Jakarta Day Three

Monday, 4th November 2013

This morning after breakfast we decided to head straight to the Pasar Pagi Mangga Dua (translated as morning market, but effectively it's open from morning till evening like its popular brother ITC next door).

We took a Blue Bird there again.  Pasar Pagi comparatively with ITC is less crowded (or maybe because it was a weekday and working day) and cater more for whole sale because some sellers quoted prices for purchases in dozens.  It took me a little while to "understand" and had to work backwards to divide the price to get an individual price.  It's also harder to negotiated this way as you can see they already set the floor price for bulk purchases.  In particular I am referring to the stationery shops and undergarment shops.

We didn't mind buying 15 children panties but 15 school bags or water tumblers?  That's ridiculous, to say the least.

We moved in between Pasar Pagi and ITC after lunch, and continued to venture in between stalls sniffing out bargains out of bargains.  Oh yes, we also manage to buy a swimming suit for Victoria here too.

Hotel above the mall

After freshening up at the hotel, we proceeded downstairs to a Chinese restaurant for dinner.  We had half a roast duck, braised bean curd with mushrooms, pork ribs in some kind of sweet spicy sauce and green vege.  Rice was served warm and fluffy so no complains on this place.  Name of restaurant?  Sorry, no records but anyone who stays in this hotel won't miss it.  

Roast duck - not bad... crunchy, juicy, sweet. 

Bean curd

Pork ribs - sorry this was the last piece left before I realised I haven't taken a picture of this dish earlier

Green vegetable

Nothing much to do after dinner but to stroll around in the mall, and we chanced upon Baskin Robbins just before exiting.  Yeh Yeh asked the kids if they wanted ice cream... and guess what they replied?!

After a few rounds of flavour testing, Vic decided on a cookies n cream ice cream whereas William had the strawberry.  I think I influenced his choice as Daddy loves BR and HD strawberry ice cream.

That's all for Day Three.  Tomorrow will be our last day in Jakarta, and there's one more item outstanding on my list of to-do things.

Jakarta Holiday Day Two

Sunday, 3rd November 2013

The sun rises an hour earlier here in Jakarta so there's no excuse to sleep in, what with the building excitement of shopping at hand.

The malls open at 10am and closes at 6pm.  So what's the saying again? Make hay during the day??

Another testimony

Our room rates included breakfast, which is truly a bargain and only God led hubby to this obscure site late one night.  It was authentic, of course as he dealt directly with the hotel, but long story cut short again, confirmation of the rooms came as easy as filling a form, but he had to rush the hotel to take payment from our credit card (because the deal was so good, even Agoda and the likes could not beat this, and therefore we suspect the hotel management was trying to delay taking payment) to secure the rooms.

A few days before our arrival, hubby called the hotel again and there was no trace of our bookings, so a few more calls to their HQ in Paris, then Hong Kong and finally Singapore got our room bookings confirmed once more.  Imagine, money has been taken from our credit cards and yet they refused to honor the bookings. 

When we checked in, the reception upgraded one of our rooms to deluxe which was indeed very spacious.

Picture taken from Novotel Mangga Dua official website

Back to breakfast.  Kids received complimentary breakfast.  The selection was standard, could be better I would say, but at least they served pork.  I must add, they had traditional jamu (made from local spices and herbs) available too.

After breakfast and a quick freshen up in the rooms, we headed to ITC Mangga Dua, well known for its crazy wholesale prices.  We initially thought we could walk there, but maps could be deceiving despite the close proximity.  So the 4 adults and 2 kids squeezed into a Blue Bird taxi waiting just in front of the hotel, and we headed toward ITC.  I think the cab ride cost us around IDR40,000 (equivalent to RM12)  for a 5 minute ride.  Traffic was light as it was a non working day.   

Christmas trees and decos for sale. As with previous years, I bought some decorations to add to our tree.  I make it a point to add something new to our tree every year.  : )

Now, would you go to Jakarta and not eat their famous Ayam Penyet?  This looks simple but the chicken was surprisingly juicy and crunchy.  Cost IDR22000 (equivalent to RM6.6)

William had Soto Ayam which was a little bit too spicy for him.  Sigh, this boy needs more training in the spicy department.

