Jakarta, Indonesia

I am amazed as to how this place totally resembles Manila. We were staying in Jakarta for 3 days so I was hoping boredom wouldn’t hit me again.

When we got there, I was reminded of Mauritius as we turned to an off-beaten road and into an old hotel with a resort ambiance. Behind the hotel is a round pool with turtle gargoyles spouting water from its mouths. The garden was very pretty; plants of varying flowers were sprawled all over the entire landscape. It’s like there were tiny secret gardens everywhere...so romantic. The Koi ponds are lovely, with the cascading flowers on the Gazebos and Trellises framing around them. I had such a serene feeling from walking amongst the myriad of plants and trees.

It was a very lazy late afternoon. The sun was about to set, and I was full from the juicy cheeseburger I had ordered from room service. I decided to walk around the garden and maybe relax by the pool. Some of the crew were already there, discussing where to go: volcanic tours, Safaris, or white water rafting. I signed up for the latter hoping it’ll be a blast- a change from my usual quiet escapade. However, my dream of a little adventure shattered the next morning when they said that the water level was too low to raft safely. We were all bummed out as we separated ways, looking for things to do.

I was with a Filipina crew and we decided to just go to the mall because there was a free shuttle from the hotel. It took a little while before we reached the city center and I was still thinking of Manila looking at all the buildings and flyovers. The Mall is a mix of Shangri La and Glorietta. And the shops and ‘tiangges’ also looked the same. I saw Quickly and rushed to it, thirsting for a choco loco drink. You wouldn’t believe the currency they had here: 1 USD = 11,150.66 IDR. Everyone's a millionaire, and so was I!

Wahaha! I tilted my head back and made a fan out of my allowance.

“Inday, bring out the slaves from their cell! It’s time to gather cocoas for my drink!”

I stood from a distance and pointed at the drink I wanted. Poor girl, she was hurrying about making my drink. She must have been hyperventilating when I left.


When we got back to the hotel, I was hitting myself on the head for not bringing a swimsuit. The pool looked so inviting. Nevertheless, I had a great time in Jakarta even if it was a very quiet stay. All I had to do was sit and sway with the wind like a cucumber... make that like a bamboo. ^_^