008

Sahurrrr.... the whole family was already awake at 4.30am WIB (Waktu Indonesia Barat).. the Indonesian government had conveniently used Padang's GMT time as its standard time, although Java Island is located further east... kalau ikut waktu Padang, Jakarta would be one hour late than the standard time used in Malaysia.

Today's plan - to cover all the FOS in Bandung... macam kerja gila aje. Uda Ir and adik brought us to Cibaduyut where we each bought a pair of leather shoes... and where I bought myself a leather jacket. Mamat yang jual tu rupanya pernah berniaga in Shah Alam... but kalau beli kat Shah Alam (I suspect in Plaza Alam Central, harganya dalam RM600-700) - at that price kalau beli in Bandung, boleh cover tiket pergi balik & termasuk harga jacket tu sekali!

I cannot recall tah berapa banyak FOS kita org dah masuk... termasuk those yang jual jeans. Some of the items up for sale are rejects... cacat sikittttt aje as they had torn off the original labels. These are one of the few indicators that the merchandise had indeed came from an authorised licensee manufacturer... you can feel the quality of the cloathing... but again it is all up to luck and what is on sale for that perticular season. I grabbed a few Hard Rock Cafe's t shirts... yup memang ori.. tah depa terlebih print esp for HRC Vegas & HRC Tokyo. Cari jugak Dockers & all those branded pants like the ones that we bought in Orlando... wajib tak jumpa.. sebab out of season. Sempat juga jalan ke Cihampelas Walk... some sort of shopping complex - SCTV selalu tunjuk tempat ni depa buat concert. We had out breakfast at a famous Sundanese Restaurant... cuma tak sempat nak rasa one dish - Batagor.. nampak macam super sedap...lewat malam baru sampai ke rumah.

Just to share - note that the tips provided at Wikipedia/Travelwiki are highly accurate. It had saved us big bucks during our travels to Hat Yai and now in Indonesia. Here, kalau tak nak kena goreng dengan taxi drivers, tahan aje teksi terus tanya "Argo?" If the answer is "iya" - then you can safely board that cab.. else depa ni tak guna meter... (Argo refers to Argometer). And again a good gps with the latest map would greatly assist you esp when traveling in Jakarta.

To be continued