Ayam Penyet stall at Level 7 Food Court, ITC

Shops selling clothes mostly, if not all, made in China.  I didn't buy any due to poor quality.

Looking down.  No retail space is spared. 

When we entered the ground floor entrance, on the left was this stall selling shoes and slipper.  One pair for IDR35000, and three pairs for IDR100000.  Their service is faster than Vincci's so don't be put off by the chaos and crowd.  You just need to get yourself heard.  We bought three slippers here, one for my MIL, one for Vic and one for moi.  Very comfortable, and designs are plentiful, so are colors.  Although our local night market sells these, but the ones here in ITC cannot compete with the measly selection we have back home.  

Kids were having a fun time at the pool with Daddy whilst Mummy and Yeh Yeh walked more at the mall.  This view was taken from our hotel room.

We got back to our hotel via tuk tuk around 6pm.  Yeh Yeh joined Daddy and the kids at the pool, whilst Mummy and Mama went downstairs to Mangga Dua Square Mall which was adjacent and linked to our hotel.  We were in search of a highly recommended massage centre, Lotus Reflexology.

When we finally located the centre, there was a 30 minute waiting time.  We paid IDR35000 for a 90 minute foot reflexology massage that included head and shoulder massage as well.  I must say, although it was dirt cheap (imagine, it's only a little over RM10 for a 90 massage, whereas we'd have to pay RM40 for a 45minute massage here in PJ) the quality was not there, or my masseur did a lousy job.

I was already put off by her when she did a half hearted job when cleaning my feet before entering.  Then just as she started, she wasted no time in asking me for tips, in Malaysian Ringgit!  The cheek of her!  I would have gladly given her tips if she had done a good job at the end, and without asking, but the fact that she asked in such an unashamed way, on top of the lousy massage she gave (when she chatted, her hands stopped and she disappeared for a long time at one point too)... I think the 90 minutes was definitely worth only IDR35000.

Having said that, I would still visit the place again, hopefully another masseur would be more professional and skilled.

We ended the day with Chinese dinner at a restaurant just opposite Lotus.  Food for nice.

Walking around the mall, we saw JCo, and Yeh Yeh bought half a dozen donuts for our supper back in the hotel room.

Donuts from JCo

That is all for Day Two.  Tomorrow we will head to another mall for another round of shopping. 

Jakarta Holiday Day One

A month before this trip, I started researching the internet and asking around for friends' recommendations for places to visit and accommodation.  I realized that there are far too many malls in Jakarta and having been warned by well meaning friends of the time-killing, patience-draining and nerve-wrecking traffic jam in Jakarta, we have to decide wisely on the right hotel to stay close to the malls or destinations of our choice.

So began an exchange of a few emails and conversations with a church friend from Seremban.

Finally we decided to stay at Novotel Mangga Dua.

The day before our flight - Friday, 1st November 2013 
My Testimony

Would you believe it that we only started to pack - like REALLY pack only the afternoon before our flight?  The day we were to fly was a national public holiday, being Deepavali and we had planned our annual open house visit and this year it was held at my cousin Morgan's house nearby.

That afternoon after I dropped William off at kindy, I headed home in my happy la-la state.  Around 230pm, as I took out our passports, I decided to flip through and to my shock and horror, William's passport had an expiry in two months' time.  How was he going to travel with a passport less than 6 months validity?  I quickly called hubby who was on his way back from Ipoh.  He was only due to arrive at 430pm.

Taking his advice, I rushed out back to the kindy to take William home early.  I explained to the boy on the way that we have to pray hard, and if he can't get his passport renewed, he won't be able to travel with us. Deep down, I knew only a miracle from God can help us, because the Immigration Office won't be open the next day being a national public holiday, and moreover numbers are limited and normally all given out early in the morning.  Even if we manage to get a number, the normal procedure takes 3 days for a passport to be ready. 

But desperation calls for no logic.  And God has no limit.  Prayer was our only hope.  I told hubby that I will bring William to the closest Immi Office at Kelana Jaya to "try my luck" and take his passport photo, in the meantime while waiting for hubby to arrive.  If that fail, at least I get William's passport picture taken and we can head straight to the other Immi Office in Sentul, which opens until 10pm.  But that was not our preference as we also had cell group meeting that night.

Long story cut short, this was the sequence of events at the times as accurately as I can remember.

345pm - arrived Immi Office KJ and as expected, all numbers were out and there was a big crowd spilling out of the reception area.  I explained my situation to the officer at the entrance, and he grumbled a little before telling me to check with the officer at the counter.  I reexplained my situation to the officer at the counter who then told me to take the side door for authorised personnel only and speak to his supervisor.

The officers inside were initially not willing to help, and told me make my way to the Sentul Immi Office.  But just as I was leaving, still holding on to William's hand, the supervisor in charged told me to return at 445pm (15 minutes before closing time) to look for her.  In the meantime, she told me to get the photos and all documents ready.

William took his new passport photos without delay and I rushed home to pick up the other documents required.  I think I paid RM10 for 6 pictures, or was it 4?  Can't recall in my haste. 

430pm - Picked hubby up from Morgan's house and we all headed to the Immi Office again.  In my heart, I was half wondering if the supervisor would play me out and continued to pray hard.

445pm - I took William and looked for the lady supervisor again.  She directed me to another officer at the Counter (no queuing needed, nor number given).  Officer at counter took our documents and payment and told me to collect the passport at another counter.  I headed there, but the second counter told me to return at 515pm.  Dropped hubby back home.

515pm - Back at the Immi Office with William.  Crowd have all gone by now.  We approached the second counter lady and explained our situation again.  The receipt stated collection on 4 November but we received William's new passport this very day, at this very time.

All praise and glory to God!  The lady supervisor did not want to reveal her name to me, and neither did she wear a identification tag.  I thanked the first counter officer and the collection counter lady profusely and each said I needn't have to thank them, as I had only to thank their supervisor.  At 515pm when I collected the passport, I asked if there was ANY WAY that I could thank her supervisor, and the officer told me, "It's ok."

This was the first time we had such fast, efficient and courteous service all in one experience.  From 345pm to 515pm, it took only 1.5hours from my first plead to my eternal gratitude.   We were treated like VIPs even!  Surely and truly God was orchestrating all these, and no way can this miracle happen if not for Him.

Saturday, 2nd November 2013

Hubby just recovered from a mild food poisoning, possibly from a bad burger at A&W a few nights ago.  I banned him from attacking the tempting curries and dhal at the Deepavali open house.  If he has a weakness, it is Indian food.  Vic was down with sore throat and I put her on the ban too, because she needed a fast recovery before the holiday.  William had a mild case of diarrhea in the morning and I was worried that it may deteriorate, which will be a huge inconvenience in the plane and public toilets in Jakarta were not expected to be clean or aromatic.

Committing all in prayer to God, everyone miraculously recovered in time.  I put a diaper on William - just in case - and it was clean even when we arrived Jakarta at night.  Vic's sorethroat seemed to be under control.  Daddy had no more symptoms and the precautionary medicines that we brought along wasn't used at all.

Mama Yeh Yeh's flight was separate and via MAS.  Since their flight was delayed, they waited for us and together we hired a Toyota Alphard to our hotel.  By the time we reached out hotel it past 10pm.

Standard room, clean and functional.

  

We played UNO at McD whilst waiting to enter the gate.  Good job Vic for packing these cards into your little pink bag

Food wasn't too bad.  Supper on flight.  We had spaghetti, roast chicken, pizza, green curry rice and briyani ordered online and added a muffin on flight because the boy was still hungry.  Thank God for Seremban siew pau which Popo bought for us and insisted we bring along in case we got hungry in the hotel.  These came in very handy.

After meal, best to sleep.

At the hotel lobby.  These are all our luggage, almost half are empty in anticipation of mega shopping.  Between the 6 of us, we had a total of 45kg of check in weight, and 42kg of hand luggage weight.

 Shops were already closed when we checked into our rooms so we might as well clean up and sleep "early" in order to be fully charged up for the next day's shopping adventure! 

A love message on the board

We have a white board in the office area upstairs and this is where hubby and I note down our "things to do" so we don't forget.

Once in a while, little extra hands will write short notes for Mummy or Daddy.  Recently I saw this...

written by my romantic little fler who copied it only a piece of paper when I said I will have to erase it off for space.

U.F.O

The U.F.O have arrived... in the form of Vic entertaining us with her music piece.  She is now close to a year into Grade One on ABRSM syllabus - after 3.5 years with Yamaha.  I am impressed with her improvement as she has now learnt some Italian terms, managed basic melody compositions, improved on sight reading and emphasized more on dynamics and expressions. 

A typical piece can be as short as 12 bars up to 30 over bars in total.  Teacher says Vic still needs to work on her timing and dynamics.

Mummy's notes:  Still need to work on self discipline and initiative to practice WITHOUT prompting from Mummy. 

October in a Blink

Is it November already so fast?  It seems like the last two months of the year passes faster than the other months.  There is just so much to look forward to... from the 6 weeks of school holidays to overseas trips to family gatherings to Christmas and counting down to new year, on top of everything else!

Exams

October was much dreaded and anticipated at the same time, mainly because it was an exam month.  Preparation started a month earlier because Vic just needed the space and time to revise all her important topics.  I can't really tell who is more relieved that the exams were over - mother or daughter.  Overall, she improved and averages 80 plus with her highest mark in Bahasa Malaysia striking at 95.5%... and who would have guessed, right?  We actually thought her strong subject would be English or Mathematics, or maybe Science.

Why are some parents so afraid to share the marks of their kids?  Well, here's a little record of my girl's marks, nothing to boast but everything to be proud of.  : ) 

A little bit of analysis work shows still some careless mistake, some lack of common sense and a big chunk still needing more revision and understanding.  But heck, it's a lot of good work put in there and we are proud of you, our dear daughter.  Well done!  Holidays were booked even before knowing your result because well, we just wanted to get away and celebrate!

Besides the exams, there was some work achieved - company accounts closed and submitted to the auditors in good time - thank God for a wonderful accountant - my rusty self wouldn't have been able to handle a set of accounts now.

Korean food - yummz yummzz!!

We also had dinner with our cell friends at Daorae Korean BBQ Restaurant to celebrate the birthday of our cell-brother Yii.

Korean pancake - ho ho sek

In its raw form already look so tempting - secret lies in the marination

From raw to cooked - kids looooovvveeedd this dish.  Adults too!  Eat it with rice, or wrapped in lettuce, or I can even think of sandwiching it.  This meat needs nothing to complement it, it's great even on its own. 

Pork belly and assorted vegetables in spicy kimchi gravy.  The pork belly is amazingly crunchy even in this mixture. 

The last dish came a little bit late because our stomachs were full, but this traditional bulgogi dish is no pushover.  We were deceived by the mountainous look but it was actually a small bump underneath.   

And then there was a Thai lunch date with hubby.  Just a casual lunch after dropping the kids off at school with no particular reason.

Prawn something... was a disappointment because the description of it sounded tastier. 

Seafood - what's not to love about seafood especially with a prawn that size??

We had a different soft shell crab the last time - cooked with salt and pepper and that was my last thought that night before sleeping.  This one is cooked in a batter and did not live up to the expectation of its predecessor

Chicken red curry - very creamy so if you like a strong hint of coconut taste in your curry, this one is to go for. 

House on sticks

William built while waiting for dinner one Saturday and insisted I took a photo of it.  He left it on the table for the good waiter.

On the 26th October, we drove down to Seremban to attend a charity dinner organised by Persatuan Berdikari Seremban - a training centre for people with learning disabilities, which Gong Gong chairs.  The dinner was held in Silverdragon Restaurant and we had Juwita Suwito to sing a few songs for us.

It was either this picture of the girl sticking her tongue out or the boy with his Spiderman act... why can't they just smile like decent kids especially when taking picture with the VIP?? 

And finally, we broke the rule of NO movie on a school night... we brought the kids to the cinema to watch Cloudy with a Chance of Meatball 2.  The show - personally - is TOO MILD even to a person like me who likes to watch nothing violent.  Daddy almost fell asleep but thank God for popcorn to keep him awake, lol! 

The boy has the potential of a movie buff - sinking straight into the popcorn and fully engrossed on the big screen even the advertisements.  Next time I better monitor his hangouts else I have to buy movie shares.  

 

Well that's all folks, for October!  Coming up next... more for November, which I think I will break down to individual posts.